WENDAKE, QC, May 25, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - According to the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL), the report of the Comité consultatif sur la réalité policière, headed by Mr. Bernard Sévigny, did not succeed in grasping the complex reality in which First Nations police services must operate. The AFNQL has met with the members of the Committee but obviously, more is needed. It has addressed the Minister of Public Security directly in an attempt to explain the major issue of the organization of First Nations police services, but notes that it has not been heard adequately. The widespread amalgamation in the report between the situation of First Nations and that of racialized groups is a simplification that leads nowhere, according to the AFNQL. The references to the report of the Viens Commission do not bring any new element of solution, nor do they lead to any encouraging path.
"First Nations policing is an important part of our governance as a Nation. They must meet the specific needs of the people to whom we are accountable. The provincial Minister of Public Security must respectfully consider our reality in the reform of the Police Act for which she is responsible; harmonious mutual relations depend on it," says Chief Gina Deer, responsible for the AFNQL's Public Security file.
For his part, AFNQL Chief Ghislain Picard is counting on the work of the AFNQL-Quebec Political Table to finally bring the Legault government to give the First Nations policing file the attention it deserves: "Only a true political debate, respectful and undoubtedly daring, that is willing to go beyond the beaten path, can bring lasting solutions to the unacceptable situation of First Nations policing, a situation that has already lasted far too long."
The AFNQL-Quebec Political Table will address the issue of public security, and particularly police services, during one of its upcoming meetings.
About the AFNQL
The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador is the regional political organization that brings together the 43 Chiefs of the First Nations in Quebec and Labrador. Follow the AFNQL on Twitter @APNQL
SOURCE Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador
Alain Garon, [email protected], Communications Advisor, Cell. : 418 254-4620
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