Parliamentary Committee Notes: Indigenous Policing
Commitments:
- Continue to work with First Nations partners to co-develop a federal legislative framework for First Nations policing;
- Continue to engage with Inuit and Métis on policing matters.
Overarching Messages on progress and priorities
- Our Government is committed to the co-development of a legislative framework that recognizes First Nations police service as essential services. In recent months we have worked closely with key partners such as the First Nations Chiefs of Police Association and the First Nations Police Governance Council and provinces and territories to develop elements for federal legislation that would help ensure equitable and sustainable funding for First Nations police services, subject to appropriations, and would continue to respect provincial and territorial jurisdiction for policing.
- In parallel, Public Safety Canada (PS) continues to engage with Inuit and Métis partners to better understand their unique community safety needs and priorities. Regional engagements have been held with Inuit partners such as Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Our Government is also working closely with the Métis National Council, Governing Members and Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak to identify priorities that would be the basis of a proposed Canada-Métis nation Sub-Accord on Justice and Policing.
Co-develop legislative framework for First Nations police services
- The safety and security of Indigenous communities is a priority for the Government of Canada.
- PS continues to work collaboratively with First Nations, provinces and territories, and key partners to make progress on co-developing federal legislation to support First Nations police services as an essential service.
- Informed by Indigenous-led regional and national engagement sessions with First Nations that conclude this month, PS will be advancing the key elements of the legislation with a view to preparing options for legislative drafting.
- First Nations police services may not be the solution for all First Nations communities across Canada. That is why PS is also committed to the continuous improvement of its Indigenous-focused programming. Improvements to the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (FNIPP) will be informed by the recent audit findings of the Auditor General of Canada.
- Ensuring safe and secure Indigenous communities is not something the Government of Canada can do alone. Ongoing collaboration between First Nations and provincial and territorial partners on issues related to crime prevention, policing and the administration of justice is integral to the success of this important work.
Engagement with Inuit and Métis
- PS launched collaborative and distinction-based dialogues with Métis and Inuit partners in 2022 to identify their unique policing and community safety needs.
- This has included engagement with national Inuit organizations such as Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
- It has also included ongoing work with the Métis Nation through the Canada-Métis Permanent Bilateral Mechanism, and has led to the creation of the Justice and Policing Working Group to develop a Sub-Accord to advance on joint priorities related to policing, corrections and justice.
Litigation: First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (FNIPP)
- The Government of Canada has significantly increased available funding for First Nations and Inuit policing, including through Budget 2021 investments of $540.3M over five years. That said, there is more to do to ensure that First Nations and Inuit police services are equitably funded.
- Along with our provincial and territorial partners, we are looking to improve delivery of the program through better governance to support investments and drive towards results in community safety outcomes.
- Canada remains committed to working in partnership with Indigenous communities and provinces and territories of jurisdiction to strengthen public safety in Indigenous communities.
Background:
First Nations and Inuit Policing Program
The FNIPP is a contribution program that provides funding to support the provision of professional, effective and culturally-appropriate policing services to First Nation and Inuit communities across Canada. There are approximately 450 First Nations and Inuit communities, which receive support through the FNIPP, representing roughly 65% of all Indigenous communities in Canada. FNIPP policing agreements are cost-shared between the federal government (52%) and the Provincial/Territorial government (48%).
Funding under the FNIPP is provided to support two main policing models:
- Self-Administered police services (SAs) where a First Nation or Inuit police service is authorized or established by the provincial/territorial government to provide day-to-day policing services to a First Nation or Inuit community. FNIPP supports 36 police services, which serve 157 communities through 939 police officer positions; and,
- Community Tripartite Agreements (CTAs) which support an enhanced level of policing to a First Nation or Inuit community to supplement the provincial/territorial policing services provided by the RCMP. The FNIPP is supporting an additional 455.5 police officer positions deployed in more than 240 communities.
In addition to these two main policing models, the FNIPP provides support to support Quadripartite policing agreements, where a municipality or regional police service provides coverage - representing an additional 86.5 police officer positions.
In 2018-19, PS provided more than $146 million under the FNIPP to support police officer positions in First Nation and Inuit communities in Canada. Further, Budget 2021 provided an additional $540.3 million over five years, starting in 2021-2022, and $126.8 million ongoing, to support communities currently served by the program and to expand the program into new communities. These investments have bolstered existing SA police services through new officers and increased operational budgets, supported the expansion of CTAs in the territories, provided funding for additional RCMP officers in existing CTAs, and supported a pilot program to assess the effectiveness of Community Safety Officer (CSOs).
The CSO pilot projects support more flexible and holistic community safety models. The intent of this process is to measure project performance of a variety of CSO-type models, to inform future program and policy development. PS is in the process of putting contribution agreements into place through the FNIPP.
Budget 2021 also provided funding to support police advisory boards/community consultative groups and feasibility assessments for some First Nations or Tribal Councils to assess policing needs with a view to transition more communities to the self-administered policing model.
Co-development of a legislative framework for First Nations policing
The December 2021 mandate letters of the Ministers of Public Safety, Indigenous Services and Crown–Indigenous Relations direct Ministers to: Continue to work with First Nations partners to co-develop a legislative framework for First Nations policing.
The mandate commitment aims to support First Nations police services through federal legislation which would recognize First Nations police services as an essential service. The envisioned legislation would be primarily designed to: govern federal conduct, including with respect to equitable and predictable levels of funding; reaffirm Canada’s commitment to upholding modern treaties and self-government agreements; and, complement provincial/territorial policing legislation.
In March 2022, PS launched an engagement process to inform the co-development of First Nations police services legislation, resulting in the release of a What We Heard Report later that year. That process, along with ongoing engagement with First Nations, First Nations organizations, First Nations police services, First Nations police boards/commissions, provincial and territorial representatives as well as subject matter experts and others, informed the Objectives and Guiding Principles for the legislation. These were shared broadly with First Nations in summer 2023.
Following further collaborative work with subject matter experts and provincial and territorial representatives, key elements were developed in fall 2023, which are meant to set out the policy intent of the proposed legislation. These elements are being validated through engagement in February and March 2024 being led by the Indigenous Leadership Development Initiative, with over $2 million from PS, and will inform the drafting of a bill.
The co-development of First Nations police services legislation is also a commitment made in the Federal Pathway, the Government of Canada’s response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) final report.
Engagement with Métis and Inuit
In 2021, the Prime Minister mandated the Minister of Public Safety to engage with Inuit and Métis on community safety and policing priorities. PS is proceeding with distinctions-based dialogues with Inuit and Métis organizations. This includes discussions with National Inuit and Métis organizations, Inuit and Métis self-government agreement holders and modern treaty holders, Inuit and Métis youth, women, 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations, and urban Indigenous populations.
Throughout 2023, PS engaged regularly with Inuit organizations bilaterally to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities for those living throughout Inuit Nunangat. PS will continue to support Inuit-led work on community safety and policing priorities. To this end, PS has provided $549,085 under the FNIPP. This project is aligned to the Government's response to Call for Justice 5 from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Engagement with the Métis was held through the Permanent Bilateral Mechanism (PBM) and led to the creation of the Justice and Policing Working Group between PS, Justice Canada, the RCMP, Correctional Services Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Métis National Council, Governing Members and Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak in January 2023. Working groups discussions are aimed at developing a Justice and Policing Sub-Accord, following its identification as a priority area under the PBM.
Métis partners c, they have asserted that there is limited Government of Canada Métis-specific programming. While Métis communities are ineligible under the FNIPP, there are five RCMP Métis liaison officers stationed across Canada. It will require extensive consultations and context analysis before advancing nation-to-nation, government-to-government relationships required for transformative action. This includes risks management of potential practical issues related a Sub-Accord, and the Daniel’s Decision.
Litigation: FNIPP
The federal government continues to face significant legal risks related to the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program. First Nations and First Nation organizations have launched various legal proceedings against the Government of Canada alleging discrimination on the basis of underfunding Indigenous police services and police facilities. These proceedings fall into two main clusters: 1) Discrimination complaints before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal; and 2) Civil Claims based on the Honour of the Crown and related concepts. There is also one Charter complaint.
Many of these cases remain unsettled though due to their potential for financial, policy and jurisdictional precedent, PS is actively seeking ways to mitigate the claims, address the problems that led to litigation and to avoid legal challenges in the future.
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