When the government repealed some mandatory minimum prison sentences, it was responding to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prisons. Why hasn’t it worked?
When the Liberal government repealed some mandatory minimum prison sentences in 2022, it billed those changes, in part, as a response to the overrepresentation of marginalized communities — including Indigenous people — in Canadian prisons.
However, experts say that hasn’t done anything to reduce the number of incarcerated Indigenous people, which grew under the previous Conservative government and has continued to rise during Justin Trudeau’s tenure as prime minister.
Instead, advocates say what’s needed is a focus on healing in Indigenous communities — both in and outside of the criminal justice system — that recognizes intergenerational impacts of trauma that Indigenous people continue to live with.
