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Alberta’s justice minister says she’s disappointed by the lack of progress in bringing down disproportionately high rates of Indigenous incarceration in the province.

The most recent provincial statistics, for 2017-18, showed an average daily adult inmate count of 3,704 in Alberta correctional facilities.

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Of that total, 1,494 — 40.3 per cent — were Indigenous.

Indigenous people make up only six per cent of Alberta’s population.

Over the past few years, the correctional facility numbers have remained steady, with Indigenous inmates making up 39 per cent in both 2016-17 and 2015-16. The percentage has gone up over the past decade, with the figure sitting at 36 per cent in 2007-08.

A year-and-a-half ago, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said the issue was a “huge concern” for the NDP government and the province was trying to take action to bring the rate down.

“It’s definitely disappointing to see that those numbers are as high as they are,” Ganley said in an interview.