A B.C. judge says our courts need to deal with non-Indigenous offenders trying to game the system, warning that a ‘tsunami’ of Indigenous identity fraud is coming, driven by convicted criminals seeking smaller sentences.
“A tsunami is coming; driven by the desire of non-Indigenous people to get what they perceive to be the benefits of identifying as Indigenous,” wrote Judge David Patterson in a recent Prince Rupert ruling.
Patterson says Crown and defence came up with an ‘unduly lenient’ joint submission for the former Baptist Associate Pastor Nathan Legault, who was convicted of making and possessing child **rnography, based on Legault’s newfound Indigeneity.
Patterson found Legault’s claims of Indigeneity baseless but reluctantly agreed to the joint submission that allowed the 30-year-old man to avoid hard jail time. But not before calling on the courts to deal with non-Indigenous offenders falsely claiming Indigenous identity.
“I am of the view that the only way to give meaning to the Supreme Court of Canada’s teaching…is for judges to be alive to the issue of Indigenous identity fraud and require some proof that satisfies the court that the person being sentenced is entitled to be sentenced as an Indigenous person,” Patterson said as he handed Legault a conditional sentence of two years less a day.
Patterson’s concerns around Indigenous identity fraud arise from a Supreme Court of Canada decision known as Gladue — which requires judges to pay “particular attention” to the circumstances of Indigenous offenders to achieve a “truly fit and proper sentence.”
https://www.cheknews...courts-1195707/