Amid political debate about transgender issues and whether biological males should be allowed to enter women’s washrooms, the federal corrections agency says that eight males were held in female institutions last year.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) revealed the data to The Epoch Times Feb. 26, but it withheld information on the offences and sentences of the inmates, citing privacy reasons.

“Eight male offenders (with accommodation related to gender diversity) were housed in women’s institutions” at the end of fiscal year 2022-2023, a CSC spokesperson said in a statement.

“The accommodation of an offender in an institution that better aligns with their gender identity is CSC’s default position, unless there are overriding health and safety concerns that cannot be otherwise mitigated.”