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Results: 16 - 30 of 349
Reginald Bellerose
View Reginald Bellerose Profile
Reginald Bellerose
2021-05-13 11:57
Yes. It's Reg Bellerose of the Muskowekwan First Nation speaking. Thank you for the question.
I think what we all have to realize is that this has been going on for us since treaty-making in 1874, so if this control comes back to us, it's not going to be perfect on day one. There needs to be a strategy not to say, “Okay, Indians, you have this now, and you've failed in the first day.” There has to be some patience. There has to be a timeline put forward and an understanding that we're not going to be perfect right out of the gate.
Thank you.
Brooks Arcand-Paul
View Brooks Arcand-Paul Profile
Brooks Arcand-Paul
2021-05-13 11:58
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for the question, MP Schmale.
What we're looking at is that the Criminal Code isn't disappearing either. The Criminal Code has equal application on first nations reserves. What we're looking for is getting the ability to deal with our band resources, which are our homes, to be able to try to deal with and curb this activity. Chief Bellerose has the same situation as some of my clients, and certainly my client now has the same issue. It is a concern about having individuals who are effectively breaking the law but are not able to be dealt with appropriately on the nation.
When we're looking at solutions, we have to empower first nations to be able to do these types of things and to recognize that we have our resources, our inventories of band housing, that we have to deal with as well. It's not just that there is absence of the law on first nations; we just need to be empowered to be able to exercise it.
View Jamie Schmale Profile
CPC (ON)
Clearly, the enforcement....
I know that someone else has their hand up, but I just don't want to lose that thought about the enforcement.
I'm sorry that my camera is not on.
Would it potentially work better if more first nations communities investigated and had the funding to do it and the legal authority of potentially having their own police service...? Can you build on that?
Then I'll get to the witnesses who have their hands up on the other question.
Connie Lazore
View Connie Lazore Profile
Connie Lazore
2021-05-13 12:00
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I could probably comment on both questions.
I agree that we all need the funding, but it was stated earlier that all first nations are not at the same level of capacity in their communities and in their districts.
Here in Akwesasne, we've had a police force. We've had a compliance program. We have our own court. We develop our own laws. I don't see Canada as being able to hear and decide on our laws when they're not developed for them to hear. They're developed for our community. They should be heard by our justices in our court and adjudicated in the area that the law was developed for.
In my mind, funding is always going to be an issue until it starts to come to us. For us, we have a plan in place. We want to develop the compliance program—much as the safety officer title that was used earlier—to serve our community. When we can build trust within, these services will go a lot more smoothly, but right now Canada pushes their laws and Canada tells us in our self-government agreement that we must negotiate self-government. That's not the best place to do that.
View Pam Damoff Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you.
As you know, Public Safety Canada and Indigenous Services are actually doing consultation. Both ministers have in their mandate letter to work in partnership with first nations communities to designate policing as an essential service.
I'm really impressed, Chief Lazore, at just how advanced you are in terms of your criminal justice system, from policing to courts—all of it—and for some time.
Chief Doss-Cody from B.C., thank you for your testimony. You're obviously in a different place, and Chief Bellerose, you're in a different place.
I guess my question to the three of you is this: Do you think the government should be providing funding to build capacity in communities?
I think, Chief Lazore, you could be providing a lot of advice to other communities, but you need the time and resources to be able to do it. Everyone is at a different place.
To your point, Chief Bellerose, you want to put yourself in a position to succeed. I'm wondering what you think about providing funding for that capacity building.
Reginald Bellerose
View Reginald Bellerose Profile
Reginald Bellerose
2021-05-13 12:06
I think one of the first things we need is community engagement.
I've been a chief for about 830 weeks. That's a little more than 16 years. It comes from the people. I can't come here and say, “This is what to do.” That capacity is definitely needed, but what we need to do is go back to the root, to the power, which is the people. The people have the power in treaty territories and Indian country.
What we need to know is how to go and talk to them. Right now I will tell you, because of the colonial system and what's imposed, there's a lack of trust, especially toward first nation leadership. For us, we need to also regain that trust, because we're the ones answering for you guys. It's not government—
Connie Lazore
View Connie Lazore Profile
Connie Lazore
2021-05-13 12:09
Was that on my first answer? When I spoke earlier, I believe I was speaking about the enforcement of our laws and the restrictions of Canada.
As mentioned, we have to deal with two provinces when we talk about Canada laws. When we're talking about the jurisdiction of our court, we have to sit and negotiate with the province. I don't think we should be negotiating with the province.
I find it difficult when you talk about a self-government agreement for us to govern ourselves. With every issue we have, the provinces come in to negotiate, not the federal, yet it's the federal department that is responsible to us. We struggle with trying to get our self-government agreement, because there are so many mechanisms in there. Even education became the province. Justice is the province, and it's two provinces, not one.
We're fortunate that the ministries have come together to talk about an agreement that sees us coming together and recognizing our court. We talked earlier about the reciprocity of our orders. Just the way the provinces respect the orders of each other, our indigenous courts' orders should also be respected and allowed to happen.
Community development laws are for our community, not for the rest of Canada, so they should be heard in our courts, and Canada should not have any authority over how we develop them, if we develop them, and if they are sanctioned and approved. It belongs to each community to do that and to enforce them as well.
Today we look for the funding to pull all this justice system together to work for us—not for Canada but for us, for each respective community.
Thank you. I hope that answers the question you wanted me to elaborate on.
View Arnold Viersen Profile
CPC (AB)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank the witnesses for being here today.
I want to start with Chief Lazore. She talked in her opening remarks about section 107 and how the experience had changed over time. I was wondering if she could expand on that a little bit more.
Connie Lazore
View Connie Lazore Profile
Connie Lazore
2021-05-13 12:21
Thank you, honourable MP.
What happened was that Indigenous Services had decided they were no longer going to appoint justices of the peace. With that moratorium put in place, we did have, I believe, four. We were down to two, and we have one left. We required justices to sit in our court. We decided to take the inherent right component, as we did with the development and approval of our laws, because, again, Indigenous Services stopped approving bylaws. We needed laws to govern ourselves.
With that said, we decided to appoint justices of the peace. We put them through the training that, at the time, was available for them. We've had two sitting inherit right justices since then who have been hearing cases in our court. Today we have 10 in training to be justices of the peace.
We have been continually moving forward. We've been continually exercising our self-government and our inherent right.
We have heard in our court the four offences in the Indian Act that I identified earlier, but today we sit and negotiate that with part of our self-government agreement, because it's in the Indian Act.
If we have to negotiate that, to my mind that doesn't make sense, because we already have it. We're doing it. The provinces turn around and tell us we can't do that either, but it's in the Indian Act. Are we not working to be more independent of the Indian Act?
For us, we have been hearing it. We want to continue hearing it. We've had some cases very recently that probably should have gone to our court, but we sit here negotiating that, and it becomes very difficult.
We have to keep moving forward. We have justices in training and we have justices sitting in our court. As everyone else has said today, we require the funding. We've been carrying this court and all the needs of it for almost 60 years. For 57 or 58 years we've been carrying that.
Brooks Arcand-Paul
View Brooks Arcand-Paul Profile
Brooks Arcand-Paul
2021-05-13 12:25
Yes, although with those situations, it's mostly in southern Alberta, where there are a lot of police forces that first nations have put in place themselves. In central and northern Alberta, there aren't as many. It's mostly the RCMP that occupy the field, particularly if they have policing on their first nations. They have the actual RCMP detachments located within their nations.
However, when it comes to judicial prosecutions, we're running into that issue. That's been a constant issue even for those that do have their police forces in place, but it's less so there because they do have those agreements with the province.
View Arnold Viersen Profile
CPC (AB)
What you're saying is that they're able to act on most of the band laws in provincial court.
View Sylvie Bérubé Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is for Mr. Arcand-Paul, who is a lawyer.
Your not-for-profit association is geared towards first nations, Inuit and Métis lawyers. What are some of your major issues in terms of your work in assisting first nations with legislation and law enforcement?
Brooks Arcand-Paul
View Brooks Arcand-Paul Profile
Brooks Arcand-Paul
2021-05-13 12:33
Thank you for your question, Ms. Bérubé.
If I may, I'll respond in English.
What we never purport to do is to speak for nations. Nations have their own inherent right and sovereignty, which we try to protect. When we're looking at being able to provide nations with their ability to make these decisions, we always go back to the community. It has been brought up many times before this committee to listen to the grassroots. Chief Bellerose raised it. The power comes from the people. It's not a hierarchy that is similar to what we have with this House of Commons. We have to recognize that and respect it.
When we're looking at nations that want to pass laws, we have to go back to the groundwork. We have to go back to the grassroots folks to see what kinds of laws they want implemented. It's giving them the empowerment and allowing the nations to make that determination themselves, not by committee and not by making legislation to do so.
Results: 16 - 30 of 349 | Page: 2 of 24

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