Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision - Canada has been discriminatory in its funding of Indigenous Policing Services

MASHTEUIATSH, QC, Feb. 3, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - The Government of Canada is perpetuating systemic discrimination against First Nations by not adequately funding the Mashteuiatsh Police Service for many years. This is the conclusion of a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) ruling rendered on January 31, 2022, regarding a complaint filed in 2016 by Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation Chief Gilbert Dominique, who denounced the chronic underfunding of the First Nations Policing Program (FNPP).

Under this federal program, which is based on the principle of partnership between the federal government, the provinces or territories and First Nations, Indigenous communities must have access to police services that are adapted to their needs and equal in quality and quantity to the services provided in surrounding communities with similar conditions. Chief Dominique had complained that the funding received was insufficient to provide an equivalent level of policing services to that of non-Indigenous police services and to ensure the sustainability of services.

Following a hearing in December 2020, the CHRT concluded that the complaint was substantiated and that the implementation of the FNPP perpetuated existing discrimination against Indigenous peoples.

"This is the second time the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has recognized existing discrimination against First Nations in government programs. A similar decision was rendered in 2016 regarding the First Nations Child and Family Services program. We have to stop denying it, there is systemic racism towards First Nations and governments must act to stop it," said Chief Gilbert Dominique.

The Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), Ghislain Picard, maintains that : "This is an important victory for the Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation and First Nations across the country. We hope that this decision will ensure the sustainability of our Indigenous police services, which have often encountered all sorts of difficulties caused by underfunding."

The CHRT has clearly established that the Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation has never been able to benefit from funding that would allow the Mashteuiatsh police to offer its members the same minimum level of service offered by non-Indigenous police services. However, the tripartite agreements for the Mashteuiatsh police included the same missions and responsibilities as the other non-Indigenous police services, as provided for in the Quebec Police Act.

 "First Nations were set up to fail from the beginning with the creation of the FNPP in 1991. As an Indigenous police force, we have responsibilities in terms of services to our populations, to have the same equipment as our neighbors around us, and to offer the same service delivery. The financial dependence on this program has had serious consequences on our police services", says Pierre Simard, Executive Director of the First Nations and Inuit Police Chiefs Association of Quebec (FNIPCAQ).

The CHRT will hold a second hearing to determine the remedies to be granted to the Mashteuiatsh First Nation.

About the Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation
The Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation is located in Lac-Saint-Jean. It has 8,533 members, many of whom live in the community of Mashteuiatsh. Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan is the political and administrative organization that represents the Pekuakamiulnuatsh [www.mashteuiatsh.ca].

About the AFNQL
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador is the political organization that brings together 43 First Nations Chiefs in Quebec and Labrador. [www.apnql.com]

SOURCE Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador

Mélodie Lapointe, Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan, 418 275-5386, ext. 1445, [email protected]; Alain Garon, AFNQL, 418 254-4620, [email protected]