I would explain this phenomenon with a couple of reasons. We are overpolicing particular communities in the city of Toronto. We have priority neighbourhoods that are overpoliced, which means young people are coming into contact with police not in a positive way, but in more negative engagements.
The second thing I would say is the trauma that is caused by engagement with particular institutions is creating people who distrust the system. Sometimes we'll make bad choices.
One of the biggest reasons our jails are filled up with Black and indigenous folks, racialized folks, is the fact that we're criminalizing poor people. We are criminalizing their acts. We're criminalizing how they live because they don't have the means to be able to take care of themselves. In turn, people sometimes make decisions that may not be in their best interests or in the interests of their families or communities.
We have to agree that Canada has been built on the issues of racism. In our truth and reconciliation process that went through, we all agreed that things needed to change for indigenous folks, and we know from the reports that there is bias with regard to how young people, especially, are getting diversion programs or access to support programs within the criminal justice system. The treatment is not the same.
I believe we have enough research and data at all three levels of government that tell us this is a problem. It isn't just an individual problem—