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

APPEAL VOLUME 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: War d through the Courts ..............................79

B. e War d Test .................................................79

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

IV. THE CURRENT WARD TEST, APPLIED TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION 82

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 War d: Chilling Eects and

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

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

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

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

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APPEAL VOLUME 22

INTRODUCTION

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

impacts.1 e consequence s of racial discrim ination are severe and ca n 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 a ddress and correct the is sue of systemic racial

discri mination.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 a nd others, this paper explores t he use of damage awa rds pursuant to

section 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Free doms4 as 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 t his topic in ve parts. Part I intro duc es the systemic and his toric al

nature of racial d iscrimination. Part II d iscusses the natu re of section 24(1) Charter

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

by racial discri mination in the crimin al justice system. W hile not a perfect or complete

remedy, Charter dama ges can provide relief to indiv iduals who face discr imination and

can “clarif y the law so as to prevent similar f uture breaches.”5 Part III canva sses the

seminal decision on sect ion 24(1) da mages: Vancouver (City) v Ward.6 Part I V covers

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

the test for Charter damage s, with comments on Ernst v Albert a Energy Regul ator.8

Part V considers how to approach a claim for C harter dama ges resulting from racia l

discri mination.

* 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 [Henr y].

8 Ernst, su pra note 5.