Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here.
Ms. Bui, thank you for your moving testimony. Clearly, you have been through a lot and I truly sympathize with you.
I have a few questions for Ms. Coyle.
I heard the figures you quoted, particularly about indigenous women in jail. They make up more than 80% of the female prison population in Western Canada. I think we can all agree that makes no sense.
What I want to know is why. Some say it's due to mandatory minimum sentences.
On the one hand, Gladue reports can be filed in all cases, which should theoretically lead to more appropriate sentences for indigenous women. On the other, support services could be provided upstream to indigenous communities, to prevent offences from being committed in the first place. I don't know if it's a good idea to lower the bar so much as to completely do away with prison sentences for certain offences. If they are significant, I'm not sure that's the way to go. I really wonder.
I'd like to hear your views on the matter. First, does the availability of Gladue reports help reduce the number of indigenous women in jail?