Members of the Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation in Lac-Saint-Jean have been victims of discrimination by Public Safety Canada regarding the funding of their police service, confirms the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT).
Posted yesterday at 4:27 p.m.
This decision handed down at the beginning of the week is welcomed by Indigenous representatives as a “decisive and major” victory for all First Nations police services in the country.
Chief Gilbert Dominique had filed a complaint in court in 2016 on behalf of his Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation to denounce the underfunding that affects the public safety of Mashteuiatsh and other Indigenous communities under the federal First Nations policing program. (PSPPN).
The CHRT found that Mr. Dominique’s complaint was well-founded and that there was “unfavorable treatment” as well as discrimination for the provision of a public service under the law “on the basis of his race and of his national or ethnic origin”.
“Systemic discrimination is present and confirmed by the Human Rights Tribunal. Governments must act and implement real actions to eradicate this discrimination,” commented Chief Dominique at a press conference on Thursday.
The federal government has 30 days to decide whether or not to appeal the judgment. Ottawa had tried to block the complaint, arguing that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction in the case, an argument rejected by the CHRT.
As a next step, the CHRT will establish the forms of reparations to be offered by Ottawa. Chief Dominique hopes that these repairs will result in a change in the method of funding to ensure the sustainability of Indigenous public safety services.
Although the decision affects only one police force, Canada will have no choice but to look at reparations in a global form for all communities in the country since they are faced with the same situation, according to the lawyer representing the Pekuakamiulnuatsh, Benoît Amyot.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.
“Close to closing”
Chief Dominique said his community’s police department ran into deficits and “nearly closed” in 2016 due to underfunding.
This lack of money, combined with short-term funding agreements, has also had an impact on the quality or supply of equipment, the number of staff and the salaries of officers, a gap with that of non-Aboriginals. , listed Chef Dominique.
“Public Safety Canada’s First Nations Policing program did not allow us to cover the actual expenses of our public safety in order to meet a minimum of service. However, our police force has the same missions, responsibilities and powers under Quebec police law, ”he argued.
This reality affects the 22 Aboriginal police forces in the province, indicated the director general of the Association of First Nations and Inuit Police Directors of Quebec, Pierre Simard.
“A victim or a crime in an Indigenous community should be able to benefit from the same support, the same tools as in non-Indigenous territory,” he said.
According to the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), Ghislain Picard, the court decision confirms that “governments have failed miserably in funding to support First Nations police services”.
Mr. Picard, who carries the public safety file at the national level, once again calls on the federal government to pass a law that recognizes Indigenous police forces as essential services to ensure adequate funding.
Quebec should also take note of the CHRT’s conclusion, according to Mr. Picard, since the costs of service agreements under the FNPP are shared between Ottawa at 52% and the provinces at 48%.
This distribution of costs also leads to a “vagueness” and an “ambiguity” which “cause a tango dance” between Quebec and the federal government, each passing the buck as to their responsibilities, mentioned Mr. Simard.
This article was produced with the financial support of the Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.