Provincial and aboriginal health authorities and the Assembly of First Nations are calling on the provincial and federal governments to work with First Nations to amend the Safe Streets and Communities Act.

Health, Crime, and Doing Time, a new report issued by the BC Office of the Provincial Health Officer, reveals the potential impacts of the Safe Streets and Communities Act on the province's aboriginal people, which threatens to reverse progress made on the overrepresentation of aboriginal people in B.C.'s criminal justice system.

The report, which has been endorsed by the B.C. Office of the Representative for Children and Youth, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), and B.C.'s First Nations Health Authority, recommends revoking the Safe Streets and Communities Act or amending it to recognize the realities of aboriginal people in the country.

These realities include an aboriginal prison population that encompasses 18.5 per cent of all men, 26.4 per cent of all women and 37.5 per cent of all youth in the B.C. corrections, despite making up just over four per cent of the province's population overall.

In a press conference at the Bill Reid Gallery in downtown Vancouver this morning, AFN National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo reconfirmed the AFN's support of revoking or amending the Act.

"We know that we've got higher, in many part of the country, rates of incarceration than graduation, pointing to that old adage that it is more effective to open the door to a school in order to close the door to the jail cell," he said

In addition to graduation rates just over 50 per cent for aboriginal youth in B.C., other factors contributing to high incarceration rates include unstable housing, involvement in the provincial foster care system, family involvement in crime, substance abuse, unemployment, and mental illness -- all of which aboriginal people are overrepresented in Canada.

"Our people, as I've had justice experts remind me lately, do not commit acts of crime at a greater rate than mainstream population of a similar age, but that there is a greater rate of participation and experience with the criminal justice system," said Atleo.

Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Evan Adams added it's important "not to pathologize all aboriginal populations. We're talking about a special subsection."

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall said prior to the act's passing in March 2012, conditions were changing: aboriginal graduation rates and health improved, while incarceration rates for youth overall went down.

But he says the act threatens to reverse these trends with the introduction of harsher penalties like mandatory minimum sentences and the apparent contradiction of section 718.2 (e) of the Criminal Code of Canada requiring judges to consider all forms of punishment prior to choosing incarceration, particularly for aboriginal people.

Kendall emphasized the importance of provincial participation in convincing the federal government to amend the act.

"We've shared this report with a number of ministries and the response has been actually very supportive. I think this government and the ministries are committed to working in a much more in-depth way than other regions of Canada," he said.

"I'm hoping we will see some pressure and some pushback to recognize the special status of aboriginal people in British Columbia."

Evans added the province's unique tripartite health agreement between the B.C. government, the federal government, and First Nations people -- the only agreement of its kind in Canada -- will be key to ensuring reforms are made to the act to protect aboriginal people.

"I think the past, where we would make policy without discussion with aboriginal peoples, is over," he said.

"Now we have them at the table formally with us and we discuss what we can do together in our best efforts to make a change."

Katie Hyslop reports on education and youth issues for The Tyee Solutions Society. Follow her on Twitter.