Prince George will get a First Nations court this year, the sixth in the province and the first in northern British Columbia.

The announcement was made by Provincial Court Chief Judge Thomas J. Crabtree, who said the courts are an important step toward a more restorative approach to justice and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the prison system.

"It attempts to get at root causes," he said in an interview with CBC Daybreak North host Carolina de Ryk.

"They often relate to mental health or wellness issues, addiction issues or poverty issues."

BC Provincial Court announces the opening of its 6th First Nations Court in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrinceGeorge?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrinceGeorge</a> in April: <a href="https://t.co/onI3ra9V5a">https://t.co/onI3ra9V5a</a> Watch for details of the March 23 opening ceremony. —@BCProvCourt

First Nations courts work within the existing criminal justice system, with offenders who have already admitted their guilt.

The First Nations court's task is to provide a sentence for the offenders aimed at rehabilitating them back into society while they serve their sentence.

Judges work with lawyers, community elders and often victims to come up with a "healing plan" for the offender.

Crabtree said even the physical space of a First Nations court is different than a conventional courtroom.

"We attempt to create a space where participants in the court are sitting around a conference table, or a space where everybody's on the same level," he said.

"It engages the participants in a much more direct way."

Local support

Christina Draegen, who is the northern regional manager of the Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of B.C., said she's been working for years to get a First Nations court in Prince George.

"It's huge," she said. "We've been waiting for a long time to have these kind of services be offered in the north."

Draegen's efforts were supported by a number of people, including Prince George RCMP Supt. Warren Brown, who has consistently noted repeat offenders are an issue for the city and he does not see jail as a permanent solution.

Draegen said the First Nation courts are an attempt to deal with the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Canadian jails, a situation that has been tied to historic and systemic discrimination and bias.

The first First Nations court in B.C. opened in New Westminster in 2006. The other locations are in North Vancouver, Kamloops, Duncan and Merritt.

By the numbers

In 2016, Canada's prison ombudsman provided numbers outlining the overrepresentation of Indigenous people incarcerated in Canada to the federal government. Some of those findings were relayed by Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould in remarks she made favouring restorative justice. They included:

In 2016, Indigenous people represented more than 25 per cent of inmates while making up just 4.3 per cent of the overall population.

Between 2005 and 2015, the Indigenous inmate population grew by 50 per cent compared to the overall growth rate of 10 per cent.

Indigenous women comprise 37 per cent of all women serving a sentence of more than two years.

Incarceration rates for Indigenous people in some parts of Canada are up to 33 times higher than for non-Indigenous peoples.

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