Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada

by Harold R. Johnson

An urgent, informed, intimate condemnation of the Canadian state and its failure to deliver justice to Indigenous people by national bestselling author and former Crown prosecutor Harold R. Johnson.

"The night of the decision in the Gerald Stanley trial for the murder of Colten Boushie, I received a text message from a retired provincial court judge. He was feeling ashamed for his time in a system that was so badly tilted. I too feel this way about my time as both defence counsel and as a Crown prosecutor; that I didn't have the courage to stand up in the court room and shout 'Enough is enough.' This book is my act of taking responsibility for what I did, for my actions and inactions." --Harold R. Johnson

In early 2018, the failures of Canada's justice system were sharply and painfully revealed in the verdicts issued in the deaths of Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine. The outrage and confusion that followed those verdicts inspired former Crown prosecutor and bestselling author Harold R. Johnson to make the case against Canada for its failure to fulfill its duty under Treaty to effectively deliver justice to Indigenous people, worsening the situation and ensuring long-term damage to Indigenous communities.

In this direct, concise, and essential volume, Harold R. Johnson examines the justice system's failures to deliver "peace and good order" to Indigenous people. He explores the part that he understands himself to have played in that mismanagement, drawing on insights he has gained from the experience; insights into the roots and immediate effects of how the justice system has failed Indigenous people, in all the communities in which they live; and insights into the struggle for peace and good order for Indigenous people now.

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous, Canada, History, Politics, Law, Race

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2019

About the author

Born and raised in Northern Saskatchewan, Harold Johnson has a Master of Law degree from Harvard University. He has served in the Canadian Navy, and worked in mining and logging. Johnson is the author of five novels and one work of non-fiction, which are largely set in northern Saskatchewan against a background of traditional Cree mythology. The Cast Stone (2011) won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction.

Johnson practiced law as a Crown Prosecutor in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, and balanced that with operating his family's traditional trap line using a dog team.

Johnson died in early February, 2022.

Reviews

[CanadianReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

On August 9, 2016, Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man from the Red Pheasant First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, was shot by a 56-year-old white farmer. Boushie had spent the day swimming with four (Indigenous) friends. On the drive home, a tire on their vehicle received a puncture from a culvert. The group pulled over at a nearby farm. Two of Boushie’s friends got out of the vehicle to seek help. They ended up running instead. Gerald Stanley, the farmer, and his son believed the young people were there to steal an all-terrain vehicle. Stanley grabbed a semi-automatic handgun from a shed and fired warning shots. There are conflicting reports about what happened next. One of the friends testified in court that Stanley intentionally shot Colten in the head. Stanley’s account differed: when he lunged at the young people’s vehicle to pull the keys from the ignition, the gun went off accidentally, he said. His bullet ended the life of Colten Boushie.

The jury, made up of 12 whites, chose to believe the farmer. In February, 2018, he was found not guilty of killing the young Indigenous man. “Gerald Stanley,” writes Harold Johnson in the powerful introduction to his book, “used deadly force to protect his property, and the law decided that was okay.” It was not okay, and as Johnson’s book makes clear, things have not been okay for Indigenous people facing the Canadian justice system for some time.

Harold Johnson is a member of Montreal Lake Cree Nation. He’s also a writer, a graduate of Harvard Law School, and a retired Crown prosecutor, who spent a good part of his career working in “the high-crime communities of northern Saskatchewan.” His book, Peace and Good Order, is a response to Colten Boushie’s case and innumerable other examples of failed Canadian “justice”, some of which he holds himself accountable for. At the time of the decision in the Gerald Stanley trial, one of Johnson’s friends, a retired Caucasian provincial court judge, told him that the case shamefully drove home just “how stacked the system is against Indigenous Canadians.”

Johnson cites a number of telling statistics up front, a few of which I’m listing here:

• Although Indigenous people comprise only 4.3% of Canada’s population, they represent 28% of the total federal in-custody population;
• The Indigenous inmate population in Canada increased by 42.8% from March 2009 to March 2018;
• The province of Saskatchewan has the highest crime rate in Canada, and it incarcerates more youth per capita than any other province;
• In 2015-2016, Saskatchewan had a daily average of 1,812 people in custody. Of those, 1,378 or 76% of them were Indigenous, yet Indigenous Peoples account for only 16.3% of Saskatchewan’s population overall;
• While the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world (with more than 700 of every 100,000 people in prison), the incarceration rate of the Indigenous population in Saskatchewan is even higher than that: about 786 out of every 100,000.
• According to a 2002 report from Canada’s Solicitor General, incarceration does not reduce crime. In fact, harsher penalties were found to increase the likelihood that offenders would commit crimes in the future.

Johnson looks at a number of factors behind the high rates of Indigenous crime and incarceration. As a defense lawyer and then a prosecutor he’s seen a lot. Almost all offences committed by Indigenous people are fuelled by trauma and alcohol, he says. Regarding the latter, we’re not talking about compulsive drinkers—that is, alcoholics—but about basically good people who do terrible, stupid things when they drink. Johnson personally knows whereof he speaks. He has lost two brothers to drunk drivers.

One night, Hillary Cook, an Indigenous man grieving the loss of his wife, drank himself almost into oblivion; he got into his truck, and he hit Johnson’s brother Garry, who was walking home after babysitting his grandchildren. At the driver’s trial, Johnson spoke powerfully about Garry’s life, but he argued that Hillary, a good man, should not be incarcerated. Redemption—making amends and healing the wounds one has caused—is the Indigenous way of justice. If Hillary remained in the community, he could assist with the care of Brennan, a difficult-to-manage young man with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, whom Garry had been looking after. Hillary could help teach the younger members of Garry’s family how to live off the land, and he could also care for his own vulnerable teenaged granddaughter who had been living with him since her friend had committed suicide. But no: the judge sentenced Hillary to three years in prison. During that time, Brennan also ended up behind bars.

Johnson packs a great deal into his brief, thought-provoking book. I feel I really can’t do it justice. Particularly interesting to me were Johnson’s reflections on historical treaties between First Nations and the Crown. Some Indigenous people and legal experts (including Johnson, who is both) find that Canadian common law, rooted in British common law, carries legal notions of private property that are incompatible with Indigenous legal traditions and the Aboriginal understanding of the reciprocal relationship between humans and the land. The idea of owning the earth would have been incomprehensible to the First Nations’ signatories of these treaties. Pointing to the 1996 report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples which recommended that federal, provincial, and territorial governments recognize the right of Aboriginal nations to establish and administer their own systems of justice, Johnson advocates for Indigenous people reclaiming jurisdiction. The dominant culture’s legal system is based not on rehabilitation and redemption, but on deterrence. Statistics prove it doesn’t work: recidivism rates are extremely high. Johnson writes convincingly about the ways in which prisons have replaced residential schools. He shows how incarceration only breeds more incarceration. After months or years in prison, people are returned to their communities more broken and dysfunctional than they were when they left; they frequently reoffend. Reclamation of jurisdiction needs to happen soon, Johnson writes, as the increasing violence and hopelessness in Indigenous communities and the growing rates of incarceration are pointing to a terrible end: extermination.

[Joshua Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had an indigenous friend who is a former RCMP officer and is now an articling law student recommend this book to me and it is excellent. It’s concise and while it does not shirk from tough subjects, neither is it overly aggressive in its stance. I feel much more educated about the relationship between indigenous peoples in Canada and the Canadian justice system.

I think everyone would benefit from reading this (fairly short) book. I’m surprised something like this isn’t taught in high schools across Canada.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tricky book to "review" because there are two ways of approaching it. In terms of messaging, content, ideology, it's a 5-star book. This is important stuff and more people need to be in the know about it. However, when you consider it as a piece of work I have some problems with it, most notably Johnson's inability to name sources/provide evidence for many of his claims. He makes a lot of--apparently, to him--self-evident statements, but they're not quite. He should provide more information that proves what he's saying, but he fails to do so all the time. I'm not saying he's making these things up--I'll take his word on good faith--but his points could hold up to scrutiny better if he provided more evidence/data/context for some of the things he's talking about.

Nevertheless, the message is *important* here.

[Kalin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as an ARC for Harold Johnson's new memoir/essay collection regarding his time spent working professionally in the criminal justice system in Saskatchewan. The book offers Johnson's typical plainspoken and clear writing style, breaking down complex issues through anecdote and story into easily understandable chapters. He spends most of the book recounting moments of his legal practice -- either as a defense lawyer or as prosecutor -- and drawing from them broader insights into the nature of racism, inequality, and oppression carried out by Canada's punitive/deterrence-based justice system. In his conclusion he acknowledges his proposals for change are nothing new, and even that they've been talked about ad nauseum for decades by insiders, but that they still need to be put into practice, largely by indigenous communities without permission from the Canadian state: restoring indigenous sovereignty and jurisdiction over justice procedures, with an emphasis on redemption and restoration.

[S. Kallahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed by the book. I wasn't sure what to do with the "this is our problem and we need to fix it on our own" suggestion implied by some of the comments. It's not that I disagree; it's not my place, but I worry about the consequences that position invites. Imagine a bunch of Canadian policy makers standing by the sidelines hearing this and going "Oh! Okay, sure. We'll just back right down and let you take care of the whole thing. We have no problem with that!"

[Katie Goulet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peace and Good Order is a short read that is packed with compelling and eye opening anecdotes from Johnson, whose perspective on the justice system in Canada and the treatment of
Indigenous people is very unique. Highly recommend!

[Bry · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You are never going to find solutions if you continue to have conversations about us without us.”

A poignant and direct critique of Canada’s failed attempt at a justice system for Indigenous Peoples. A must-read for any Canadian.

[Sadie Ruin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really think this book should be mandatory Canadian reading.
Solid non-fiction about the justice system and indigenous people in Canada.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harold Johnson is a clear voice of reason on incredibly uncomfortable topics. A quick read but well worth taking your time with.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

“To say that law and justice have failed Indigenous Peoples in Canada is a vast understatement. Law and justice appear to be the tools employed to continue the forced subjugation of an entire population.”
Harold Johnson is from Montreal Lake Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan and has worked as a Crown prosecutor amongst other things. This book is him “taking responsibility, for has actions and inactions.”
Really interesting content and condemnation of the current justice system from someone who has seen both sides, working within it and seeing the effect on Indigenous communities. I would’ve enjoyed it even more if the writing throughout had flowed a bit better.

[Steve Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely phenomenal exposure to the inner workings of the Canadian justice system and how it is not only failing, but making situations worse for this countries Indigenous people's. As much a self-meditation of one's actions as a explanation of possible ways forward. I have spent time in the north and seen the consequences of our justice system. Honestly nothing could be any worse at addressing these special circumstances then our current system.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was outstanding!

One of the best Indigenous reads I have read recently.

Extremely important read - very strong book on Indigenous justice.

Would recommend to all. Very impactful book.

4.8/5

[Mitchell Brhelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Insightful and thought provoking, though it's still not clear what the answers are to some of these long-standing issues.

[Jennifer M · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The more we rely on incarceration, the more we are forced to incarcerate.” I listened to this on audio book (which I do recommend) but I think it deserves a reread in physical format so I can spend more time sitting with the ideas presented here. This book made me uncomfortable, and rightly so. As someone who has spent 6 years studying in the post-secondary environment, and almost 7 years working on the admin side of various universities, the reflection on law school as a gatekeeper rather than bridge to the profession, implicitly and explicitly designed to limit access, was easy to extrapolate to academia as a whole and left me with much food for thought on my own experience as a student, teaching assistant, and administrator. It is easy to see why I personally connected most to this first section of the book as my experience with the justice system is limited and indirect at best, which in the context of this work is a privilege as a white settler Canadian I need to spend more time thinking critically about.

[Gaelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to give this 4.5 stars, because it's an excellent book and i worry about being too liberal with my 5 star ratings, but goodreads doesn't want me to split hairs.

This is really the kind of book i find useful to read, because it combines information and autobiography. I always find it easier to absorb and embrace things like this than, say, something that just laid out the facts and ideas that Harold Johnson lays out without that personal aspect. That's just me, but i read a lot of memoires.

So, what we have here is a Cree man, a former crown prosecutor, and he is talking about the impact the Canadian justice system has had in northern ( specifically Saskatchewan) indigenous communities....and he knows what the fuck he's talking about from multiple different directions, so it's very worth reading if you are at all uncertain about the subject. It's also very interesting. Profoundly interesting. Johnson is an engaging writer. I have never met him, but I imagine that when he speaks your impulse is very much to listen. And because it is so interesting considering the perspectives he brings with him is easy, even if you have never thought about it like that before.

[Lynda Erlandson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-researched book written by someone who knows our legal system well. It was easy to read and very clear. I agree that it's time to try a new system for justice for all people.

[Rennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Johnson has a powerful voice and the courage to describe the issues that are causing harm to indigenous people. We should be putting more resources into the quality of life and sense of community that will create the hope that might reduce crime rather than continually building more prisons. My only complaint is in the omission of the fact that all families in poverty experience a very similar series of events that also have an impact on multiple generations.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all. Our justice system in Canada is in dire need of reform. The evidence speaks for itself, our system is biased against Indigenous peoples and it is causing greater harm at alarming rates. Prompt action is required to make change. I respect the author's first hand knowledge and lived experience, his cultural rights and beliefs, his proven, evidence based solutions for change. Let us all listen and act.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for the Writer's Festival Preview class. I am not sure if I would have picked it up to read if it was not on the list. However, it is an eye-opener. Johnson offers very solid statements and statistics regarding the treatment of indigenous peoples who end up in the Canadian justice system. It is no secret that the Canadian justice system is flawed. A major overhaul is needed. While Johnson makes valid observations and suggestions for dealing with indigenous people, it is just one part of all that needs to be changed.

[Scott Wall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A scathing indictment of Canadian law practices and the ways they continue to hurt indigenous peoples. I found the references to the early 20th century particularly troubling, along with the incriminating data around the dramatic/disproportional increase in incarceration of indigenous men in the last 50 yrs.
The final chapter is a great summary of steps that can be taken toward both indigenous autonomy in adjudicating justice AND settler reckoning with misguided practice and ignorance.

[Bennison Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book had been published before I began law school because its insights are crucial. It offers a succinct, constructive critique of the Canadian justice system written in accessible language. It is also a quick read. A must read, even for those who don't interact much with the legal system in their day-to-day lives.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean it’s not acab but it’s pretty close - a must read for settler canadians

[Andy Pandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly straight-up and unvarnished truth from the sort of voice we desperately need more of. Pulls no punches.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A call for an indigenous justice system. Such a timely and necessary book. It was a short yet thoughtful look at racism and it’s impact on justice.

[Roni Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for everyone involved in the Canadian justice system.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, informative & important.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is an excellent examination of the Canadian justice system and its relation with Indigenous peoples.

4.5/5

Happy Reading, everybody!

[Jane Mulkewich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Every Canadian who cares at all about the criminal justice system, let alone the criminal justice system as experienced by indigenous people, should read this book. It is a short book and you can read it fairly quickly. The impetus for the book starts when Gerald Stanley was found not guilty for killing Colten Boushie. At the time of that decision (in 2018), Harold Johnson was already retired from his years of first being a criminal defence lawyer and then a Crown prosecutor; he is now living on the family trapline with his wife. The Stanley case spurred him to write this indictment of how our justice system is working for indigenous people in Canada. As a lawyer, who has myself practiced some criminal law, including representing many indigenous accused people, I have to agree with his observations. Starting with his observations about law school: "But law school is not about teaching law. Law school is about making sure undesirable people do not enter the legal profession.... Law school is not the bridge into the profession. It's the gate. It is there to keep people out. It's there to make sure poor people, women, Indigenous Peoples, single parents and other marginalized people do not make it through. It is designed by and for wealthy single white males". He goes on to talk about indigenous communities, with the trauma, and the violence, and the alcohol, and the impact of the Gladue principles on sentencing criminal offenders. "They go through the list: poverty, dislocated community, unemployment, addictions, colonialism, family breakdown, residential school, violence, sexual and physical abuse and foster homes By the time defence counsel has finished, everyone believes that the offender is the victim and we all forget about the people who have been hurt by this person's actions. The worst part is, we have now convinced the offender that he is a victim. It's not his fault. He acted the way he did because of colonialism, failed government policy, unemployment, residential school and poverty. And if it wasn't his fault, then he does not need to make amends". He discloses that he was sexually assaulted by an older man in his community, and then by a schoolteacher, when he was about ten years old. He then describes the process he would have to go through if he wanted to take these decades-old crimes to court. "The best that the courts can do if the two men are convicted of committing sexual assault is to sentence them to jail. Jail doesn't help me. ... Once I have finished testifying, the court will throw me back to fend for myself. It will have provided me with nothing and it will have made my situation worse. I am a man and I am well educated, I am very familiar with how the court work, and I would not want to go through the process." He talks about alcohol. "The stereotype of the lazy drunken Indian is simply false. In fact there are, per capita, more Indigenous people in Canada who are completely abstinent than there are among the non-Indigenous population. Thirty-five percent of Indigenous people in Canada do not use alcohol at all, compared with only 18 percent of Canadians. Most Indigenous people are sober most of the time." He tells the story of the death of his own brother, killed by an intoxicated driver, who was grieving the death of his own wife. He was sent to jail, but jail provided no opportunity for restitution, and that process of making amends is only just beginning now. He talks about jail culture. "Residential schools were dedicated to the eradication of Indigenous culture. To an extent they were successful, but merely erasing a culture didn't finish the process. A new culture was needed to replace the one that was erased. Jails accomplish this." "Many Indigenous youths who have never experienced our traditional culture now believe that jailhouse culture is our culture. It has become normal. Canada's over-reliance on incarceration has made the situation of Indigenous Peoples in this country worse. Peace and good order in our communities has become merely a faint hope." This book is an apology for the author's role in the over-incarceration of Indigenous Peoples, and a call to action. "I am convinced that the justice system is making our existence worse. We can no longer wait for Canada or the provinces to make changes.... We have to do it ourselves. ... Whatever we do, we have to do it soon. The trajectory of increased incarceration, violence, hopelessness and death points increasingly toward our extermination. We cannot wait."

[Brit Sippola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

I have lots of thoughts, but the main one is: this is a great book that has changed the way I look at justice in Canada. Really fascinating.

[Sue Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this, about the justice system in general, and about a different way of looking at it. Highly recommended.