Indigenous and Northern Affairs

The committee studied First Nations policing and public safety, hearing from Inspector Marcel Beaudin of the Ontario Provincial Police’s Indigenous Policing Bureau, Chief Jerel Swamp of the Rama Police Service and President of the First Nations Chiefs of Police Association, Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Inspector Michael Kreisz of the Ontario Provincial Police, Chief Dwayne Zacharie of the Kahnawake Peacekeepers, and Chief Steeve Mathias of Long Point First Nation.

Inspector Marcel Beaudin recommended recognizing First Nations policing as an essential service, providing long-term sustainable funding beyond frontline policing—including for specialized units and community engagement officers—amending Ontario Pension Board rules to allow OPP retirees to work for First Nations police services without pension penalties, and designating funding to enforce First Nations laws. He noted that he has declined leadership roles in First Nations police services due to funding instability and that officers in those services risk their financial security.

Chief Jerel Swamp said the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program funds services on a short-term, discretionary basis, preventing long-range planning and staff stability. He called for legislative recognition of Indigenous policing as an essential service, equitable multi-year funding with compensation parity and modern equipment, and a growth pathway for communities to establish new services with start-up capital and staged staffing. He noted that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canada and Quebec did not honour the honour of the Crown in negotiations with a Quebec First Nation police service.

Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said his communities declared a state of emergency on gang violence after two shootings, one fatal, and that drug dealers charter planes, use road access and mail to bring drugs into remote fly-in communities. He urged Canada to come to the table with a much larger funding envelope, noting that Ontario doubled its budget for the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service after recognizing it as an essential service, but that Canada is dragging its feet. He expressed mixed feelings about federal legislation, saying a one-size-fits-all approach would be difficult.

Inspector Michael Kreisz said that poorly staffed airports in the north allow drug dealers to land undetected, and that his officers in Pickle Lake are stretched thin when they back up NAPS detachments. He agreed that coordination between OPP and First Nations police services is strong, with both sides routinely backing each other up.

Chief Dwayne Zacharie said First Nations police services police about one-third of Canada’s landmass and safeguard critical infrastructure, but are resourced at lower rates than mainstream policing, with outdated facilities, second-hand equipment and short-term funding. He argued that without Indigenous policing there is no national security, and that the cost of replacing those services would be far higher. He noted that Kahnawake Peacekeepers are entirely Indigenous, speak the language and know every family, and that the community has its own court and alternative dispute resolution program.

Chief Steeve Mathias said his community has been without a local police service since 2006, when Canada and Quebec gave a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum, and that the Sûreté du Québec now patrols with a punitive approach that erodes trust. He said Quebec is conditioning a new police station on his community agreeing to reserve status with boundaries he considers too small, calling it political blackmail. He said Canada only returned to the negotiating table a year and a half ago and acted as an observer, and that he may pursue legal action or media attention to break the impasse.

The committee heard a brief exchange on whether OPP resources should be used to confiscate firearms from lawful owners, with Inspector Beaudin saying focusing on organized crime is better bang for the buck and Inspector Kreisz saying he would need to see the framework and whether additional resources are offered.