The centres will be located in Burns Lake, Hazelton, Williams Lake, Kamloops, Cranbrook and Port Hardy. The council said it has been working with First Nations to open the new locations and were selected with their leadership, guidance and engagement.
BCFNJC said it is serving hundreds of Indigenous people and has “seen an increased demand for services,” with its legal teams “actively supporting clients and providing criminal law and child protection legal services, and wraparound supports for First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.”
It noted that Strategy 4 of the BC First Nations Justice Strategy calls for a network of IJCs in B.C. that provide “welcoming places for Indigenous people to directly access, in community, culturally appropriate justice services, including legal advice and representation for criminal justice and child protection matters.”
All 204 First Nations in B.C. were said to have been invited to express interest in working with the council’s staff to develop a business case for an IJC on their homelands. Site locations were approved based on First Nations’ expressions of interest, along with “research into demographic patterns, legal aid applications, and court and circuit court locations and needs.”
“Expanding the network of IJCs across the province is a powerful undertaking that will ensure Indigenous people have the services they need to not only navigate a complex, often discriminatory justice system. The IJCS support Indigenous people to remain connected to their community and traditional ways of healing and justice,” said BCFNJC Chair Kory Wilson in an Oct. 17 statement.
The BCFNJC was said to have 15 IJCs in total by December, with support from the Province of British Columbia. The province first announced in November 2022 that it will invest in the establishment and long-term operation of the centres.
Nine IJCs are already operating in Merritt, Chilliwack, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, Nanaimo and Kelowna, which together have over 70 staff members. For the new centres, 30 more staff will be hired.
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