Province’s newest and most unusual court opens in Cape Breton
Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey said Wednesday he hoped the opening of the province’s newest and most unusual court will continue the rebuilding of relations among lawmakers and Indigenous people.
“The creation of the wellness and Gladue court is a huge step forward and a significant event not only for the community but the province,” said Furey, in relation to the new court that began sitting in Wagmatcook at the community cultural centre.
Wagmatcook becomes the second Indigenous community to host a provincial court. Another Cape Breton Mi’kmaq community, Eskasoni, has hosted provincial court sittings for several years.
The unusual aspects of the Wagmatcook court include paying close attention to Indigenous restorative justice traditions and customs.
In addition to the court offering programs to better support the needs of Indigenous people, it will also service the needs for non-Indigenous people of Victoria County whose former courthouse in Baddeck was closed down in 2015 and consolidated with the court in Sydney.
The new court will be used for arraignments, bail hearings, trials and sentencings but will also offer more specialized services for Indigneous offenders.
Those programs will include a Gladue court that will employ Indigenous restorative justice traditions and customs along with extensive community input such as sentencing circles.
A wellness court will be for offenders who plead guilty and are deemed at a high risk to reoffend. The program examines root cause factors that result in an individual coming into conflict with the law.
The sentencing process can be delayed for up to two years to allow the offender an opportunity to complete a detailed healing plan.
The new court is expected to sit one day a week, on Wednesdays.
An official opening is scheduled for June 21, National Aboriginal Day.
Furey said the new court comes after a truly collaborative effort by a number of agencies and departments including leaders from island Indigenous communities, Public Prosecution Service. Nova Scotia Legal Aid and Mi’kmaw Legal Support Network.
“When we listen to one another and collaborate, we can achieve significant outcomes,” said Furey, a former RCMP officer who was formerly stationed in Baddeck and worked closely with the island’s five Indigenous communities.
Even the layout of the court is unique in that the usual judge’s bench is in the shape of circle to reflect the Indigenous medicine wheel and the restorative justice approach.
Presiding over the court will be Port Hawkesbury-based provincial court Judge Laurie Halfpenny-MacQuarrie.