Advancing justice

Maytree Foundation

This podcast is part of a series that explores the interface between human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system. In each episode, you will hear from researchers and practitioners to deepen your understanding of the issues and explore the historical roots of the present-day realities, the challenges associated with the lack of race-based data, issues specific to Indigenous communities, lack of access to justice, as well as potential solutions and promising practices. -------------- Law Society of Ontario Accredited EDI: This program contains 3 hours and 35 minutes of EDI Professionalism content. -------------- Find full transcripts of the conversations, other contributions to the series, and links to resources on the Maytree website at https://maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

Episodes

  1. 02/24/2022

    Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian Criminal Justice System: in conversation with Laura Arndt

    For our eighth episode of “Advancing justice,” we will examine the relationships between human rights, racism, and the criminal justice system from the perspective of Indigenous people. --------- Approved EDI Professionalism: 0 hour(s) and 30 minute(s) Accreditation Criteria Session Approved Under: 6.0 --------- Joining Maytree president Elizabeth McIsaac for this discussion is Laura Arndt. Laura Arndt can speak to these issues from many perspectives. Laura is a Mohawk woman. She is a daughter, niece, and granddaughter of Indian Residential School survivors. Laura is the former Director of Strategic Development at the Office of the Ontario Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth and is currently completing her PhD in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University. Laura is the Chair of Indigenous Studies at Centennial College but has taken a secondment from that role to be the Chief Operating Officer of the Survivor’s Secretariat which is investigating the unmarked graves associated with the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School near Brantford Ontario. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. You can read her contribution to the Advancing justice series, Indigenous Peoples and the Injustice of Justice,” at https://maytree.com/publications/indigenous-peoples/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at https://maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

    31 min
  2. 09/15/2021

    Transforming justice: Towards accessibility and accountability

    For our third episode of “Advancing justice,” we’re pleased to welcome Sabreena Delhon. Sabreena is the Executive Director of the Samara Centre for Democracy. She is an experienced public sector leader with a proven track record of directing multi-stakeholder research and outreach initiatives across justice, academic, and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining Samara, Sabreena was the principal of Signal Strategies and held senior roles at the Law Society of Ontario. She is a Fellow at Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and Visiting Fellow at Massey College. --------- Approved EDI Professionalism: 0 hour(s) and 20 minute(s) Accreditation Criteria Session Approved Under: 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 --------- In our conversation, Sabreena talks about why this is a crucial time to advocate for major overhauls to key components of the justice system. Advocates must seize this opportunity to call for justice policies that are responsive to the public's lived experience and to press for investment in justice reform. Yet, as she writes in her contribution to the series, the majority of mainstream efforts aiming to improve access to justice across Canada are stagnating because the organizations behind them suffer from an entrenched diversity problem. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

    20 min
  3. 08/19/2021

    The complexity of collecting race-based data in the criminal justice system

    For our second episode of “Advancing justice,” we’re pleased to welcome Dr. Mai Phan. Mai is a data expert who is passionate about data equity, social justice, equity, and human rights. She has more than 20 years of experience teaching, researching, developing, and leading initiatives to address systemic barriers and promote inclusive practices and policies in public sector organizations. --------- Approved EDI Professionalism: 0 hour(s) and 15 minute(s) Accreditation Criteria Session Approved Under: 6.0 --------- Mai is currently supporting the Toronto Police Service's Race and Identity-Based Data Collection Strategy, an anti-racism data initiative. Previously, she was a senior research and policy advisor at the Anti-Racism Directorate at the province of Ontario, where she led the development of the Ontario Anti-Racism Data Standards and provided strategic advice to public sector organizations regulated to collect race-based data under the Anti-Racism Act. In our conversation, Mai talks about the importance of collecting race-based data to address systemic issues in the criminal justice system and what we need to consider before we collect and use race-based data to inform the work to achieve public safety and justice. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

    16 min
  4. 07/21/2021

    Understanding the impact of racism, colonialism, and poverty on Canada’s criminal justice system

    To begin our series on human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system in Canada, we're pleased to welcome Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah. Akwasi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto and a Senior Fellow at Massey College. He holds Affiliate Scientist status at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and serves as Director of Research for the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty. Akwasi’s work examines the intersections of race, crime, and criminal justice with a particular focus on the area of policing. --------- Approved EDI Professionalism: 0 hour(s) and 35 minute(s) Accreditation Criteria Session Approved Under: 6.3 --------- In this podcast, Akwasi explores the historical roots of racism in the criminal justice system. In particular, he talks about how racism and colonialism have contributed to the social and economic inequalities and discrimination experienced by Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in Canada, and in turn shaped their interactions with the criminal justice system. Please note that in the following conversation, Akwasi uses the term “our” when referring to Indigenous and Black communities. This use is not intended to indicate possession. Rather, the term should be understood within the context of community membership. You find an edited transcript of the conversation, other contributions to the series, and links to resources on the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

    36 min

About

This podcast is part of a series that explores the interface between human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system. In each episode, you will hear from researchers and practitioners to deepen your understanding of the issues and explore the historical roots of the present-day realities, the challenges associated with the lack of race-based data, issues specific to Indigenous communities, lack of access to justice, as well as potential solutions and promising practices. -------------- Law Society of Ontario Accredited EDI: This program contains 3 hours and 35 minutes of EDI Professionalism content. -------------- Find full transcripts of the conversations, other contributions to the series, and links to resources on the Maytree website at https://maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.