In addition, consistent with the 1995 findings of the Commission on Systemic Racism in the Ontario Criminal Justice System, statistics on charging decisions by police and other prosecutorial decisions substantiate that systemic biases against groups such as African-Canadians shape the exercise of discretion with respect to many criminal offences. In addition, consistent with the 1996 report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Bridging the Cultural Divide, statistics illustrate racism in Canadian sentencing patterns, as exemplified by the over-use of more punitive measures against Aboriginal as well as African-Canadian accused, and the over- representation of Aboriginal women in federal prisons.

Even among federal prisoners who are serving mandatory life sentences for murder, Aboriginal and other racialized offenders are disadvantaged by systemic racism with respect to the conditions under which they serve their sentences, such as security classification and prison discipline, which in turn affect their chances of release on parole and thus the ultimate length of their life sentences. Given what we know about systemic racism in prison discipline in provincial institutions and in light of Madam Justice Arbour’s comments about the federal prison culture and disregard for the law in her Inquiry into Events at the Prison for Women, we know that racism is carried over from the decisions of police, prosecutors, and judges to those who administer sentences of imprisonment and the terms of parole in federal institutions as well.

Cognitive and psychiatric disabilities also generally weigh against an accused in the prison classification process and correctional programming, not to mention the availability of parole. Not surprisingly, in jurisdictions that have attempted to gauge the impact of mandatory sentencing laws, the results indicate consistently that minority groups are the ones targeted by these laws.