Status of Women committee  I believe the answer is yes. My role at Prisoners' Legal Services is helping people once they've been incarcerated, so I don't have too much experience at the court level. I think the role the federal government can play, in general, is in working with first nations for self-determination and self-governance on issues around justice and just making sure that the resources are there at every level, to avoid people getting into the justice system at the outset and to provide support.

Status of Women committee  Sure. I know, in our clients' experience, not very many of them have Gladue reports from when they were sentenced. At one time we were talking with Legal Services Society about getting Gladue reports for people who had already been sentenced, but it was so restricted in its funding for them that we thought it would probably be a better use of limited funding to have Gladue reports for people at sentencing that can carry through their sentences.

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much for this opportunity to appear before this committee. Thank you for initiating this study on indigenous women in the federal justice and correctional systems. I am the executive director of Prisoners' Legal Services, which is the only full legal aid clinic for prisoners in Canada.