Who is Worthy of Constitutional Protection?: A Commentary on R v Ewert
Document Type
Editorial
Publication Date
6-21-2018
Keywords
Indigenous prisoners, corrections, Charter
Abstract
On June 13, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled in Ewert v Canada that by assessing the risk level presented by Indigenous prisoners with tools verified only on non-Indigenous individuals, Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) failed to meet their statutory duty under s. 24 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) to utilize only accurate information in their risk assessments. The Court stated that CSC has a duty to account for the systemic discrimination Indigenous people undergo in the criminal justice system, in general, and in prisons, in particular. However, the SCC found that, despite utilizing tools that may be discriminatory towards Indigenous individuals, there was no violation of Charter rights. This result perpetuates an ugly truth about Canada’s democracy: constitutional protection does not apply the same to everyone.
Recommended Citation
Adelina Iftene, "Who is Worthy of Constitutional Protection?: A Commentary on R v Ewert" (21 June 2018), online (blog): Robson Crim Legal Blog < https://www.robsoncrim.com/single-post/2018/06/21/Who-is-worthy-of-constitutional-protection-A-Commentary-on-Ewert-v-Canada > [https://perma.cc/DA45-G4DW].
