Madam Chair, we know that indigenous Canadians are overrepresented in our federal prisons and that a far higher percentage of them are also serving their sentence in prison rather than in the community, thereby suffering a greater chance of infection from COVID-19.
Why then has the Parole Board cancelled or indefinitely postponed parole hearings for indigenous inmates who wish the assistance of an elder in support of their case, which is the choice of some 40% of indigenous inmates seeking release on parole? Does the government not recognize this as a discriminatory practice?