What are Gladue factors?

Gladue principles apply to sentencing hearings. Every court must apply the Gladue principles even if it’s not a Gladue Court. This means a judge must look at an Indigenous person’s background and the impact of discrimination on them when deciding what sentence is appropriate. Jail should always be a last resort for Indigenous people.

Examples of Gladue factors include:

Are you or someone in your family a residential school survivor?
Are you or someone in your family affected by the “Sixties Scoop”, where the government removed Indigenous children from their homes?
Were you put in a foster home or involved in the child protection system?
Have you or someone in your family experienced poverty?
Have you or someone in your family experienced racism, trauma, childhood abuse, violence, or addictions?

Gladue principles apply to anyone who self-identifies as Indigenous, Metis, First Nations, Aboriginal, or Inuit. It doesn’t matter if you live on or off reserve, or if you have a status card.

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