Parliamentary Committee Notes: Litigation on Indigenous Policing
Proposed Response
- In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada announced up to $540.3 million over five years starting in 2021-2022 and $126.8 million ongoing to support First and Inuit communities served under the Program.
- To further address policing needs identified by Indigenous communities, Budget 2024 proposes to provide:
- $267.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $92.5 million per year ongoing to Public Safety Canada for the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program and to support the work of Public Safety Canada’s Indigenous Secretariat; and
- $200 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, to repair, renovate and replace policing facilities in First Nations and Inuit communities.
- At the same time, the Government of Canada is advancing the co-development of federal legislation that recognizes First Nations police services as essential services.
- Public Safety Canada is working in partnership with Indigenous communities and provincial and territorial governments to improve delivery of the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (FNIPP) to address irritants that are contributing to ongoing complaints
Background
First Nations and Inuit Policing Program
Through the First Nations and Inuit Program (FNIPP), Indigenous policing services are supported through tripartite policing agreements among the federal government, provincial or territorial governments, and First Nation or Inuit communities. Costs under the FNIPP are shared with provinces and territories in accordance with a 52% federal and 48% provincial/territorial cost-share ratio.
There are two main type of policing agreements:
- Self-administered policing agreements, whereby a First Nations or Inuit community manages its own police service in accordance with provincial laws and regulations; and
- Community Tripartite Agreements, where a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers provide dedicated policing services in a First Nations or community.
The main types of agreements in Quebec and Ontario are self-administered policing agreements, whereby a First Nation or Inuit community manages its own police service in accordance with provincial laws and regulations. There are currently 36 First Nations and Inuit-led police services (21 in Quebec and 9 in Ontario) serving 157 communities across Canada.
Litigation: FNIPP
The federal government continues to face legal risks related to the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program. Nations and representative organizations have launched various legal proceedings against the Government of Canada raising the issue of underfunding of First Nations police services and police facilities. These proceedings fall mainly in two categories: discrimination complaints before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal; and civil claims based on the Honour of the Crown. There is also one Charter complaint. The claims and complaints raise a range of complex legal issues.
Many of these cases remain unsettled though due to their potential for financial, policy and jurisdictional precedent, Public Safety Canada 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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