Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have to say quite honestly that I'm not too terribly concerned about the indigenous peoples and the programs that are available to them in correctional facilities, because I think that over the last number of years that situation has been steadily improving.
Maybe this question is more for Ms. Connidis. My concern is why they get there in the first place, why there is the disproportionate population and why we have indigenous people in incarceration at that rate. We know that in terms of first-time offenders, the number for indigenous people is higher in the federal system. We know that the offences are more violent in nature. We know that the offenders are younger. We know that they have pre-existing criminal records, both as youth and as adults, and that there are substance abuse issues.
We know that the whole crime prevention strategy you spoke about, ma'am, is intended to prevent indigenous peoples from entering the justice system and being involved in it in the first place. Through speaking with many of my friends, residents of the Blood Reserve, I know that they are very concerned about the criminal activity and involvement of their youth. It's not diminishing.
You talk about this new crime prevention strategy. How do you see it being different in addressing the issues being faced by indigenous communities in terms of solving the problem of why they're there in the first place? How is that going to make a difference? How is this plan going to be different from what we thought was going to work in times past?