Mr. Chair, I have questions and comments in a number of areas that I want to make tonight for either the Minister of Justice or the Solicitor General.
I will begin in an area that is very relevant to my city and my province. A lot of aboriginal people live in the city of Regina in Saskatchewan, and in my riding in particular. The city of Regina has one of the highest crime rates in the country. A lot of it is in the aboriginal areas where there is a lot of poverty, where many people are without jobs or have few opportunities and hence we have a lot of problems in terms of crime.
I understand that statistics now show that roughly 27% of the federal offender population is aboriginal people. The population of aboriginal people is very small in the country compared to the number of people in federal penitentiaries. About 50% of female federal inmates in maximum security institutions are of aboriginal background.
In terms of examining their estimates, what plans do the ministers have in terms of making sure first nations and Métis people have more opportunities? I realize that a lot of the problems are due to the lack of social, economic and job opportunities and the lack of education.
However if we look at our country as a whole, one of the great negatives is the discrimination over the years against first nations and aboriginal people. A lot has to be done in terms of training, skills and education. A lot has to be done in terms of economic opportunities for first nations and Métis people right across the country. Some progress has been made in the area. We are seeing more and more first nations and Métis people coming out of universities.
In fact, when I was at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon last fall I was surprised to find that more than 10% of the students in the law faculty now are first nations students. That is certainly a very positive step and a very good thing for the country and the first nations people.
What I want to ask tonight is what is being done in this area, as well as what is being done in terms of sentencing circles and alternatives forms of justice, restorative justice, the availability and funding of healing lodges, the whole area that is so important to the first nations people of Canada. I know the Solicitor General is very familiar with Saskatchewan. I hope the Minister of Justice has had a chance to study some of the problems that I am talking about tonight.