Law Times

Page 12 May 4, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Concerns raised over who gets funding to write Gladue reports BY shannon Kari Law Times egal Aid Ontario says that only in "exception- al" circumstances will it fund Gladue reports written by someone other than its contracted provider in a par- ticular city or region of the prov- ince. The issue of whether an ab- original offender who's seeking the services of LAO can choose the person who writes a Gladue report before sentencing or a bail hearing has recently arisen in Ottawa. The native-led consulting firm IndiGenius & Associates says there are a number of ab- original people in custody in the Ottawa area who have asked it to provide these reports but it notes LAO has normally denied funding. Gladue reports originate from the Supreme Court of Canada's R. v. Gladue decision in 1999 that requires trial courts to take into account systemic issues and the specific circum- stances of aboriginal offenders before sentencing. Mark Marsolais, founding partner of IndiGenius, says his firm has very experienced peo- ple in this field and notes the issue isn't a question of an ad- ditional expense for LAO for the reports. "We never intended for this to be problematic. There are not enough Gladue writers. One organization cannot do all the work," says Marsolais. He describes the service as much more intensive and per- sonal than a normal presen- tence report. "These are healing stories. They tell the story of an individual's life," says Marso- lais. A Gladue report requires significant trust and isn't a "cookie-cutter" document, he adds. Bryonie Baxter, executive di- rector of the Elizabeth Fry Soci- ety of Ottawa, says that at pres- ent there's no backlog of women in custody in the area who are awaiting the reports. However, she believes people should be able to choose the person who prepares their Gladue report. "It contains intimate family de- tails and there is a need for the person to feel comfortable," says Baxter. The Elizabeth Fry Society would also like to see more re- sources put into this area. "There is no consistency" in terms of the level of service across Can- ada, says Baxter. "The attorney general should make it a prior- ity," she adds. The federal Department of Justice, the Ministry of the Attorney General, and LAO have funded the Gladue report- writing program in Ontario since 2004, says Genevieve Oger, a spokeswoman for LAO. LAO spent $1.7 million on funding for "Gladue support ser- vices" performed by non-profit aboriginal groups in the most re- cent fiscal year, says Oger. In an expansion of the exist- ing program, it signed contracts last June with Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto, which has been writing Gladue reports for several years, to provide these services to nearly a dozen com- munities in the province, in- cluding Ottawa. The two-year contract, worth $930,000, con- tinues until March 31, 2016. LAO also announced an agreement last fall with Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corp. to hire three Gladue writ- ers based in Thunder Bay, Tim- mins, and Sioux Lookout, Ont. The organization also intends to announce more funding soon for Gladue services in other communities in northwestern Ontario. In Ottawa, "the first step is with" Aboriginal Legal Servic- es of Toronto, says Oger. If for some reason the organization isn't able to prepare a report, then LAO may provide fund- ing to another group. "This will only happen in exceptional cir- cumstances," says Oger. The agreements with "part- ner organizations" are "not just fee for service," she says. "These are very detailed contracts. There are also reporting re- quirements and evaluation." The additional funding pro- vided last year to the Toronto or- ganization followed a request by LAO in the fall of 2013 for spe- cific proposals from non-profit legal clinics for new services. "In this case, what happened, is that ALST made a proposal" for increased Gladue report services, says Oger, who notes the Toronto-based clinic is an "acknowledged best practice leader" in the area. The Toronto clinic received almost $1.9 million in overall government funding in the fis- cal year ending March 31, 2014, including $1.3 million from the province, according to its fil- ings with the Canada Revenue Agency. The documents say 37 per cent of its resources are for "Gladue court" services. Jonathan Rudin, program director at Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto, says the or- ganization has been providing Gladue reports since 2001. The emergence of another group "is a situation we have never encountered before. There was not an organization provid- ing this service in Ottawa when we were awarded the contract," says Rudin. "If things were good there, we would not have proposed going to Ottawa," he adds. He continues: "Anyone is free to have anyone write a report if they can pay for it. Gladue is not proprietary to us." The clinic currently has one person who travels regularly to Ottawa to meet the demand for services in that area. "At this point, we are able to handle the need," says Rudin. It provides a full Gladue report if the Crown is seeking at least another three- month sentence for someone in custody and the normal time- line for completion is six weeks, he notes. Other provinces, such as British Columbia, use an ap- proved roster of Gladue writers to complete the reports, some- thing Rudin says has created problems. "I think our model is successful," he says of the On- tario framework. 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