Narratives on the prison-industrial complex often revolve around the US and what civil-rights activist, attorney and author Michelle Alexander terms ‘the new Jim Crow.’ However, prisons-for-profit that disproportionately incarcerate Black and Indigenous people are not exclusive to the US. They are also found in other Western nations – including Canada, whose racist colonial past continues to strongly influence all aspects of its justice system. Here’s a closer look.
SOURCES:
https://www.justice.gc.ca/socjs-esjp/en/ind-aut/uo-cs#
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-black-indigenous-prisoners-overrepresentation-1.6636962
https://oci-bec.gc.ca/en/content/office-correctional-investigator-annual-report-2022-2023
https://www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/law/in-depth/2019/all-work-and-low-pay