It is important to remember that among the people who are held in pretrial detention are people who have been harmed themselves, hundreds and sometimes thousands of times over in their lives. The harm that comes from being detained—these are the people we work with—is something we don't often think about. Being in detention and the impact that has on very marginalized and vulnerable people's lives is something that isn't widely discussed.
Being in jail for even two weeks can impact a person's life in unimaginable ways. People who have been in pretrial detention for what some might consider very short periods of time can lose their employment; they lose their housing. In the case of many parents we work with, they lose custody of their children.
As many of you know, in the federal system, half of the population we work with in the prisons designated for women are indigenous women. That number is higher in the provincial and territorial jails, particularly in the Prairies.
All of you are very aware of the efforts we're making to address colonization in this country. Bail reform that places more people in pretrial detention actually has an adverse effect on our efforts to address colonization, because we have an epidemic of indigenous children being taken away from their parents. This is part of it, because our bail system is part of a larger cycle of poverty, discrimination and incarceration. We think that could largely be avoided with appropriate community supports and social services. As one of the other panel members suggested, prevention is key.
The other thing to remember, if I may...or did you want to ask another question? I understand you have limited time.