On January 21, I issued a press release specifically on the gross overrepresentation of indigenous people. Four years ago they were 25% of the federal inmate population. Now they are 30%. This has been going on for the last three decades. It keeps growing year after year after year, independent of what government is at the helm. I would say it's beyond a crisis right now. We have to look at not just tweaks but bold initiatives to address this situation.
With respect to Canadians of African descent who are incarcerated, the overrepresentation may not be as acute but is certainly worrisome. They represent about 8% now of the inmate population, while in the general population they represent about 3%.
When we conducted a systemic investigation on younger offenders aged 18 to 21, we looked specifically at that group. There are many young men who are black or indigenous, and there is a lot of gang affiliation. Too little is being done by Correctional Service Canada to either have programming to de-affiliate or to prevent affiliation.