New Report shows that 69% of Manitoba Inmates are Aboriginal

According to a new Statistics Canada report, Aboriginals account for over half of Manitoba’s prison population.

The report, released on July 21, looked at adult prison populations from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 and showed that while 69% of those in the province’s jails were Aboriginal. They also accounted for 49% of those in the province’s two federal prisons.

The report also showed that Manitoba’s prison populations have been rising steadily over the past decade.

The report looked at only the numbers and did not compare the situations of Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals in prisons. According to the Winnipeg Sun, Grand Chief Ron Evans, of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, was quick to point out that this relates to the lack of education amongst the province’s Aboriginal population.

In Manitoba, Aboriginals account for 12% of the province’s adult population.

This study also showed that whereas Aboriginal people make up about 22% of the prison population in Canada, they only account for 3% of the general population.

The rate of Aboriginals in prison across Canada varies dramatically from 81% in Saskatchewan to 1% in PEI.