NDP MP Lori Idlout rises during an emergency debate, which was called after six First Nations people died at the hands of police officers over the last few weeks, in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Sept. 16.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
The deaths of eight Indigenous people involved in incidents with police since the end of August have leaders across the country calling for improved accountability and oversight in law enforcement.
Police oversight agencies in multiple jurisdictions are investigating the deaths, most of which involved people who were shot and killed, including a 15-year-old boy in Wetaskiwin, Alta. Parliament held an emergency debate last Monday after news coverage of six of the deaths, and two additional cases have since come to light.
“The reality is Indigenous people are at greater peril if they have an interaction with police than other groups,” Aboriginal Legal Services legal director Christa Big Canoe, from Georgina Island First Nation, located on Lake Simcoe north of Toronto, said in an interview.
“Very often it could be de-escalated, there could’ve been alternatives, and when they are shot the oversight is almost nothing.”
Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Éloi Fortin speaks during an emergency debate, which was called after six First Nations people died at the hands of police officers, in the House of Commons on Sept. 16.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
She said it should be shocking that so many Indigenous people died at the hands of police during such a short time, but she said that, unfortunately, these clusters have become the norm. Ms. Big Canoe, who was lead commission counsel for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, said the 2019 report included various calls to justice on policing, but the number that have been implemented on a national standard level is almost non-existent.
“We are seeing some positive steps over time, but it always feels like too little too late.”
The parliamentary debate last Monday focused on six deaths:
- Jack Charles Piche, a 31-year-old Dene father of two, was struck and killed by an RCMP cruiser on a rural road in Northwestern Saskatchewan on Aug. 29;
- Hoss Lightning, a 15-year-old boy from Samson Cree Nation in Alberta, was shot and killed by RCMP during a confrontation on Aug. 30;
- Tammy Bateman, a 30-year-old Anishinaabe mother, died after being hit by a Winnipeg police cruiser near an encampment on Sept. 2;
- Jason West, a 57-year-old man, was shot and killed by Windsor police on Sept. 6;
- Daniel Knife, a 31-year-old Cree man, was shot and killed by RCMP during a reported armed standoff in Central Saskatchewan on Sept. 8;
Steven 'Iggy' Dedam, 34, was shot and killed by RCMP in his home on Sept. 8.Courtesy of Amber Joseph/Supplied
- Steven “Iggy” Dedam, a 34-year-old Mi’kmaq man, was shot and killed by RCMP in New Brunswick on Sept. 8.
In addition, Ron Skunk, a 59-year-old Anishinaabe man from Mishkeegogamang, died in hospital on Sept. 14 after going into medical distress after his arrest in Pickle Lake by Ontario Provincial Police; and Jon Wells, a 42-year-old Blackfoot man, died after being tasered by a Calgary police officer on Sept. 17.
The parliamentary debate was prompted by a call from NDP MP Lori Idlout, who represents the riding of Nunavut. She told the Commons that a history of systemic genocidal policies and colonial attitudes continues to affect Indigenous people when it comes to policing.
Ms. Idlout said there have been repeated calls to increase police accountability and protect Indigenous communities, including in the final reports from both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
“What we need to do is pressure the government to give us implementation plans on how they’re going to implement the TRC calls to action, the MMIWG calls for justice,” Ms. Idlout told The Globe and Mail.
The parliamentary debate was prompted by a call from NDP MP Lori Idlout, who told the Commons that a history of systemic genocidal policies and colonial attitudes continues to affect Indigenous people when it comes to policing.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
She said the federal government is not treating First Nations police seriously enough.
“Even when there are Indigenous police services being offered that they’re put on a different tier, that they’re being treated with less ability to do the same amount of work that RCMP do,” she said.
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse of the Assembly of First Nations told The Globe that she is pressing the federal government to co-develop a new policing legislation with the AFN that would recognize First Nations jurisdiction.
“I think the First Nations have been severely underfunded for far too long, and yet we’re overrepresented” in incidents with police, she said.
Gabriel Brunet, press secretary for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, said in a statement last Friday that the government recognizes that the recent deaths of Indigenous people involving police have been difficult for their communities and families. He said the department is committed to legislation that will recognize First Nations policing as an essential service, and it has made significant investments to “bolster the First Nations and Inuit policing program.”
The RCMP polices most First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities as well as many non-Indigenous communities through contracts with local and provincial governments.
The three-decade-old First Nations and Inuit police program has resulted in nearly 40 self-run Indigenous police forces that together cover 155 communities, while hundreds of communities have special agreements with Ottawa to increase the RCMP’s presence.
However, the federal Auditor-General Karen Hogan issued a report earlier this year criticizing Ottawa for a lack of progress, noting that no new communities were added to the program between 2018 and 2023, despite the federal government earmarking half a billion dollars to expand it.
Conservative MP Raquel Danch speaks during the emergency debate in the House of Commons on Sept. 16.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
In response to a request for RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme to comment on what the force is doing to address the disproportionate number of deaths of Indigenous people at the hands of police, spokesperson Camille Boily-Lavoie responded by sending a previously released statement.
“The RCMP expresses its sincerest condolences to those impacted by these recent tragedies,” the statement said.
“These situations are also difficult for our police officers, 911 operators and employees who work tirelessly to serve communities across Canada.”
Police use of force against Indigenous people has long been an issue.
There’s been an increase in deaths associated with police use of force over the last decade ending in 2022, with Indigenous people overrepresented in those figures.
Indigenous people make up 16 per cent of people killed in police-involved deaths, while accounting for just 5 per cent of the population in Canada, according to Tracking (In) Justice, a data project looking at law enforcement and criminal legal statistics run by Carleton University, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Aboriginal Legal Services and others.