Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial Benjamin Perrin

Powerful. Unflinching. Visionary. Hear Indigenous lawyer and author Harold Johnson (1957-2022) deliver his final public lecture powerfully indicting the Canadian criminal justice system and making an impassioned case for Indigenous justice. A member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation, Harold was a Harvard-trained Crown prosecutor and criminal defence lawyer who quit practising law because of the harm it was causing Indigenous people. Instead, he devoted the rest of his life to advocating for Indigenous justice and developing and implementing initiatives to bring healing and restoration in Indigenous communities. This special episode was recorded live on November 8, 2021 at the UBC Peter A. Allard School of Law in Vancouver as Harold spoke to the entire first year class. Harold Johnson passed away three months later on February 9, 2022. His legacy and words live on.

Why do police disproportionately kill individuals in mental health distress? Myles Gray was killed by Vancouver police - ruled a homicide in May 2023 by a coroner's inquest jury. His sister Melissa shares her family's ordeal, advocating for justice for Myles and 24/7 non-police mobile crisis response teams. UBC law professor Benjamin Perrin shares the latest research and makes an impassioned call to action. This special episode is recorded from a live event on November 9, 2023, moderated by CTV's Ben Miljure.

What happens when a racial profiling researcher is himself stopped by police for no reason at all and “carded”? Julius Haag shares about his personal experiences with Toronto police and his research into racism in the criminal justice system: how Black people are simultaneously over-policed and under-protected.

As a 60s Scoop survivor who survived physical and sexual abuse, "Angeline" was disbelieved and denied protection by the police - a repeated pattern throughout their life. These experiences totally destroyed their trust in the police, which is a sentiment shared by many other Indigenous people.

Narrowly surviving a suicide attempt, multiple overdoses and rampant prison violence, “Duncan” is blessed to be alive. He shares how prison and punishment exacerbated his challenges with substance use, mental health issues, childhood trauma, unemployment and homelessness. And how a friend stepped into his life at just the right moment.

World-renowned trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté, author of "The Myth of Normal", exposes how our criminal justice system gets it horribly wrong by exacerbating trauma, and what we need to do differently. He shares about his frontline experiences in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and being a witness himself in a criminal trial.