The composition of the Canadian populace has changed dramatically since the 1970s. Recent demographic data indicate that the number of minority groups has burgeoned. Aside from obvious social and cultural changes confronting these groups in their assimilation and integration as Canadians, they also represent varying challenges for our criminal justice system. Furthermore, our notion of what constitutes minority groups has also evolved over recent years. Where once the criminal justice system saw only Canada's First Nation people as its primary minority group, it must today contend with the broader range of groups. In fact, very few studies have examined the treatment of other minority groups within the Canadian criminal justice system and very few criminology or criminal justice textbooks have reflected these changes. This reader fills the void in the existing literature. 

John A. Winterdyk is an instructor of Criminology at Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta.

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