Judge Denis Gascon of the federal court orders that the federal ministry of public safety must pay “at least the amounts from the last tripartite agreements for the financial period 2022-2023”. According to the 65-page decision by the magistrate, this is about the health and safety of the citizens of the indigenous communities.

The three police forces concerned, Contract No.^Oh 3 (SPT3), the UCCM Anishinaabe Police Service and the Anishinabek Police Service (SPA), serve 45 First Nations representing approximately 55,000 people in the affected communities.

They had been stripped of federal funds since the previous agreement expired on March 31.

Federal funds are provided through the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program, which establishes funding for law enforcement in 425 Indigenous communities. Ottawa contributes 52% of the budget, with the provinces and territories covering the remaining 48%.

Prohibitions on Certain Expenditure

The crux of the dispute revolved around the will of Aboriginal communities to break free from a section of the agreement that restricts how police forces can spend federal money. Ottawa, in turn, claims it cannot change that agreement.

Judge Gascon did not want to go so far as to invalidate the disputed section, pointing out that the content of this question still has to be decided before another body, but he exempts the three police forces from doing so. And most importantly, it agrees with the Aboriginal communities that the court must intervene and that it has jurisdiction to issue an injunction “to restore any damage to the public safety and personal safety of the members of the Aboriginal communities who they serve to prevent”.

“Irreparable Damage”

According to the judge, “unless an injunction is issued, the Aboriginal communities served by the three police forces will suffer irreparable harm.”

The question of financial support for Aboriginal police forces does not even arise, stresses Judge Gascon, after which “it is undeniable that Aboriginal communities have a long and difficult history with Canada’s criminal justice system and with apolitical police services”.

Looking back at the course of negotiations, the judge noted that last February the federal government offered to upgrade its financial support to add resources. However, the indigenous leaders had demanded that the restrictions on the use of the money be lifted as they contradicted the principle of indigenous peoples’ self-determination.

Ottawa argued that the spending bans contested by Indigenous leaders are binding and virtually immutable.

False and disturbing claims

However, Judge Gascon is cracking down on Public Security Canada (PSC) and its Minister Marco Mendicino. On the one hand, he notes “the absence of any convincing logic or justification to support the SSC’s position” in relation to the bans on certain expenditures. He also points out that Minister Mendicino has withdrawn one of the controversial spending bans, namely payment for the intervention of specialized police units.

“Ironically, the SSC and Minister repeatedly claim that they are ‘constrained’ by the terms of the program when they themselves have the power to change them at will and can unilaterally change those restrictions.”

“With all due respect,” the judge later writes, “it is fundamentally wrong – and quite disturbing – to see that Canada, SPC and Minister Mendicino continue to restrict the listed prohibitions.” [dans l’entente] of “restriction” when the evidence clearly shows that the SSC can unilaterally decide to change a provision [de l’entente] according to his pleasure and will. »

Follow across the country?

This finding could have implications for other Aboriginal police forces. Quebec and Labrador First Nations Assembly chief Ghislain Picard welcomed the decision in a press release.

“The Court clearly ruled that the Department of Public Safety Canada is not constrained by its own funding policies or ongoing processes, but instead elects to underfund First Nations policing and apply discriminatory policies against them, which is unacceptable.” While I am pleased with the results of this motion filed in federal court, we should never have gotten this far,” Mr. Picard said.

“Public Safety Secretary Marco Mendicino and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must stop endangering the safety of First Nations people across the country,” he continued, concluding that they consider First Nations police services “as the essential service to acknowledge who they really are”.