Canada’s prison ombudsman says the proportion of Indigenous people in federal custody has hit a record high of more than 30 per cent.
Correctional investigator Ivan Zinger says the numbers are even more troubling for Indigenous women, who account for 42 per cent of the female prison population.
“Four years ago, my Office reported that persons of Indigenous ancestry had reached 25% of the total inmate population,” Zinger said in a statement Tuesday. “At that time, my Office indicated that efforts to curb over-representation were not working. Today, sadly, I am reporting that the proportion of Indigenous people behind bars has now surpassed 30%.”
Zinger says the correctional system seems unresponsive to the needs, histories and social realities behind high rates of Indigenous offending.
He says no government of any stripe has managed to reverse the trend of Indigenous overrepresentation in Canadian jails and prisons despite many inquiries, judicial interventions, and political promises and commitments.
The Correctional Service of Canada says decisions with respect to sentencing are beyond the prison service’s control.
Zinger says, at this trajectory, Indigenous people will make up 33% of the total federal inmate population in the next three years.
(with files from The Canadian Press)
