Pride News Canada's Leader In African Canadian & Caribbean News, Views & Lifestyle
TORONTO, Ontario — The Office of the Correctional Investigator tabled in Parliament, on Thursday, March 10, its Annual Report for 2014-2015 that reveals that, overall, African Canadians are the fastest growing inmate population within Canada’s federal prisons.
In his report, the Correctional Investigator, Mr. Howard Sapers, highlighted the hyper-incarceration of African Canadians and the disproportionately harsh and discriminatory treatment experienced by Black inmates in Canada’s federal prisons.
In particular, he noted: from 2005-2015, the Black inmate population grew by 69%, while the inmate populations of Aboriginal people and women has grown by more than 50%; The federal incarceration rate for Blacks is three times their representation rate in general society; there is an over-reliance on segregation for Black inmates, leaving them over-represented in instances where this severe form of institutionalization is used; for 2014-2015, Black inmates accounted for 14.9% of all reviewed use of force incidents, an increase of 2.3% compared to the previous year.
“How many more times do we need an official report to show that there is a crisis in corrections facing African Canadians? For decades we have known this to be a chronic problem,” stated Margaret Parsons, Executive Director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic (ACLC).
“The writing is on the wall, the federal government needs to finally adopt a comprehensive and adequately resourced African Canadian Justice Strategy as framework for reducing the hyper-incarceration, the deplorable treatment of African Canadian inmates, and systemic anti-Black racism in the criminal justice system more broadly.”
The ACLC is calling for an urgent meeting with Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau; Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Ralph Goodale; and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Jody Wilson-Raybould, as well as Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Marie-Claude Landry, to discuss bringing the African Canadian community together to work with the federal government and the Commission, to develop and implement an urgently-needed and long overdue African Canadian justice strategy.
Whites in Canadian prisons are in huge decline. About 37 percent of the prisoners are native Canadians and Blacks. If you include Muslims, its almost 8 percent of prison population, but some are black, middle eastern, Pakistan, Afghanistan and north African. Sikhs, Chinese and Filipino Canadians have very low rates. What I can predict is that by 2021, blacks including Muslim Blacks will be 15 percent of prison population but less than 4.3 percent of Canada population. Aboriginals will make up 30 percent, NON-BLACK Muslims will make up 6 percent. Whites will only be 50 percent of prison population by 2023. Baby boomers are dying… Less whites are doing crimes. Its gonna get worse because Minorities in Canada don’t care about Native Canadians.
Canada going the route of America. Locking up blacks and native canadian Indians, just like they do blacks and latinos here in America. This is just more global white supremacy. But Canada just like American has a lot of middle and upper middle class blacks. Especially Jamaicans and Nigerians. Jamaicans I know are very successful in Canada. The ones in Canada’s jails are the ones who go out and break the law. Most Jamaicans and other African people in Canada are decent, educated, hardworking, and law abiding people. Just like in America and everywhere else and don’t have these problems.