Thank you for inviting me here.
I'm a Gladue writer, I'm an educator, and I live on a reserve. I could read my presentation, but I've made copies for you.
One of the things I'm doing currently is working with the neuroscience people at the University of Lethbridge. Because I've been doing this work of writing up Gladue reports, I've met a lot of offenders. I've been in Drumheller and some other prisons. There are all different names for these prisons.
I have the experience in talking to a lot of these people and in being in these institutions. One of the reasons I was quite interested in coming here was to share my experience of doing these reports and of talking to the people who are most affected.
I had a chance to look at the bill, and while I understand that there needs to be reform, a lot of native people have been living on reserves as if in prison. I say that because I do live on a reserve and it can be very oppressive sometimes. There are few resources, housing is a problem, and there are no property rights. Things such as that contribute to the problems that first nations people have in this country.
The Indian Act is our policy. The Indian agent was our warden. Now we have band councils that are designated to be our—