Len Marchand is by his own admission a “cup half full kind of guy.”

Marchand recently delivered the annual Feeney Lecture, named after the founding dean of the Common Law Section Thomas Feeney.

The Chief Justice, a member of the Syilx Nation, said Indigenous incarceration rates remain “stubbornly and grotesquely high”, and that apprehension rates of Indigenous children far surpass those of their non-Indigenous peers.

“I know this can be dispiriting,” he said in his lecture, which explored the critical interplay between pluralism and inclusion in advancing reconciliation in Canada.

“Clearly, we have some heavy lifting to do to demonstrate we have a justice system for all. But I am optimistic we can make real progress. My optimism is not a rose-coloured glasses kind of optimism. It is a realistic optimism based not only on my observations of the real progress being made to revitalize Indigenous legal orders but also my experiences in the Canadian justice system.”

Marchand cited several examples where Indigenous perspectives and practices have been incorporated into proceedings in various contexts, such as Indigenous sentencing courts and the Indian Residential Schools Independent Assessment Process which dealt with 30,000 claims in a non-adversarial and claimant-centred process.

“Across the country, courts have also been incorporating Indigenous ceremonies and symbols such as smudging, blanketing, drumming, and eagle feathers into their everyday proceedings.

“Through these experiences, I have learned that the Canadian justice system can be improved if we listen, learn, are open-minded to including Indigenous perspectives, and take action – even if, or maybe especially when, that takes some out of their comfort zones.”

Looking ahead, Marchand said he is hopeful the next generation of lawyers - law students and recent law school graduates - will have the knowledge, skills and motivation to help make our courtrooms, and the justice system as a whole, more responsive to the needs of Indigenous people.

“So, let’s continue to encourage all actors within the Canadian justice system to learn more about their local Indigenous communities, their histories, their ways, their challenges and their resources. How else can we meaningfully understand, accommodate and meet the needs of the Indigenous people who are interacting with the justice system?

“Let’s work hard to build mutually respectful relationships with lots of space for Indigenous people, communities, customs, traditions and laws. How else can we demonstrate that we can deliver justice for everyone?

“I encourage all of you to seek out opportunities to deepen our collective understanding of Indigenous legal orders and their legal and theoretical underpinnings, so that we might collectively have the ability to braid our social fabric together, as we continue on our path of reconciliation.”

Among the scholars Marchand cited in his speech were Justice Sebastien Grammond of the Federal Court, former Dean of the Civil Law Section, and Professor Aimée Craft.

But he concluded with the words of one of his heroes, the late Murray Sinclair, former Senator and judge:

“We know that making things better will not happen overnight. It will take generations. That’s how the damage was created and that’s how the damage will be fixed. But if we agree on the objective of reconciliation, and agree to work together, the work we do today will immeasurably strengthen the social fabric of Canada tomorrow.

During his visit to Fauteux, Chief Justice Marchand also attended a community reading circle organized by the Reconciliation and Decolonization Committee, which focused on One Drum by Richard Wagamese.

During the Reading Circle, he reminded the students that the “way to achieve success is taking care along the way,” said Tasha Simon, Indigenous Program Specialist, who coordinated the visit.