Thank you, Mr. Montour.
Since you are both indigenous, if I have understood correctly, I will ask you this question.
Earlier, when I spoke about the former Bill C‑5 which repealed minimum sentences, the minister stated that the government had done so because there were too many racialized or indigenous people in prisons.
We are obviously all sensitive to the fact and no one wants to have a discriminatory system. However, the statistics don't lie: it is true that proportionately, there are more indigenous than non‑indigenous people in prison. I find myself asking why this is. Is it because the police are targeting these people too harshly? Is it because the judges are too strict? Is it because of a lack of services in the communities that could help these people?
As I am not indigenous, I've always had trouble understanding why this is so, but we are continuously being fed this argument and I would like to hear your point of view on the issue.