Criminal "Justice", Colonial Injustice: Indigenous Peoples, the System, and Wrongful Convictions
For its annual conference this year, Innocence McGill invites you to explore the interaction between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian criminal justice system, and consider how systemic issues facing Indigenous peoples can result in miscarriages of justice.
The panel will include Senator Kim Pate, Joey Twins, and Promise Holmes Skinner.
The conference will be moderated by Professor Kirsten Anker, Faculty of Law, McGill University.
Kindly RSVP: https://imconference2019.eventbrite.ca.
About the speakers
Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. First and foremost, the mother of Michael and Madison, she is also a nationally renowned advocate who has spent the last 35 years working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and on behalf of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized — particularly imprisoned youth, men and women. She was the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) from January 1992 until her appointment to the Senate in November 2016. She has developed and taught Prison Law, Human Rights and Social Justice and Defending Battered Women on Trial courses at the Faculties of Law at the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University and the University of Saskatchewan. She also occupied the Sallows Chair in Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 2014 and 2015. Kim Pate is widely credited as the driving force behind the Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, headed by Justice Louise Arbour. During the Inquiry, she supported women as they aired their experiences and was a critical resource and witness in the Inquiry itself. Senator Pate is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Canadian Bar Association’s Bertha Wilson Touchstone Award, and five honourary doctorates (Law Society of Upper Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, St. Thomas University and Wilfred Laurier University).
Joey Twins—spirit name Redstone Woman Who Walks With Fire—is a Cree woman from Alberta. She is a spiritual advisor and native traditional knowledge keeper. She is a survivor of the prison system and is fighting for justice for our First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.
Promise Holmes Skinner is an Anishnaabe criminal lawyer in Toronto; an Adjunct Professor at UofT Faculty of Law, an Instructor at Osgoode Hall Law School and Faculty at St. Michael’s Hospital. She appeared at the Supreme Court of Canada on R v Kokopenace challenging Charter rights violations of Indigenous people on-reserve. From 2015 to 201, Promise was the Senior Manager, Gladue Program Specialist at Aboriginal Legal Services. This past September she opened her own firm and appeared at the Ontario Court of Appeal arguing to apply Gladue to Corbitt applications at trial (on reserve). Currently she seeks leave from the Supreme Court of Canada on the issue of Gladue at bail. Promise’s practice almost exclusively services Indigenous individuals in conflict with the law, including complaints against police. She is regularly invited across Canada to speak about these issues – as well as California and New Zealand.
This event has been accredited for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education for jurists by a recognized provider.
