I don't think it's specific to aboriginal men or women. That's gender-defined. If we were to look at what is happening to first nations people when they go before the courts, when police charge them, the process that's used.... A lot of times there are no adjudicated facts to base sentencing on. The dictates of the Criminal Code say that it has to match. The gravity has to be the same, and we don't find that with aboriginal offenders. They're just processed, and sometimes they don't know their rights, or they have legal representation and people will plead them out, so they don't really get a chance to tell their stories.
Pre-sentence reports are one thing—they talk about their criminal record and all that—but Gladue reports look at the circumstances, which includes everything from their childhood to their substance abuse problems, things like that. They don't get to speak, and many of them don't want to speak; they just want to get this over with. They're being sentenced to prison more and more, or they're in remand for various reasons. There needs to be more of a structure in place.
I think Gladue writing is really important. I spend a lot of time with these people. I've been called to be before a judge, to speak on behalf of some of the people there. Aboriginal people are.... There's a legal industry where people are not really being represented.