—a social cost. When we talk about reconciliation, I often hear about residential schools almost to the extent of not really addressing any of the other issues and struggles and tragedies that have occurred in Canada.
The indigenous population is approximately 9%, 8%—I can't think of an exact number—but the overrepresentation of indigenous people in our child welfare systems, our criminal and family justice systems is very far above that. It's over any other cultural group.
I guess financially the cost of not looking to heal.... The point of reconciliation is to heal, to heal the old wounds and the wounds that are still continuing, because this is still going on today.
We may not have residential schools and we may not have the marked difference that was going on during the sixties in the welfare scoop, but we still have that overrepresentation in children's services. We still see indigenous people being charged with crimes that non-indigenous people may not be. I've sat in courtrooms many times and have seen indigenous people receiving time they have to serve in prisons, whereas non-indigenous people may not receive the same amount of time. There's a lot of background, a lot of reasons for this that would probably take days to talk about.