REPORT SUMMARY
BARRED: Over-incarceration of Indigenous people in Canada’s criminal legal system, the health implications, and opportunities for decarceration The high rate of incarceration of Indigenous people in Canada’s criminal legal system is a public health crisis. The mass institutionalization of Indigenous people in prisons is a problem rooted in racism and discrimination. It reflects colonial practices carried out in the past through forced resettlements and Residential Schools. The issue affects population health in and outside of prison. This document summarizes a report that explores the subject through a public health lens: Barred: Over-incarceration of Indigenous people in Canada’s criminal legal system, the health implications, and opportunities for decarceration.
Background Indigenous people make up five per cent of the population in Canada but account for one-third of the corrections population (federal - 27% or 5,809 people in 2021; provincial/territorial - 31%, or 44,491 people). Indigenous women make up half of all women in federal custody. Both Indigenous men and women are more likely than non-Indigenous people to serve their sentences in custody rather than in community under supervision. Correctional Service Canada (CSC) has long focused on creating “culturally safe prisons” to improve the well-being of Indigenous people. The unintended result of this is to “Indigenize” corrections and normalize the large number of Indigenous people in prison.
Prisons and health conditions Prisons are places where communicable diseases spread and chronic illnesses (particularly mental health) worsen. People often enter prison systems with existing physical and mental health conditions and then face inadequate access to health services as well as exposure to high-risk practices such as unsafe drug use, unprotected sex, and unsafe tattooing. Rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C (HCV), tuberculosis (TB), and sexually transmitted infections are high in Canada’s prison system. The rates of HCV and TB are particularly high among Indigenous people in prison.
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