JUSTICE MINISTER ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL $40 MILLION TO HELP SUPPORT TRADITIONAL ABORIGINAL JUSTICE

Quebec City, Quebec, August 18, 2008 -- The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice & Attorney General of Canada, today announced $40 million in additional federal funding for a renewed national Aboriginal Justice Strategy (AJS). This enhanced funding will bring the total federal investment in the AJS to approximately $85 million by 2012.

“The Aboriginal Justice Strategy builds on this Government’s commitment to reduce and prevent crime, strengthen the justice system and promote safer communities,” said Minister Nicholson. “It is a successful program that helps steer Aboriginal people away from a lifestyle of crime, provides hope and opportunity for Aboriginal youth and helps end cycles of violence.”

The Aboriginal Justice Strategy, a cost-shared initiative with the provinces and territories, provides funding for community-based justice programs that aim to reduce rates of crime and incarceration among Aboriginal people and assists them in assuming greater responsibility and accountability for the local administration of justice within their communities.

These programs provide justice services to more than 400 Aboriginal communities across Canada, helping to hold offenders accountable for their actions, increase awareness of victims’ issues and promote greater youth connection with Aboriginal culture and traditions. Over time, they have helped reduce the number of Aboriginal people coming into conflict with the justice system.

Today’s enhanced funding will focus on the needs of youth, Aboriginal people in northern or remote communities and those living in urban centres.

More information on the Aboriginal Justice Strategy is available through the Department of Justice Canada website at http://canada.justice.gc.ca/eng/index.html.

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Ref.:

Darren Eke
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621

Media Relations
Department of Justice
613-957-4207