The Supreme Court of Canada has tried to resolve competing judicial imperatives — addressing Indigenous overincarceration and high rates of violence against Indigenous women — in cases when a male offender and a female victim are both Indigenous.
The complexity and importance of this tension was highlighted by 22 groups being granted intervenor status to offer input in the case, including the attorneys general of three provinces, First Nations and Indigenous organizations, law groups, and numerous human rights, civil liberties and constitutional advocacy organizations.
