First Nations policing needs to be made an essential service, police chiefs tell AFN assembly

Even though First Nations police forces received a boost in funding from the federal government last year, advocates say major gaps remain.

"Something definitely needs to change," Dwayne Zacharie, chief peacekeeper at the Kahnawake Peacekeepers, told the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Wednesday.

Zacharie, along with Keith Blake, chief of police of the Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service, addressed the AFN's annual general assembly in Vancouver about the need for legislation that deems First Nations policing an essential service.

"We're not satisfied with anything less," said Blake.

"All we're asking for is equality… our communities deserve this and our officers and staff deserve this."

Unlike non-Indigenous communities across Canada where policing operates as an essential service, under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program, funding agreements are negotiated between the communities, Public Safety Canada, and the province.

Currently, there are 37 First Nations and Inuit police services cross Canada that operate under the program. It's a number that has dwindled by nearly half since the program began in 1991.

"Even though the program itself says that it was designed to help First Nation communities develop and create safer communities, you see that by virtue of the way it's going, it looks fairly bleak," said Zacharie.

In 2020, the federal government announced it would create new First Nations policing legislation. Since the announcement, the AFN has been engaging community leaders and chiefs of police to co-develop policy options for a legislative framework.

The framework is meant to replace the current policing program, which has been chronically underfunded according to advocates.

Both the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and Quebec's Viens Commission into system discrimination called upon all governments to "immediately and dramatically" change the state of Indigenous policing, including to replace the program with a legislative and funding framework developed in partnership with Indigenous Peoples.

'It is time that First Nations are funded as non-First Nations," said Quebec and Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard.

"Our goal at the AFN is to ensure that First Nation police get the funding, resources, infrastructure and personnel they have not been able to access."

The AFN also held a national forum on First Nations policing and restorative justice in April. 

"We understand there's a lot of work to do to address systemic racism in this country and to overcome the distrust that First Nations feel towards Canadian police," said Picard.

"Now more than ever, First Nations want control over their own policing services. I believe the right way forward is the recognition of First Nation policing as an essential service."

Chris Moran, assistant deputy minister of the Indigenous Secretariat at Public Safety Canada, leads the task force to  co-develop the legislation. She said so far they've held 13 virtual engagement sessions and in the coming weeks will be releasing a report publicly on what they've heard so far. 

"We know that there are serious concerns about the way and the level of funding that is being provided," said Moran.

The federal government's 2021 budget allocated $540.3 million over five years to support Indigenous communities currently served under the program and to expand the program to new Indigenous communities.

"Although the funding brought some relief, the renewal of the police services agreements and of the framework agreements did bring to light gaps that still need to be addressed in order to push forward on this issue," said Moran.