Book Review of Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice by Kent Roach

Abstract

Kent Roach’s Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice (2019) analyzes the highly divisive and contested acquittal of fifty-six-year-old white cattle farmer, Gerald Stanley, in the 2018 case involving the death of twenty-two-year-old Cree man, Colton Boushie. The book argues that this particular case highlights the striking disadvantages that Indigenous Peoples continue to face within the criminal justice system. However, though well intentioned, Roach’s book is not without its problems, and ultimately, fails to sufficiently prove that the root of Gerald Stanley’s acquittal was solely attributed to systemic racism or Indigenous victimization. The arguments, lacking Indigenous opinions and consultation, essentially devolved into a demonstration of Roach’s confirmation bias.