The Challenge
As Crown Counsel play an important role in the criminal justice system, acting as prosecutors and providing advice to government, it is important that there are structured relations – guided by mutual respect and understanding – between Crown Counsel offices and local First Nations. These structured relations can help achieve many purposes, including:
- Learning about forms of cultural appropriateness,
- Deepening knowledge about alternatives that can support the presumption of diversion and build relationships that can help facilitate the implementation of alternatives,
- Building an understanding about the roles of Crown Counsel and how they perform their functions, and
- Ensuring First Nations have knowledge about their members who may be facing charges, where the member wants to inform their Nation.
The Solution:
BCFNJC will facilitate communication and relationship building between First Nations and Crown Counsel offices, developing different models of protocols that will support strengthened, structured relations between First Nations and Crown Counsel offices.
