Topic 1.2: Nunavut’s Legal System

Nunavut’s legal system stands apart from the rest of Canada, shaped by the territory’s unique cultural, geographic, and social characteristics. To navigate this legal landscape effectively, it’s crucial to understand the structure of the Nunavut court system, the key roles within it, and the specific challenges it faces. This topic will explore how the legal system operates and the ways it integrates the values and traditions of Nunavummiut, making it a distinctive part of Canada’s broader justice system.

The Nunavut Court of Justice (NCJ) is a unique court system designed specifically for Nunavut and is headquartered in Iqaluit. Established to address the challenges of delivering justice across vast, remote regions, the NCJ merges roles typically divided in other Canadian provinces and territories. Instead of separate levels for superior and provincial courts, the NCJ operates as a single-level superior court. This unified structure allows the court to handle various cases—criminal, civil, family, and youth matters—efficiently.

One of the most distinctive features of the NCJ is the circuit court system, a key element of delivering justice in isolated communities. The circuit court involves judges, lawyers, clerks, translators, and other legal professionals traveling from Iqaluit to smaller communities by plane every six weeks to one year, depending on the number of charges coming into court from that community. Courts are held in community halls, school gyms or other facilities.

To ensure the judicial system operates efficiently, Justices of the Peace (JPs) play an important role in handling less serious cases such as bail hearings and minor criminal offenses. This helps reduce the workload on judges and ensures faster resolutions, especially in communities where accessing the NCJ might otherwise involve lengthy delays.

Several roles are crucial to the effective operation of the NCJ, particularly given the unique circumstances of serving geographically distant fly-in communities:

1. Judges:
   • Judges oversee trials, make legal decisions, and ensure the court adheres to Canadian law. In the NCJ, judges handle a wide variety of cases, including criminal, civil, and family law. The system’s flexibility is essential given the size of the territory and the need for quick responses to local issues.
2. Justices of the Peace (JP):
   • Justices of the Peace help manage cases such as bail hearings and preliminary inquiries and often preside over minor offenses in what is known as JP Court. This role allows for quicker resolution of cases without involving the NCJ, improving access to justice in smaller communities.
3. Lawyers:
   • Legal representation in Nunavut is provided by three main types of lawyers:
     • • Legal Aid Lawyers: These lawyers offer free or low-cost legal services to individuals who cannot afford to hire a private lawyer. They primarily serve clients in criminal and family law cases.
     • • Resident Private Bar: This group consists of private lawyers who live and work in Nunavut, providing various legal services to the community.
     • • Private Bar (Panel): These are lawyers registered to practice in Nunavut but may not reside in the territory. They can be called upon to take cases as needed.
4. Court Clerks and Support Staff:
   • Court clerks and staff manage records, assist with court operations, and travel with the circuit court. Some staff are sourced locally, including Inuit court workers, who play a vital role in supporting legal processes in their communities.
5. Interpreters:
   • With many people speaking Inuktitut as their first language, interpreters are critical for ensuring accessibility to all participants during court proceedings. A court case cannot proceed without the availability of interpreters if a participant requires it.

Nunavut’s legal system is shaped by the territory’s vast geography, cultural diversity, and unique social landscape. Here are some key features and challenges that influence the system:

1. The Sheer Size Of It All:
   • Nunavut spans over two million square kilometers, where a little over 35,000 inhabitants live over 25 communities spread across three regions. 1 To put it in perspective, if it were a country, Nunavut would be the eighth-largest in the world! Each community is typically only accessible by air, which contributes to some of the highest flight costs in the world. Weather can further complicate travel, making it difficult for circuit courts to serve all areas regularly.²
2. Cultural Sensitivity:
   • Inuit cultural values and practices should be central to the legal system. Actively committing to and practicing this integration is essential for justice to be meaningful for all participants in Nunavut. Building strong relationships based on listening and understanding is a first and crucial step in this regard. In future modules, we will explore how to incorporate cultural values and practices into legal work, drawing from direct advice from those who live here.
3. Inuktut First:
   • Most Nunavummiut speak Inuktitut as their first language, with around 80% of families using it at home. Ensuring that court proceedings are accessible in Inuktut is vital for maintaining a fair and inclusive legal system. Legal workers must prioritize understanding and access to translators to serve the needs of the population.
4. Resource Challenges:
   • Nunavut is the most expensive place to live in Canada, and access to resources, including legal services, is a significant challenge. Collaborative approaches that draw on local knowledge and resources within each community are key to building a strong and representative justice system.³