Indigenous police chiefs claim federal government stalling on human rights tribunal hearing

First Nations leaders and Indigenous police chiefs say the federal government is trying to avoid appearing before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal  for a hearing set to address their complaint of chronic underfunding of Indigenous policing.

They held a news conference in Ottawa, where the Assembly of First Nations is meeting and where policing has been a high-profile issue..

Julian Falconer, a lawyer for the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO) says the federal ministry responsible for administering the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program, Public Safety Canada, filed a late request to adjourn the Tribunal hearing, a month before it is set to begin Jan. 6, and which is slated to run through Jan. 24.

The executive director of IPCO, Kai Lui, is a former chief of the Treaty 3 Police Service and served as chief of two other municipal police services prior to that.

He helped to co-found IPCO in 2019 to represent and advocate for Indigenous police services in Ontario.

Lui described how response time to emergencies in Treaty 3 territory is measured in hours as opposed to minutes, as it is in many municipalities, because there are no officers stationed in some First Nations.

He called on the federal government to stop stalling.

"What we need is for Canada to stop delaying and to start taking responsibility," Lui said at a news conference.

"There is all this talk about reconciliation. How can reconciliation be achieved when Canada won't allow us to have our day in court?"

IPCO filed the complaint in March of 2023, after the federal government cut funding to three police services in a dispute over chronic underfunding and the government failing to recognize their inherent rights to police themselves.

The First Nations say not only are they underfunded, they are not allowed to own their own buildings or put together specialized investigative units.

At the same time as they filed the human rights complaint, IPCO applied for emergency relief to the federal court.

Justice Denis Gascon ordered Canada to restore funding and for Public Safety Canada to re-negotiate the terms of the funding agreements, saying the conditions were discriminatory. 

Falconer says that ruling has produced "no tangible results."

Grand council chief for the Anishnabek Nation, Linda Debassige, pointed out that five of the 39 communities represented in her organization are currently under a state of emergency related to inadequate policing resources.

Debassige noted how her home community of M'Chigeeng called a state of emergency in 2022 after a series of violent incidents related to drug trafficking involving interlopers from southern Ontario.

"Our police services are not allowed to have specialized services to address the situations in our communities," she said.  "And more so now than ever, it has impacted our children, our elders, our families to live daily in a state of fear and concern."

The chief of Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg, Louis Kwissiwa, says there has been a paralyzing lack of action from those in power and the systemic neglect is grinding down his community.

On Nov. 19, the community of about 750 declared a state of emergency calling for immediate help to address recent violence, ensure public safety and invest in drug treatment and aftercare.

"Organized crime and drug trafficking has taken root in our community," Kwissiwa said. "Addiction, violence and trauma is spreading. Overdoses are increasing. Mental health crises are pushing our resources to their breaking point."

Public Safety Canada has not so far responded.

Assembly of First Nation chiefs are also calling for a national inquiry into systemic racism in policing. 

Their resolution cited the recent deaths of 10 First Nations people following interactions with police from August to November 2024, a span of some six months.