But the most radical of Wilson-Raybould’s redesigns of the Canadian justice system has received very little attention. During her final days as justice minister in January of this year, Wilson-Raybould sent out a document entitled Directive on Civil Litigation Involving Indigenous Peoples.
The directive compels government lawyers to avoid going to court against First Nations and Indigenous organizations whenever possible. Negotiation should be the first option, always.
That’s not a bad policy, per se, although most often the reason Indigenous lawsuits go to court is that taxpayers pay First Nations’ legal bills, even when their lawsuit is against the government. First Nations, therefore, have little incentive to settle.
The real controversy arises from the instructions Wilson-Raybould gave to justice lawyers when a lawsuit cannot be settled out of court. Where government lawyers cannot come to terms with First Nations, her directive all but prohibits an “adversarial” approach in court. The lawyers who are supposed to be protecting the interests of the nation, of citizens or even of taxpayers are prevented from offering a spirited defence or even any defence at all.
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