As part of the amendments to the Criminal Code introduced in 1996, Parliament enacted section 718.2(e), aimed at alleviating Indigenous over-incarceration through sentencing. In April 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) interpreted s. 718.2(e) for the first time in R v Gladue (“Gladue”), a decision in which an Indigenous woman was sentenced to imprisonment for the manslaughter of her common-law spouse(Justice Canada, 2023)

In the decision, the SCC said:

In the case, The SCC recognized that due to the history of systemic discrimination by Canada and the criminal justice system, Indigenous people are more likely to be sentenced to jail. To address this, courts must look at an Indigenous offender’s background and the impact of discrimination on them when deciding on a sentence. This means that the court must look at all alternatives to imprisonment before deciding to give a sentence. Ifa jail sentence is given, the court must apply Gladue principles when deciding the length of the sentence (Steps to Justice, 2019).Citing the "tragic history” of treatment of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, including the criminal justice system, concern was expressed by the court in Gladue, that s. 718(2)(e) could end up being another empty promise.

The Court also ruled that *Even if a person doesn’t live on a reserve, the Gladue Principles still apply*. This is significant part of the decision because "Gladue Principles" applies to all Aboriginal People including those people defined as status and non-status under the Indian Act, Metis or Inuit regardless of where they live in Canada.