Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

226 • Truth & Reconciliation CommissionBy many objective measures, the Youth Criminal Justice Act has been a success.Since it came into effect, there has been a steady decline in youth crime, youth courtcaseloads, and youth supervised on community sentences and in custody. 157 Butone thing the Act has not succeeded in doing is reducing the overrepresentation ofAboriginal youth in the criminal justice system. 158 The great vulnerability and disadvantageexperienced by so many Aboriginal youth undoubtedly contribute to theiroverrepresentation, a factor that is intimately tied to the legacy of the residentialschools. Many of today’s Aboriginal children and youth live with the legacy of residentialschools every day, as they struggle to deal with high rates of addictions, fetalalcohol disorder, mental health issues, family violence, incarceration of parents, andthe intrusion of child-welfare authorities. All these factors place them at greater risk ofinvolvement with crime.The growing overrepresentation of Aboriginal youth in custody mirrors and islikely related to the even more dramatic overrepresentation of Aboriginal children inthe care of child-welfare agencies. Research in British Columbia found that 35.5% ofyouth in care are also involved in the youth justice system, as compared with only4.4% of youth who are not in care. 159 The Commission believes that there are ways toreduce the growing overrepresentation of Aboriginal youth, but that they will be foundprimarily outside the justice system. There is an urgent need to support Aboriginalfamilies and alleviate the poverty experienced by many Aboriginal communities. Thefederal government should take the lead by committing the resources necessary toeliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and youth in care and custody.Part of that commitment should include collecting and publishing better data tomeasure progress.Call to Action38) We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments tocommit to eliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal youth in custody overthe next decade.Victimization of Aboriginal peopleAn astonishing number of Aboriginal children were victims of crime in residentialschools. By the end of 2014, the Independent Assessment Process had resolved 30,939sexual or serious physical abuse claims, awarding $2.69 billion in compensation. 160Although not every case would have involved a criminal act, the vast majority did,easily allowing anyone to conclude that the Indian Residential Schools SettlementAgreement involved the largest single recognition of criminal victimization in