Gladue Factors and Gladue Submissions

One of the most important things a judge must consider in sentencing an Indigenous person are their personal circumstances as an Indigenous person. The Criminal Code requires judges to consider all reasonable sentencing options other than jail and to give "particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders". The case of R. v. Gladue was the first case where the Supreme Court of Canada talked about what that meant. Gladue factors must be considered any time an Indigenous person is being sentenced, including for things like a breach of a condition.

Judges consider how things like how the history and legacy of colonialism and residential schools have impacted Indigenous people, both in communities and individually. They look at things like family dynamics, addictions issues, lack of housing in communities, etc. Judges can take general notice of some of these factors without direct evidence but it is often helpful for judges to understand your personal situation. The Supreme Court has said that if these factors are the reason the person got into trouble, the court must consider whether incarceration is in the best interests of the person and their community or whether a different type of sentence would be more effective and meaningful.

It is important to know that you do not have to share all of your story or your circumstances if you do not want to. If you choose to do so, we have information on how to get your personal story before the court below.

Request a Referral for a Gladue Submission

You or your lawyer can contact the Integrated Justice Program and ask them to prepare a Gladue Submission (sometimes called a "Gladue Report" for you. The Integrated Justice Program is an independent organization with a team of Indigenous writer and interviewers. They prepare Gladue Submissions for Indigenous people in Saskatchewan for free. They will interview you and other people in your life in order to write the Gladue Submission.

You can fill out a referral form or request more information at https://integratedjusticeprogram.com/.

The Program does not have a large staff and it may take some time to get a response from the Program and to have your Gladue Submission completed.

Write Your Own Gladue Submission

Legal Aid Saskatchewan has a Gladue Submission Guide that can help you to prepare your own detailed Gladue Submission. The Guide gives you a structure and questions to answer and think about as you tell your own story. You can do it all on your own or you can have someone help you to complete it. Since you are doing it yourself, you can control how long it takes to complete. Visit Legal Aid to learn more at https://legalaid.sk.ca/community-resources/gladue/.

Without a Formal Written Submission

If you are in custody, you may not wish to wait to prepare a more detailed submission if you feel that you have a good chance of being released or want to start serving your sentence and not remain on remand. In those cases, you or your lawyer may simply tell the court what you want the judge to know about your circumstances and the circumstances of the offence or alleged offence in the case of a bail hearing. This information can include Gladue factors and the court must consider those factors, just as it would in the case of a more detailed submission. Keep in mind that this type of submission does not provide the court with the same detail or insight into your story.

As Part of a Pre-Sentence or Bail Verification Report

You can rely on a Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) or Bail Verification Report (BVR). PSRs and BVRs are usually written by probation officers or youth workers who will talk to you but also to your family members or other people in your life. Probation officers and youth workers receive training on how to apply Gladue principles and will include some of these factors in these reports. However, it is important to know that these reports are not the same as a detailed Gladue Submission. They are much broader and their main goal is not necessarily to tell your story. They often include some type of assessment of your risk to re-offend or your risk to breach release conditions and sometimes those same Gladue factors can be considered risk factors in a PSR or a BVR. They also usually provide some type of recommendation about sentence or release. A BVR can often be completed in a week while a PSR can take up to 6 weeks.

If a judge who receives a PSR or BVR thinks it hasn't considered Gladue factors enough, the judge has the power to order another report, including a full Gladue Submission. If you or your lawyer do not think a PSR or BVR has considered Gladue factors enough, you can also ask that more be done, or you can make those submissions yourself.