Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Honourable senators, my question is to the Government Representative.

Senator Gold, this is an issue that has come up many times in many ways, but today, May 5, 2022, is Red Dress Day in Canada and the United States. The top-of-the-fold headline in Canada’s major newspapers today was that the female population in our prisons is now 298 Indigenous women and 298 non-Indigenous women. In this country, roughly speaking, there is 1 Indigenous woman for 20 others.

So many efforts have been made. So many governments have made so many promises. This statistic on this day poses a devastating reality for all of us to grapple with. If you could, please, share with the chamber what more is being done by the government.