Ottawa's Indigenous peoples court shows some early success

Twice a week, at the beginning of each session of Ottawa'sIndigenous peoples court,Greg Meekis lights sage in an abalone shell and wafts it through the courtroomwith two eagle feathers.

He moves around the judge's bench, the prisoner's box, the lawyers and the clerks.

Then Meekis, abail supervisor with the Odawa Native Friendship Centre, gives a nodand court begins.

It's been six months since this scene started playing out in Ottawa courtrooms, and smudging is just one of the differences introducedwhen the specialized court was brought inSept. 11, 2017.

Diversion programs

The courtdoesn't handle trials,but does plea and bail hearings, adjournments andsentencings.

Itsgoal is to incarceratefewer Indigenous people andinstead have them deal with the issues that brought them to courtthroughdiversion programs.

Indigenous support workerslikeMeekisare right there in court,offering context tojustices of the peace andlawyers, and then following through with the accused to helpkeepthemon track.

The accused is also given more opportunity to speakand family members can also weigh in, setting a different tone.

'It made me feel more comfortable'

For people like 30-year-old Shaun Michael, that tonewas a welcome change. Michael is originally from Nunavut, but now lives in Ottawa.

He has, by his own description, "a big bad record,"with most of his charges relating to stealing alcohol and getting in fights.

Last November, he appeared before the courtand said he noticed the difference right away.

"It made me feel more comfortable. In the beginning we got to smudge and that can clear our spirit," he said. "Our workers are there, our Indigenous workers. It's a bit [more] lenient sentencing."

The court hands out different sentences thanregular courts would for non-Indigenous offenders, ranging from healing circlesto serving the community, volunteering, or being requiredto participate in variousprograms.

In Michael's case it was weekly bail check-ins, addictions counsellingand an Inuit healing program.

No get-out-of-jail-free card

However, "lenient" isn't a word Meekis would use to describe the kinds of sentences the court hands out.

"[The court]requires a person to look inside themselvesand say, 'All right, I'm ready to deal with this.'That's not easy at all," he said.

The presiding justice agrees.

"This is not a get-out-of-jail-free card," said ClynneDorval. "Being forced to deal with your issues, to be able to move forward, is not an easy task.I am sure that most offenders would say it would be easier to do some time in jail."

Recidivism unknown

But how much the court isreally paying off won't become clear for some time.

They need to wait and see how many people going through the systemwind upin front of the judge again on new charges, Dorval said.

One whohasn't been back yet isMichael. According to court records, hehasn't returnedsince hisappearance in November. He said he has plans to train as achef and to volunteer by helping out other Indigenous people.

So far, Dorvalsaid50 people have pleaded guilty, and thatthere have been 30 bail hearingsand hundreds of appearances though a single charge may require more than one appearanceby the accused before their case is dealt with.

But the court has been busy enoughthat she's hoping to add in another weekly session.

It's funded throughthe Ministry of the Attorney General, Aboriginal Legal Services and legal aid.Ontario has committed an additional $13.3 million over the next three years to expand the program.