Mr. Speaker, coming from the same place as the hon. secretary of state, the province of Manitoba, I know he will agree that one of the biggest shortcomings that we see in the criminal justice system is its treatment of aboriginal people.
I read an alarming statistic that in 1969-70 the percentage of aboriginal people in the women's penitentiary in Kingston was 100%. To this day it is hugely disproportional to the rest of the population.
Having gone through and watched the aboriginal justice inquiry in Manitoba and given the recommendations of the royal commission on aboriginal people, would the member care to elaborate on how the justice system can better serve the aboriginal population, especially in the province of Manitoba?