Brady Knight, a Saskatoon-based criminal lawyer, calls the issue of Indigenous mass incarceration in the province “a concerning and pressing problem.”
“It’s something that I think anyone involved in the criminal justice system in Saskatchewan absolutely is forced to recognize as an issue because it confronts you every single day in docket courts and trial courts and sentencing courts across the province,” said Knight, who also acts in circuit courts throughout rural Saskatchewan.
Brady Knight
Pate goes on to list bills sitting before the Senate she says would “work together” to reduce the institutionalization of the racialized, victims of trauma and sufferers of mental illness and addiction.
But Pate also pointed to high numbers out of Saskatchewan.
Statistics Canada found that for 2023-24, Indigenous adults were incarcerated at a rate 10 times higher than non-Indigenous adults in six provinces: Saskatchewan, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and B.C.
However, the national numbers agency went on to report that the rate of overrepresentation was highest in Saskatchewan, “where Indigenous adults were incarcerated at a rate 19.4 times higher than non-Indigenous adults.”
When asked about Saskatchewan’s high numbers, Knight pointed to several factors. However, he said poverty in Indigenous communities was a big reason so many Indigenous end up behind bars — particularly when it comes to rural and remote parts of the province.
In many cases, he said, there is a lack of community resources — resources that could spell the difference between someone being put behind bars or placed in the community. For example, conditions needed for conditional sentence orders (house arrest, for example) or noncustodial dispositions may not be available for those in remote areas.
“They live in an isolated community. They don’t have access to the same level of care and support and health-related [resources] — both mental and physical … resources — to be able to take some of those rehabilitative steps that might be much more accessible to someone in a major city like Regina or Saskatoon,” said Knight. “You have this absence of resources available, coupled with often very remote communities, and most communities also tend to suffer from significant social issues that include a lack of housing.”
Case in point: Knight spoke of Deschambault Lake, a small community 600 kilometres north of Regina — one in which Knight regularly finds himself for circuit court.
“The housing crisis is such that it is not unusual in a small family home for there to be upwards of 10 people regularly staying there, sleeping on whatever surfaces are available. When you have people who are facing those situations — where you don’t have the same level of resources, governmental supports, economic supports, health supports — you then have a distinct disadvantage when you’re going before the court for sentencing.”
Michelle MacDonald, supervising lawyer at Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City, said systemic racism plays a role.
“The overwhelming cause of overincarceration for Indigenous people in Saskatchewan boils down to systemic racism, which is the greatest contributor to overincarceration,” she said. “Racism impedes access to housing, employment and health care. Over-policing can lead to Indigenous people being more likely to be charged with offences.”
MacDonald also pointed to Indigenous accused being at a disadvantage when it comes to the possibility of bail.
“Once charged, Indigenous accused persons may be less likely to have access to a reasonable bail plan due to social issues like being unhoused and thus experience higher rates of imprisonment on remand. Those individuals may then feel pressure to plead guilty to secure their release from jail. Other times, unrepresented people simply want to get things over with and may plead guilty on an uninformed basis because they believe a trial would be too complex and time-consuming.”
In terms of solutions, MacDonald noted the bills in Sen. Pate’s news release.
“The solution to a problem as complex as this is multifaceted and long term; we must address the causes to heal the symptoms. Systemic racism is deeply ingrained in our systems and will take sustained effort to dismantle, but that is the work that must be done. The four bills that Senator Pate has highlighted would go a long way to address these core issues of poverty and criminalization and would impact overrepresentation by going to its root.”
The federal government was asked for comment but did not provide a response by press time.
As for Saskatchewan’s government, it stated that not every criminal case proceeds to sentencing or incarceration, and that in “appropriate cases, [prosecutors] may refer an accused person to an alternative measures program.”
“Alternative Measures (AM) and Extrajudicial Sanctions programs (EJS) in Saskatchewan are delivered by First Nations, tribal councils, community-based organizations and fee-for-service mediators,” it states. “AM and EJS programs provide individuals accused of committing a Criminal Code offence or other matters set out in provincial policies an opportunity to make reparation to victims and the community.”
The province did not comment directly on why the number of incarcerated Indigenous in Saskatchewan remains so high. Instead, it insisted its Ministry of Community Safety is “committed to reducing Indigenous overrepresentation by lowering returns to custody and working with Indigenous partners to deliver restorative, community-based and culturally relevant supports.”
It also stated the Ministry of Social Services works with Indigenous communities “to improve supports such as income assistance, housing and homelessness initiatives,” and provides supports to “clients” living in northern areas.
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