AFN national chief and Alberta premier ask feds for more First Nations policing funds

The Alberta legislature on Dec. 10, 2023. (Craig Ellingson/CTV News Edmonton)

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith both attended a special chiefs assembly in Calgary from Oct. 16 to 18.

In opening remarks on the assembly’s first day, Premier Smith said she had a “very meaningful and productive conversation” with Woodhouse Nepinak on Oct. 15.

“We are united in our commitment to establish First Nations policing as an essential service in First Nations communities,” said Smith.

On Oct. 21, Woodhouse Nepinak and Smith released a joint statement reaffirming their shared commitment to First Nations policing and calling on the federal government to provide more funding towards it.

“We call on the federal government to move forward on their commitment to implement amendments to the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program that would commit sustainable and predictable funding for First Nations-led law enforcement,” the statement reads, noting the need for local police services “that reflect community values, cultures, and needs.”

Woodhouse Nepinak and Smith noted that the “recent deaths of First Nations individuals during interactions with police highlight the urgent need to address capacity gaps in policing and justice systems.”

On Sept. 17, Kainai Nation member Jon Wells died after being beaten and tased by three Calgary Police Service officers for refusing to leave a hotel in southwest Calgary. Wells was unarmed.

His death is under investigation by the provincial police watchdog.

In her Oct. 16 opening remarks at the special assembly, National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak told delegates that she met with Wells’s family the previous day, noting that Wells was one of nine First Nations members killed by police over the past two months.

“We will never stop fighting in his name and all the others who died in the custody of colonial police forces to ensure justice is served in these cases and First Nations policing is finally legislated and funded as an essential service in this country,” she said.

A March report from federal Auditor General Karen Hogan criticized the federal government’s lack of progress on First Nations and Inuit policing.

Hogan found that Public Safety Canada, the ministry in charge of administering First Nations policing, “did not work in partnership with Indigenous communities to provide equitable access to policing services that were tailored to their needs.”

While First Nations have the ability to establish their own police forces, those who don’t are under RCMP jurisdiction.

Hogan found that “the RCMP did not work in partnership with Indigenous communities to deliver dedicated and tailored policing services that supplemented those provided under agreements with their respective province or territory.”

While funding for First Nations and Inuit policing “increased significantly” since the last auditor general report on the subject in 2014, Hogan found that $13 million of funds weren’t spent in the 2022/23 fiscal year, and upwards of $45 million weren’t spent in the 2023/24 fiscal year.

In their joint statement, Premier Smith and National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak called for First Nations to receive “clear jurisdiction and authority over their own policing frameworks, underpinned by equitable funding from both federal and provincial governments.”

“Such funding must be sustainable and sufficient, ensuring that First Nations-led police services have the resources they need to deliver a high standard of community policing,” they said.

The release notes that the provincial government has contributed $22.5 million towards First Nations policing, more than half of which went towards “three self-administered First Nation police services” — the Blood Tribe Police Service, Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service and the Lakeshore Regional Police Service.

Established in 2008, the Lakeshore Regional Police Service serves five First Nations in northern Alberta — Sawridge First Nation, Swan River First Nation, Driftpile Cree Nation, Sucker Creek First Nation and Kapawe’no First Nation.

The province is collaborating with Siksika First Nation and Enoch Cree Nation to establish their own police forces, according to the release.