Status of Women committee  We can send the information to the clerk.

Status of Women committee  Are you talking about complaints to our office or the internal grievance system of the Correctional Service of Canada?

Status of Women committee  I'm sorry, could you repeat your question about the number.

Status of Women committee  Yes, in general.

Status of Women committee  Part of the issue is that the secure units are again mixing women who are deemed to have some sort of behavioural issue with women who are often acutely mentally ill or are chronically self-harming or suicidal. They're cohabiting, and it's just not appropriate. We believe there's a lack of bed capacity for women who are acutely mentally ill, chronically self-harming, and suicidal.

Status of Women committee  I think that there was a change of tone, and this alone improved certain aspects. Honestly, it was remarkable. I can send our data to the members of the Committee. During the entire time the previous government was in power, we noticed a rather considerable erosion of the 12 determinants of health in the correctional system.

Status of Women committee  Let me make just a general comment. In general, we receive fewer complaints from indigenous offenders than from non-indigenous offenders. Part of the reason might be cultural, but it may also be that there may be different informal avenues to address concerns. Indigenous people may talk to elders.

Status of Women committee  My office's mandate is that of an ombudsman. It is purely related to correctional services. We investigate complaints lodged by federal inmates. We handle complaints lodged by inmates during their incarceration, when they are released on parole, and up to the end of their sentences.

Status of Women committee  It's very true that the recommendations we made many years ago haven't been taken up by the Correctional Service of Canada, the CSC, or by the government. In the annual report I delivered in the fall of 2017, we talked about the situation of women, which is a serious problem in maximum security institutions.

Status of Women committee  We need more leadership on this subject within CSC. For example, the deputy commissioner for women should have the direct authority to establish and manage a correctional system for women that is autonomous and separate from the existing system. We also need a deputy commissioner responsible for indigenous inmates to provide accountability.

Status of Women committee  Let me provide you a brief overview. I'll go through the slides fairly quickly. There are approximately 700 women incarcerated in federal corrections facilities and another 700 who are serving their remaining federal sentences in the community. That's a fifty-fifty split, which is better than male split of about sixty-forty.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. It's a pleasure and real privilege to be here. I have to say this is the first time that my office has appeared before this committee, so we want to make sure that you have a comprehensive briefing of women in federal corrections. We'll do it in two parts.

Public Safety committee  Certainly, Mr. Chair. Upon admission to federal penitentiaries, 60% of the inmates have an employment issue that requires some attention. We've talked about young people. When we conducted our study, what we found was that the majority of young people were not registered in programs or meaningful work.

Public Safety committee  Again, these are obviously very complex issues. For the last 30 years, governments have not been able to stop or, even better, reverse the gross overrepresentation of indigenous people in jail. The incarceration rate is extraordinary. It keeps growing year after year. Various governments over that 30 years have, I think, attempted genuinely to address the issue.

Public Safety committee  It's difficult for me to comment. What I can tell you is that tweaks are probably no longer the required action that needs to be put forward. The government has to be bold here, because many governments before yours have attempted to tweak the system. When you say, “Well, let's do a little better on the Gladue decision”, the Gladue decision dates back to 1999 and has not made a significant dent in slowing it down.