Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Last week, La Presse reported that some 400 inmates at a Quebec penitentiary — the Archambault Institution, I believe — declared themselves to be Indigenous. These self-declared inmates include notorious criminals such as Hells Angels leaders, who can now benefit from programs specific to Indigenous individuals because our correctional system allows self-declaration. The Hells Angels leader is responsible for the Indigenous cell block in that prison. One Indigenous man, convicted for murder a few years back, told us that in his circle of caregivers, he was the only Indigenous man out of 12 criminals.

This has become something of a trick. People declare themselves to be Indigenous in order to access rehabilitation programs designed for Indigenous offenders and potentially benefit from early releases and lighter sentences.

Do you agree with Chief Ghislain Picard who spoke out against this situation last week and called on Correctional Service Canada to fix it?

I’d like you to relay to the minister what some Indigenous inmates told me. They said that they had asked to participate in a program established in 2005 designed solely for Indigenous people. They were refused because the classes were already overbooked or being attended by White, non-Indigenous people.

This is scandalous when we know that Indigenous representation in federal penitentiaries is four to five times that of the general population. The situation is even worse in Quebec. Out of 1,200 inmates, 400 are non-Indigenous.

Wouldn’t you agree that the situation has undermined the government’s credibility when it claims there are too many Indigenous people in prison while many of them are actually non-Indigenous?