Future of NAPS up in air

For Nishnawbe-Aski Police Services (NAPS) officers in communities, it is business as usual, for now, despite the political wrangling surrounding the force.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) has signed onto a one-year funding extension for NAPS that will see the force continue patrolling 35 NAN communities.
Yet the future of NAPS remains up in the air. NAN Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler has repeatedly said NAN may have no choice to shut down the police force if funding levels do not increase to more accurately reflect the needs in communities as well as funding levels of municipal and provincial police forces across the country.
“NAN can no longer operate policing under the current terms and we are not willing to extend those terms, as it falls short of the necessary safety services required in NAN First Nations,” Fiddler said following a federal government announcement of a five-year funding extension for NAPS in early March.
NAN was upset that the new funding announcement involved no negotiation with First Nations leaders, included no funding increase to meet the need for more officers and other services, and contained no mention of legislating First Nation police forces the way municipal and provincial forces are legislated.
Fiddler has since reiterated his position that NAN may be forced to shut down the police force, given that funding levels remain inadequate to ensure the safety of community members served by NAPS and the officers working for the force.
Meanwhile, the federal and provincial governments continue to bicker over funding for First Nations policing in Ontario. Under the current agreement Ontario pays 48 per cent of First Nations policing, while the federal government pays 52 per cent.
On March 31 a federal program called the Police Officers Recruitment Fund expired. The $400 million national fund had been in place since 2008, and was being used in Ontario to fund, among other things, 11 police officers for NAPS, eight police officers in Treaty #3 and one police officer in Lac Seul First Nation.
Conservative MP for Kenora, Greg Rickford, told Wawatay that the Ontario government always knew the recruitment fund was going to expire in 2013.
Rickford said that considering the fact the federal government had paid the entire cost of the additional officers for the past five years, it would have been prudent for the province to take the lead on funding an extension of those positions. Yet, he said, the federal government has heard nothing from the provincial ministry on the file.
“The responsible thing for the province to do would have been to acknowledge that the federal government has paid for the positions, and sit down to talk about its willingness to contribute,” Rickford said. “The province had plenty of time to look at the increased numbers and come to us, and they didn’t.
“We do not know where the province stands on this,” Rickford added. “We have not heard anything from the province on this matter. Not one thing.”
In a written response, the provincial minister of community safety and correctional services Madeleine Meilleur disputed Rickford’s comments.
Meilleur said she has written three letters to federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews requesting meetings to discuss the issue of First Nations policing.
“I am disappointed in the federal government’s decision to end the Police Officers Recruitment Fund,” Meilleur wrote. “Ontario used the limited funds provided by the federal government to help First Nations police services hire more officers, as well as increase numbers of OPP and municipal officers. The decision to end the program lays waste to diligent recruitment efforts developed over the past few years and will have an impact on community safety.
“We have been and will continue to lobby the federal government to maintain or increase funding for policing resources in First Nations communities on a permanent basis,” Meilleur added.
As for NAPS, acting chief Bob Herman said the force remains optimistic that a solution can be reached so the force can re-hire the 11 officers who were funded under the Police Officers Recruitment Fund. He said the positions are essential for the force, and that the loss of the officers puts added strain on NAPS.
And as NAN waits for negotiations on the funding levels for the police force, Fiddler continues to push for NAPS to be legislated as a police force, the same way municipal and provincial police forces are legislated, rather than operated as a program as it is now. He also wants to see funding increases so NAN communities see the same levels of policing as other communities across the country.
Rickford said the federal government’s commitment to a five-year guaranteed funding for NAPS is a step in the right direction, as it will provide “stable, core-funding” for the force.
But Ontario’s minister noted that the province is still waiting to hear details on what provincial allocations under the extended funding will be.
“The federal government must come to the table with First Nations and my ministry to identify collaborative solutions to support the long-term sustainability of First Nations police services in Ontario,” Meilleur wrote.