Alternative court program in Elsipogtog should be extended across New Brunswick: legal aid lawyer [video]

Indigenous people remain overrepresented in prisons and jails across the country, but an alternative court program in Elsipogtog aims to help people find a path to healing instead of incarceration. 

To learn more about the Healing to Wellness Court, the NB Media Co-op sat down with legal aid lawyer Matthew Habermacher, who travels to Elsipogtog every week for court sessions. He believes the program should be extended across New Brunswick. “I think it’s a really good model to follow,” he said.

The court is meant to serve as an alternative to detention and to address mental health issues and the effects of colonization. 

“The root cause of a lot of criminality can be linked to lack of contact with one’s own culture and with the effects of colonization,” Habermacher said. 

“So we often find that by putting someone back in contact with their own culture, whether that’s through sweats, nature walks, traditional medicine or time with Elders, it helps them feel more centred and it helps them feel like they’re part of something bigger than just themselves.”

He continued: “It helps them reintegrate into their community. And people who are in contact with their own community and with Elders — and feel like they have a sense of belonging and purpose — are less likely to commit criminal offences.” 

For the system to work, he said, an individual must admit responsibility. If the individual was previously convicted of an offence, they may plead guilty to the new charge and have their trial in community. Then they follow a treatment plan, and the sentencing can be reduced or community-based. 

On the other hand, if they are a first-time offender, they can admit responsibility without a guilty plea. If the individual follows the community-based treatment plan, and makes positive changes, the charges may be withdrawn. In that scenario, they avoid having a criminal record. 

“The program only works if someone admits responsibility, because the program is designed to address the root cause of any criminality,” Habermacher said.

The program currently only applies to crimes committed in Kent County and for members of Elsipogtog First Nation. 

“I know they’re working on one in Tobique First Nation, but beyond that, I’m not aware of any similar program in New Brunswick,” he said.

“I absolutely think it would be beneficial to roll something out like this everywhere. It’s not just Elsipogtog that suffers the consequences of colonization. It’s every First Nation across New Brunswick and probably across the country as well.” 

Elsipogtog’s Healing to Wellness Court was implemented in May 2012, according to Public Safety Canada. It is a joint initiative between the Elsipogtog First Nation and the New Brunswick Department of Justice and Public Safety. 

This project works alongside practices linked to the 1999 Supreme Court case R. v. Gladue case, which stressed that lower courts should carefully consider the background of an Indigenous offender before sentencing, along with underlying factors that might lead the accused individual to commit the alleged crime.

Lance Francis and Lisha Francis are students at St. Thomas University student and members of Elsipogtog First Nation. David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op.