UCCM Anishnaabe Police move ahead on their own as negotiations on federal funding continue

The police chief of a small Indigenous service on Manitoulin Island says uncertainty about the organization's eventual funding formula isn't holding him back from making big changes now.

James Killeen was sworn in as chief of UCCM Anishnaabe Police four years ago, and has been battling the federal government over the terms of the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program for much of that time.

He's not alone.

UCCM along with Treaty 3 and Anishinabek Police had refused to renew their contracts in 2023, saying chronic underfunding puts officers and the communities they serve at risk.

In response, the federal government stopped funding them altogether.

The impasse ended up in court with a federal judge ordering emergency funding to flow.

Almost two years later, court-ordered negotiations continue to try to come to a new funding formula that would put First Nations police on equal standing with their non-Indigenous counterparts.

The federal government provides 52 per cent of funding for First Nations police with the province providing 48 per cent.

The three police forces, represented by the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO), are also challenging terms of their contract that ban Indigenous police from hiring specialized officers for drug or major crime investigations, or own their own buildings.

At UCCM Anishnaabe headquarters in M'Chigeeng First Nation, Killeen says he vividly remembers the day he had to tell his staff and officers that their funding was cut.

"It's a scary feeling when that was happening," he said.

"I had a lot of nervous employees here, people saying what are we going to do? What happens? Do I need to look for another job? And I asked everyone to believe in what we were doing and to believe and to trust me and that we would get through this."

Sergeant Todd Fox remembers that he was one of the nervous ones, at first, but is feeling more optimistic now.

"I think we're making a lot of progress," he said. "I think our chief and his command staff along with other IPCO chiefs of police are fighting the right fight. And it ultimately boils down to the safety and security of our people that we protect."

Killeen hasn't been waiting for the outcome of negotiations with the federal government to take steps to provide better service to communities.

In December, UCCM hired a specialized canine officer.

Constable Nicholas Beaudry and his Belgian Malinois Ben are trained to help execute search warrants, and other general duties.

It's a service that is now closer to home for communities that would have previously had to wait hours if they were in need of a canine officer.

Since December, they've been on 30 calls.

It's reassuring to people like Sheldon Miigwans of M'Chigeeng to have police closer in case of emergencies.

He brought his grandchildren to a bike rodeo being put this week on by special constables with UCCM. 

"There's a lot of drugs and assaults, violence on the reserve. and the police handle that right now," he said. "You have to wait longer at certain times for the OPP to get here coming from Little Current or wherever they are."

As for drugs, Killeen wants to improve safety for his officers, who often work alone due to understaffing and respond to violent incidents in remote areas.

The service has 30 officers, which he wants to double to 60.

He is actively recruiting police officers to investigate drug and major crimes, and he's looking after their safety as well.

Killeen's just built a drug processing unit separate from the main offices so any substances police recover can be weighed and tested there under controlled conditions.

He says until now, officers would bring in the substances, potentially fentanyl and other opioids, and test them at their desks, cleaning up as well as they could.

"That's just not acceptable," said Killeen. "Look at the drugs that we're dealing with. They're high potency drugs that if you're exposed to them, especially if you're a person that's never taken illicit drugs before and then you're exposed to it, it can affect you very, very quickly and you can get very ill from it. You could even die from a high level exposure."

Also on the drawing board, plans for a new headquarters, where staff will have their own offices and not have to double up.

Special constable Matt Bebonang was handing out bike helmets and teaching safe biking to children at the bike rodeo and said his passion is to serve his communities as a full-fledged officer.

He's proud his force is involved in raising the issues facing Indigenous policing.

"It shows that even the small people, I guess small people in that sense of policing, need to stand up to get our equitable funding and have our funding on par with every other service in Ontario here," he said.

The changes are not going unnoticed.

Inside the community centre at a meal celebrating police week, Andrew Corbiére filled out a survey outlining what he'd like to see from his police service.

He thinks they're doing a good job and starting to make a dent in the criminal element that targets First Nations.

"I'm beginning to feel safe with the recent arrests they've been making," he said. "It's really putting the word out there. It's sending that message to the bad guys that they're not messing around, that they're here to stay and that they're gonna fight, that war on drugs and crime and do whatever they can."