NEWS RELEASE
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
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OTTAWA – New Democrat Critic for Indigenous Services and Crown-Indigenous Relations Lori Idlout (Nunavut) took the Minister of Public safety to task in the House of Commons Tuesday given that First Nations Police Services in Northern Ontario have stopped receiving funding under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program.
“Before colonialism, Inuit, First Nations, and Métis had their own forms of policing,” said Idlout in the House of Commons. “First Nations in Northern Ontario undertook their own community policing. But this government is going against reconciliation by refusing to negotiate new agreements.”
As of March 31, Treaty Three Police Service, Anishinabek Police Service, and the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service, which are funded under tripartite agreements under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program, have had their funding cut because they did not sign imposed take-it-or-leave-it contracts. The Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario have launched legal actions in Federal Court and at the Canadian Human Rights Commission regarding those contract impasses.
“This leaves 30,000 people without local police forces,” said Idlout. “When will this government provide funding to keep Indigenous communities safe?”
Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, has previously asked the government to uphold their commitment to First Nations policing.
“This issue cuts to the very heart of reconciliation, and the government’s refusal to negotiate fair contracts that respond to the needs of First Nations communities is exceptionally disheartening,” said Hughes. “No other major police service would have their entire budget slashed because of contract disagreements.”
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