Ensure that municipal and provincial policymaking is shaped and informed by appropriate demographic data.

First Light conducts research on demographics of correctional facilities

In November 2025, First Light conducted research on the demographics of all five adult correctional facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador. The findings of this study were published in the report Overrepresented and Undercounted: A Snapshot of Indigenous Adult Incarceration in Newfoundland and Labrador, which is being leveraged to inform policymaking and as a model for future research in other areas. (See Calls for Change 11 and 35 for more detail.)

The findings also have implications for how the Provincial Corrections Offender Management System (PCOMS) collects data. Because inmates’ willingness to identify as Indigenous depends in part on whether they feel safe doing so, progress on Call for Change 30 will require corresponding progress on Call for Change 6, which calls for sector-specific antiracism training.

City of St. John’s develops equity lens tool

With funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Intersectoral Action Fund, the City of St. John’s, with input from several of its advisory committees, is working with NL Health Services and First Light to develop an equity lens for municipal policymaking and decision-making. The tool will help ensure that municipal decisions consistently take into account the circumstances of equity-deserving groups, including Indigenous Peoples.

For the Department of Justice and Public Safety (JPS):

• Mandate foundational training on the histories and cultures of Indigenous Peoples for all Classification Officers in the provincial corrections system.