Public safety minister orders temporary funding for 3 First Nations police services operating on 'fumes'
CBC
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has ordered temporary funding for three Indigenous police services that receive money under a special program administered by Ottawa, after their funding was cut off over two months ago as negotiations for a new agreement have stalled.
Mendicino told reporters in Ottawa on Monday he was "not satisfied with the state of negotiations" between the police services and the government.
"I believe that a number of their concerns in fact have merit, which is why I've now become directly engaged with the community and I've instructed my department to find solutions quickly so that we can resolve any ongoing issues with regards to the flow of monies to the community."
The First Nations and Inuit Policing Program administers the funding for police services in 425 First Nation and Inuit communities across Canada.
The three police services in Ontario that are at the centre of the negotiations with Ottawa are:
Mendicino said while it's not the convention for ministers to get directly involved with negotiations, he has asked for those police services to receive funding they need over the next 90 days.
"First thing's first — let's get funding going back to the community as quickly as possible," he said.
"Then we'll get parties back to the table negotiating in good faith so that we can take the next steps to reconciliation."
However, the lawyer for the three police services said Mendicino's promise changes nothing.
Julian Falconer said the minister hasn't outlined what they need to do to be eligible for those funds, and they will continue to resist signing onto any discriminatory policy.
Falconer said he plans to proceed with filing an injunction before a Federal Court for emergency operating funding on behalf of the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario on Wednesday.
The Treaty Three Police Service, which serves 23 First Nation communities in northwestern Ontario, has been working on a line of credit since June 5.
"We've been operating, essentially, on what I would term the fumes that have been left from the previous funding," Treaty Three Police Service Chief Kai Liu told CBC News.
On March 31, Ottawa's First Nations and Inuit Policing Program cut off funding to the Treaty Three service, the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service (on Manitoulin Island) and the Anishinabek Police Service (covering a large swath of northeastern Ontario).
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