Cell setup at a correctional centre. MBC file photo.
The federal government wants to find alternatives to jail for Indigenous offenders.
Even though they represent only about four per cent of the Canadian population, Corrections Canada says they represent about 24 per cent of Canada’s inmates. The ratio is even higher in Saskatchewan.
According to research done at the University of Regina in 2015, Indigenous people comprise about 15 per cent of the Saskatchewan population, 80 to 90 per cent of the men in the province’s jails are Indigenous, while up to 95 per cent of women prisoners are Indigenous.
In this year’s federal budget, Ottawa has committed more than $65 million over five years to address the over-representation of Indigenous people in Canada’s justice system.
Today, the federal government released a little more of its plan, announcing $10 million over five years for community-based and culturally relevant projects, with a focus on alternatives to jail.
The national call for proposals runs until November 20.