It makes sense for all citizens of a country to be treated equally under the laws of the country. Yet, Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler recently proposed creating an aboriginal tradition of justice or aboriginal level of law be recognized alongside English common law and French civil law.

Currently, the Canadian justice system compels Judges to consider a criminals aboriginal ancestry during sentencing.

In 1996, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples called Canada's justice system a "crushing failure" when it comes to aboriginals. That year, politicians amended Canada's Criminal Code (cc. ss. 718.2(e)), allowing judges to find alternatives to jail for all offenders when it is reasonable to do so, paying "particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal offenders" and to consider a criminal's "Indianness". In other words, Justice had her blindfold removed, and she must now consider race in sentencing.

The blunt fact is that a wide variety of societal ills are part of what leads some individuals to commit crimes. If those ills are given prominence in assessing personal culpability, an individual's responsibility for his or her actions will be lost.

Minister Cotler also wants to address the under-representation of aboriginal workers in the justice system. This would include increasing the number of aboriginal judges, lawyers, court workers and police officers.

In other words, Minister Cotler is suggesting a broader affirmative action policy be applied to the justice system. For example, the RCMP presently has an affirmative action policy as do many other police forces, and the federal and provincial governments which employ individuals in the justice system.

The last several decades have seen a growth in high school graduation and post-secondary enrolment by visible minorities - including aboriginals. It is only a matter of time before visible minorities are adequately represented in the justice system. Therefore, a more expansive affirmative action policy is not needed.

Under Canada's current system it is relatively easy to determine when French civil law or English common law is used. If a third level or aboriginal tradition of law is established, who or what would determine when the aboriginal law was applied Would it be up to the victim, the accused or were the alleged crime occurred More likely, lawyers would determine which law would be used in a "pre-trial". This new idea of Minister Cotler could delay the process of justice and cost taxpayers dearly.

In an attempt to right past wrongs, Canadians have created policies that harm the very people they have been designed to benefit. By adding a separate justice system for native Canadian offenders would only further segregate native Canadians from the rest of Canada.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms mandates equality for all Canadians. Consequently, the laws of a country must apply to all citizens equally. To do otherwise would undermine the very foundation of our justice system.