(Snuneymuxw Territory: Nanaimo, BC – March 13, 2019) – The BC Aboriginal Justice Council has recently received formal endorsement from its three founding organizations, the BC Assembly of First Nations (“BCAFN”), Union of BC Indian Chiefs (“UBCIC”), and First Nations Summit (“FNS”) for a formal name change to the First Nations Justice Council.
The First Nations Justice Council was initially established over three (3) years ago as a First Nations Leadership Council-endorsed initiative to advance justice-related issues. Specifically, the newly-named First Nations Justice Council is mandated to:
- Challenge approaches that contribute to the growing over-representation of First Nations children and youth in the care of government, and First Nations men and women in incarceration; and
- Productively engage with the government to advance effective strategies that can achieve better outcomes for our people in the justice system.
Upon recommendation of the current Justice Council, amendments to its Terms of Reference were endorsed by resolutions at recent BCAFN, UBCIC, and FNS meetings. This renaming of the Justice Council enables the First Nations Justice Council to ensure that its mandate is clearly articulated to focus on First Nations-specific justice issues. The First Nations Justice Council will be hosting a First Nations Justice Forum on April 24-25, 2019, in Richmond, BC.
For further inquiries:
Doug White III, Chair of the First Nations Justice Council
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 250-756-7563
