Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
This amendment follows a recommendation from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs to explicitly list indigenous diversion programs as one of the options of alternative measures in the restorative justice framework. This will ensure that alternative measures are culturally appropriate and responsive to the distinct needs and realities of indigenous peoples accused and indigenous victims.
We know that successive governments have embraced carceral approaches to public safety, ignoring that indigenous peoples are disproportionately impacted by these approaches, due to a pattern of systemic—