CCLA Intervening in R. v. Cope to Address Overrepresentation of Indigenous People in Prisons

The CCLA will appear before the Supreme Court of Canada as an intervener in R. v. Cope on December 12, 2025. This appeal concerns the proper application of the Gladue principles in sentencing Indigenous persons, first set out by the Supreme Court in 1999. These principles guide the interpretation of section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code, a remedial provision intended to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prisons.

The CCLA will make three submissions about how sentencing judges should apply Gladue principles:

1. A judge should consider alternatives to custody before identifying prison as the only available sanction.
2. A judge should meaningfully engage with recommendations from community-based sentencing processes like sentencing circles.
3. A judge should recognize that the sentencing objectives of denunciation and deterrence can be met using sentences other than custody.

You can read the CCLA’s factum here. We are grateful to Samara Secter, Heather Lawson, and Dylan Leiper of Addario Law Group LLP for their excellent pro bono representation in this case.