Committee
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Add search criteria
Results: 31 - 45 of 349
Brooks Arcand-Paul
View Brooks Arcand-Paul Profile
Brooks Arcand-Paul
2021-05-13 12:34
Listen to your first nation counterparts. Listen to the people on the ground. Open up those dialogues. Really, get out of the business of Indian management. We can do it. We have the ability to do it.
View Eric Melillo Profile
CPC (ON)
View Eric Melillo Profile
2021-05-13 12:38
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank all the witnesses for joining us today and for being part of this great discussion.
I'd like to come back to Mr. Arcand-Paul. If anyone else wants to jump in on this question, please do. Bear with me as I try to figure out the best way to ask it.
We've been hearing, and it's been touched on a bit today, that it's not just a lack of resources for enforcement, necessarily. There are a lot of barriers to accessing appropriate resources for many indigenous peoples throughout the process or throughout the entire justice system as a whole, if I can frame it that way.
Mr. Arcand-Paul, I'm wondering if you want to comment. Do you agree with that interpretation? Do you have any comments or any solutions to that?
Then I'd open it up to comments from anybody else.
Brooks Arcand-Paul
View Brooks Arcand-Paul Profile
Brooks Arcand-Paul
2021-05-13 12:39
I'm sorry. To reframe the question, is it whether first nations or indigenous groups have difficulties accessing the justice system generally for lack of funding?
Yes, that's a theme that has been reiterated many times at this committee today. I'm sure that you hear it at the other meetings on this topic. It is a problem. It is a problem for first nations and it's a problem for other indigenous groups in Canada to be able to exercise their inherent sovereignty.
The other issue is recognizing the legalities of it and recognizing their inherent jurisdiction. If you go to any community, you will know that they understand where they stand. Particularly the treaty nations and the ones on the Prairies have never given up that ability to exercise their jurisdiction.
How can you exercise your jurisdiction if you don't have the funds to do so? We see that Akwesasne and Kahnawake have the ability to establish courts and establish legal mechanisms internally so that they don't have to turn to courts in the provinces or at the federal level. Funding is a very important aspect, and we're not going to achieve that ability to exercise our inherent jurisdiction if dollars are not attached.
I want to make a comment for MP van Koeverden. Yes, those monies are a good start, but at this point, we need more. That's over five years. That's not enough money to be able to establish legal systems and establish inherent jurisdiction.
View Marcus Powlowski Profile
Lib. (ON)
I got up on the right side of the bed, I'll have you know, this morning.
My question is to all of you. I think there's been pretty well unanimous interest and desire to have more power to develop and enforce your own laws on your own territories. We certainly heard that.
Now, the devil's always in the details. To what extent? There are obviously very many different layers of societal rules. What about the big crimes? I mean things like murder, sexual assaults, drug offences. Do you want to also be making and enforcing laws related to these and if necessary prosecuting them and if necessary even incarcerating people?
I'd like to hear an answer from all of you, if possible.
Murray Browne
View Murray Browne Profile
Murray Browne
2021-05-13 12:45
Thank you for the excellent question.
Tla'amin Nation and many other nations I work with have not expressed interest in taking over criminal prosecutions, but we do separate land jurisdiction from criminal action. The nations I work with are willing to support and work with the RCMP under the Criminal Code and with Canadian courts on serious offences. Sentencing, community justice, is another matter.
We have to have authority over lands. If there's a drug dealer or a violent sexual offender living in the middle of the community, yes, they need to be dealt with under the Criminal Code, but the nation has to have land jurisdiction to restrain or move that person out.
I'll say that. Thanks for the question.
Connie Lazore
View Connie Lazore Profile
Connie Lazore
2021-05-13 12:46
Yes, I do. As mentioned earlier, we have our own court. We have our community laws and bylaws there, and we've also heard common assault cases, B and E, vagrants, and cruelty to animals. We're not looking to take everything right away because, as you know, none of it is funded. We have a police force that does have holding cells, but that's just a holding cell. That type of Criminal Code offence will still belong with Canada. Canada has those laws for that. We're not looking to take that on, but we are looking to govern ourselves and to have our community laws. We don't want to step on other people's toes, so we'd appreciate if they'd get off ours.
Thank you.
Brooks Arcand-Paul
View Brooks Arcand-Paul Profile
Brooks Arcand-Paul
2021-05-13 12:47
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's a really good question.
I want to echo Chief Lazore's sentiments. Ultimately, the Criminal Code isn't going anywhere. I think the way Chief Justice Lamer put it was quite great in the Delgamuukw decision:“Let us face it, we are all here to stay.” We're not going anywhere. We have to recognize how we work together to be able to move forward together, like the treaty intended.
View Marcus Powlowski Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you.
Maybe I can ask Chief Lazore about this. She was the only one so far to have mentioned section 107 and justices of the peace appointed under section 107.
My understanding is that in 2004 the Harper government stopped the funding, and you've appointed your own justices of the peace. What do you think about beginning to fund section 107 courts to prosecute bylaw offences under the Indian Act? Are you in favour of that? I'll ask you and then I'll open it to anyone else.
Connie Lazore
View Connie Lazore Profile
Connie Lazore
2021-05-13 12:48
Thank you, honourable MP, for that question. It is a good question.
The truth is that we're not looking to do anything under the Indian Act. I would prefer that we pull that section right away and that we govern ourselves and our courts, our enforcement, our adjudication—all of it—under us, under Mohawks of Akwesasne.
As mentioned, we're working on that self-government agreement to pull away certain particulars of the Indian Act, and that would be one of them. No, I'm not interested in having our court being an Indian Act court. As the chief mentioned earlier, we get in trouble for everything. That one would really get me in trouble.
Derek Yang
View Derek Yang Profile
Derek Yang
2021-05-13 12:49
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I will echo what my colleague mentioned earlier. These are the issues that we're facing as treaty nations. Under provisions under the Indian Act as well as the First Nations Land Management Act, we do not have powers to continue or to adopt. We currently don't have the ability to be able to enforce our own laws and have court oversight. To simply re-fund that option would leave a lot of nations and bands out of that option.
View Gary Vidal Profile
CPC (SK)
Sorry for our changing our order on you. Thank you so much.
I want to thank all the witnesses. This has been tremendous today, and there has been a lot of valuable information provided for us to consider in our recommendations.
I want to go down a very specific path and I want to open it up to any of you who want to jump in here.
One of the things we've heard over the times we've met on this matter over the last couple of weeks—and I think we've heard it over and over again today—is this concept of a jurisdictional quagmire that seems to be inherently in the system.
We've also heard of the concept of some really good partnerships that are working, and that there is willingness of the law enforcement agencies—whoever they are, whether it's RCMP or your own individual enforcement agencies—to enforce, but the prosecution and the process beyond that seems to be a challenge in what I would call this jurisdictional quagmire.
I want to open up with a really simple question. Instead of a five-year legislative development of this framework and many of those kinds of things, are there some really simple things that you would say...? If you could offer one piece of advice today that would make a difference tomorrow to get rid of some of the jurisdictional issues that you find yourselves facing every day, what would that be?
I'll open it up to whoever wants to go first, and I'd like to hear from as many of you as possible in the short time I have.
Connie Lazore
View Connie Lazore Profile
Connie Lazore
2021-05-13 13:08
Thank you, Chair.
For me, we need to be recognized at the same level as the federal government. For years I've heard “nation to nation” and I've constantly asked someone to define what that meant.
As I see us now, you have the federal, provincial, municipal, and eventually first nation governments. We are the first people of this country, Canada, everything. We are just literally the first people. We should be sitting eye to eye with the federal government, and there I see “nation to nation”. We should not be working with the provinces. We are being pushed down and held under their thumbs at the provincial level. We need to be eye to eye with the federal government.
I have a very difficult time waiting for Canada to decide that policing on first nations reserves is essential. It's the same thing with my fire department. They're not paid. I go across the river and they're all paid, right there in Cornwall, Ontario.
Why are we treated to a level that is a fourth-level government when you claim “nation to nation”? My one opinion, comment, recommendation, is treat us as your equal, and with respect.
Thank you, Chair.
Reginald Bellerose
View Reginald Bellerose Profile
Reginald Bellerose
2021-05-13 13:10
This is Reg Bellerose.
The Chair: Hi, Reg.
Chief Reginald Bellerose: Thanks, Gary.
It's very simple. Everyone needs to understand who the chiefs in Canada are. It's very, very simple. I look at it a little differently because of what I've been through. I don't see us as third level; I see the chiefs as the first level in this country. Just recognize that.
Thank you.
Brooks Arcand-Paul
View Brooks Arcand-Paul Profile
Brooks Arcand-Paul
2021-05-13 13:10
I really like the brevity of Chief Bellerose.
Just listen, also. It's really difficult, and we can sometimes get it into our heads that we have all the answers, but you have to listen to the people to know what those answers are and what the people want. That's what our chiefs are busy working on. That's what I am busy working on. I listen. Instead of talking and talking, we need to listen to be able to find concrete solutions.
Leon McNab
View Leon McNab Profile
Leon McNab
2021-05-13 13:11
Yes. I have a couple of comments. I'd like to make a suggestion.
Across Canada, we need to be comparable. Some of our communities are ahead, while some are left behind. We need to develop at a rate that's acceptable to everyone. A lot of our communities are not prepared in the areas of policing and fire safety. On fire safety, there are communities without fire trucks. I can go on and on, but I think that we need to recognize that first nations people need to develop, and if there is going to be a plan, it is important to have the involvement of our leaders, our chiefs and our people at those tables, where we can all develop at an even pace.
Results: 31 - 45 of 349 | Page: 3 of 24

|<
<
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
>
>|
Export As: XML CSV RSS

For more data options, please see Open Data