Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, spoke in the House of Commons this week, to ask the feds to restore funding to three First Nations Police Services who have had their funding cut by the federal government.
She says as of March 31st, funding has stopped flowing to Treaty Three, Anishinabek, and the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Services, most of which are located along the North Shore corridor or on Manitoulin Island.
Hughes explains under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program, Indigenous policing contracts are funded through tripartite agreements between the federal government, provincial or territorial governments, and First Nation or Inuit communities.
She adds an expedited judicial order against the federal government has been filed just to get basic core funding back especially since there is deep concern about increasing crime rates, which puts the safety of First Nations communities at risk.
Hughes stresses the Crown has the legal obligation to ensure First Nation policing as an essential service with negotiations based on identified needs and funding comparable to non-Indigenous communities.
