Feds aim to table First Nations policing bill this fall after Saskatchewan stabbings

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said work is underway to make community policing an essential service for First Nations, while addressing "significant flaws."

The federal government is aiming to introduce a bill as soon as this fall that will establish community policing as an essential service for Indigenous communities in the wake of the mass killings in Saskatchewan earlier this month.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters Monday he is “eager” to table the legislation, but added conversations with First Nations are ongoing to ensure they have a voice and that the bill addresses their needs.

“The truth of the matter is it can’t come fast enough,” he said outside the House of Commons.

“We have to make sure we get this work right. It’s important work, and it has to be anchored in a relationship with Indigenous communities that is rooted in trust.”

Mendicino said conversations with those communities have been held throughout the summer as the government works to create a funding model that is “more long-term and sustainable,” while also ensuring Indigenous laws are respected.

He added his ministry and others are working “around the clock” to table to bill this fall, noting the urgency of the demand for more public safety supports for First Nations.

“Coming out of Saskatchewan … collectively all Canadians have to be motivated to do this work as quickly as we can, but to do it in a way that is respectful to the principles of reconciliation,” he said.

Community leaders have called for their own police forces after 10 people were killed and 18 others were injured in a series of stabbings on James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon, Sask., early on Sept. 4.