Using Section 24(1) Charter Damages to Remedy Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System

• Author: Gabriella Jamieson
• Position: BFA (Fordham), JD (University of Victoria), articling student with the Department of Justice, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Pages: 71-96

APPEALVOLUME 22

n

71

ARTICLE

USING SECTION 241 CHARTER DAMAGES

TO REMEDY RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Gabriella Jamieson*

CITED: (2017) 22 Appeal 71

INTRODUCTION..................................................72

I. RACIAL DISCRIMINATION: A REAL ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO

BEREMEDIED..................................................73

A. e Nature of Racial Discrimination ................................73

B. e Extent of the Problem ........................................74

i. e Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution ........74

ii. Recent Manifestations and Charter Violations ......................75

II. “A RIGHT, NO MATTER HOW EXPANSIVE IN THEORY, IS ONLY AS

MEANINGFUL AS THE REMEDY PROVIDED FOR ITS BREACH” .....76

A. Charter Damages: What Are ey and Can ey Remedy the Harm? .......76

B. Charter Damages Are Not a Panacea ................................78

III. WARD AND THE TEST FOR CHARTER DAMAGES ...................79

A. Introduction: Ward through the Courts ..............................79

B. e Ward Test .................................................79

C. Post-Ward: Henry ...............................................81

IV. THE CURRENTWARD TEST, APPLIED TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION82

A. Step One: Establishing a Charter Breach .............................82

i. Which Rights Ground Charter damages? ..........................82

ii. What Proof is Required? ......................................84

iii. A Shifting Burden in the Future? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

iv. Other Challenges in Proving a Charter Breach rough Discrimination ..86

B. Step Two: e Functional Justication of Damages .....................86

i. Compensation..............................................87

ii. Vindication ................................................87

iii. Deterrence.................................................88

C. Step ree: Countervailing Factors..................................88

i. Alternative Remedies .........................................89

ii. Good Governance Concerns in Ward .............................90

iii. Good Governance Concerns since Ward: Chilling Eects and

TortComparisons ...........................................90

iv. e Impact on Racial Discrimination Claims.......................93

D. STEP FOUR: QUANTUM OF DAMAGES ...........................94

CONCLUSION ....................................................95

72

n

APPEALVOLUME 22

INTRODUCTION

Systemic racism is present in our cri minal justice system a nd it has wide-reaching har mful

impacts.1 e consequences of racial discrimination are severe and can include physical

and psychological ha rm, isolation, alienation, mistrust , behavioural adaptations, da mage

to family and soci al networks, and the over-incarceration of racial mi nor itie s.2

Many approaches are required to address and correct the issue of systemic racial

discrimination.3 Potential approac hes to meaningf ul change include: cu ltural competency

training rel ating to unconscious bias, implementing monitoring system s, providing more

resourcing to Gladue workers, increa sing funding for specialized c ourts, and appointing

more racially- and cultu rally-diverse judges. Without detracting f rom the importance of

these initiatives and others, this paper explores the use of damage awards pursuant to

section 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms4as an avenue of relief for

individuals ha rmed by racial discrimination who ca nnot access other remedies available

in the crimina l trial process or tort law.

e paper addresses this topic in ve parts. Part I intro duces the systemic and his toric al

nature of racial discrimination. Part II discusses the nature of section 24(1) Charter

damages a nd why they may provide an appropriate remedy for Charter violations caused

by racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. W hile not a perfect or complete

remedy, Charter damages can provide relief to individuals who face discrimination and

can “clarify the law so as to prevent similar future breaches.”5 Part III canvasses the

seminal decision on section 24(1) damages: Vancouver (City) v Ward.6Part IV covers

the recent decision in Henry v British Columbia (AG)7and remarks on how it impacted

the test for Charter damages, with comments on Ernst v Alberta Energy Regulator.8

Part V considers how to approach a claim for C harter damages resulting from racial

discrimination.

* BFA (Fordham), JD (University of Victori a), articling student with the Depar tment of Justice,

Vancouver, British Columbia. The opini ons expressed in this article are my ow n and do not

necessarily reec t those of the Department of Jus tice or the Government of Canada. This pa per

arose out of the 2016 Criminal Law Term at the University of V ictoria, Faculty of Law. Many

thanks to CLT Professors Gerr y Ferguson and Michelle Lawrence, and my fe llow classmates for

their insightful ideas an d constant support.

1 David M . Tanovich, “The Charter of Whiteness: Twenty- Five Years of Maintaining Racial Injustice

in the Canadian Criminal Justi ce System” (2008) 40:2 Sup Ct Rev 656 at 661 [Tanovich, “Charter

ofWhiteness”].

2 Ibid.

3 Ranjan Agar wal & Joseph Marcus, “Whe re There is no Remedy, There is No Right: Usin g

CharterDamages to Compe nsate Victims of Racial Proling” (2015) 34:1 NJCL 75 at 79 [Agarwal

&Marcus].

4 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to

the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c11, s ection 24(1) [Charter].

5 Ernst v Albe rta Energy Regulator, 2017 SCC 1 at para 30, Cromwell J [Ernst].

6 Vancouver (City) v Ward, 2010 SCC 27 [Ward].

7 Henry v British Columbia (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 24 [Henry].

8 Ernst, su pra note 5.