Neqotkuk First Nation wants Indigenous-led policing agency after fatal RCMP shooting

An RCMP epaulette is seen in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

TOBIQUE FIRST NATION — The chief of Neqotkuk First Nation wants provincial and federal support to establish an Indigenous-led policing agency on the reserve, following the death of a community member who was shot by an RCMP officer.

Chief Ross Perley says the community is hurting and feeling anxious following Bronson Paul’s death.

“And there’s fear of the RCMP, and there’s anger too,” directed at the policing agency, Perley said in an interview Thursday.

Paul died on Jan. 18 after RCMP officers responded to what police called a “domestic dispute” at a residence in the First Nations community in northwestern New Brunswick, near the province’s border with Maine.

Perley said the RCMP failed to follow a protocol that calls for them to request assistance from the First Nation’s council, outreach team or tribal security, who are skilled at de-escalating such situations.

The chief said he has closed the RCMP detachment in the community following the shooting “and it’s going to stay closed indefinitely.”

Perley and his council are calling on the RCMP commissioner to acknowledge that the police agency has a problem with systemic racism, and they are calling for Premier Susan Holt and Prime Minister Mark Carney to support the establishment of an Indigenous policing service on the reserve.

“We don’t feel the RCMP has done a great job in our communities and we think now is the time to transition away from that,” he said.

“We call on the prime minister, his ministers and the premier and her ministers to support that.”

New Brunswick’s Indigenous Services Minister Keith Chiasson said the provincial government is open to supporting Indigenous-led policing or peace keeping agencies and is ready to work with First Nations to make it happen.

“With the tragic incident that happened... I think there’s an urgency there to have those discussions,” he said in an interview Thursday.

The minister said the province’s role is to do their best to support whatever security, policing or peace-keeping model a First Nation puts forward.

“It will be Indigenous-led, they might mirror a little bit other police forces in First Nations communities across the country, or they may want to put in place a new model... all of that needs to be addressed, but we will be at the table and accompany the First Nations as we explore that possibility,” Chiasson said.

Police have said an officer shot Paul after an unsuccessful attempt to subdue him with a conducted energy weapon. Police also say the man was carrying an edged weapon. He died in hospital.

Paul was the second Indigenous man fatally shot by the RCMP in the region, in a span of about a week.

On Jan. 13, an RCMP officer shot and killed a man from Sipekne’katik First Nation in Nova Scotia along a highway north of Halifax. Police say officers tried non-lethal options before firing multiple shots. This followed an alert issued to residents in the area about a man with a firearm driving a blue Honda.

The two deaths have prompted First Nation chiefs across Atlantic Canada to call for an urgent meeting with the federal government.

Both deaths are subject of police oversight agency investigations by the Serious Incident Response Team.

When asked about the closure of the detachment in Neqotkuk First Nation, a media relations officer with the New Brunswick RCMP said police are continuing to ensure public safety in the community.

“Whether answering calls for service from within or from outside the community, it is important for members of the public to understand that no matter the ‘status’ of the detachment, the N.B. RCMP is continuing to ensure public safety and expected service levels in Neqotkuk,” Cpl. Hans Ouellette said in an email.

By Lyndsay Armstrong

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2026.