Must fix broken trust of police among Indigenous communities, says RNC chief

There are steps to be taken by government, communities, individuals and police to create and strengthen trust amongIndigenous people, saysRoyalNewfoundland ConstabularyChief Joe Boland.

Hisforce is working to build the thatconfidence, Boland said.

"It's a national tragedy, and I think the report speaks to it," Boland said, on recommendations made in a report from the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Boland testified when hearings came toSt. John's in October, and said there's a lot of information in the report from those hearings, but he's thankfulfor it.

We should be listening to survivors.- Joe Boland

"I gotta tell you, testifying at the inquiry was the toughest day of my career," he said.

Boland is candid about how little he knew of Indigenous culture andhow systemic issues go back hundreds of years, agreeingwith the report's finding that police have long been indifferent toward Indigenous people.

"It was heartbreaking, in many instances, to sit and listen to survivors tell their story," said Boland,addingthere's so much more police servicescould be doing to help.

Zero complaints, zero trust

Boland said in researching the issues, he looked into the number ofcomplaints from Indigenous people made to the RNC.

"There was zero, like literally over the last number of years," he said, adding it points to the lack of trust.

That hurts Indigenous women in particular, he said, especially those growing up indifficult situations in ruralLabrador and who come to St. John's for more opportunities and services.

"But you may have somebody here that's sitting, just waiting to bring that person in so that they can traffic the person, sell the person," Boland said.

"And because there's no relationship with police, there's a silence."

'We should be learning'

Boland said his force is committed to better understanding Indigenous cultures and issues to improve the "broken" relationship.

"We should be listening to elders, we should be listening to survivors, we should be learning and we do that a fair bit now," Boland said.

The RNC has sensitivity training, Boland said, as well as a civilian analyst watching out for officer bias, and it works with local organizations.

If Indigenous peoples in this country don't succeed, then Canada is not going to succeed.- Seamus O'Regan

It also has an intimate partner violence unit and mobile mental health crisis unit, and Boland said moving forward includes figuring out where police service fits in the community, because sometimes they're doing things better left to health care, education, or a combination of all three.

The reportrecommends anIndigenous citizens oversight group to work with police, and Boland said the RNC would "absolutely" do that.

"One encounter that goes wrong destroys that trust," he said. "We need to eradicate it from our service."

'It's a catastrophe'

Seamus O'Regan, minister of Indigenous Services, said building that trust, as well as improving understanding and appreciation, is key to changing a broken system.

"We have a lot of work to do, and we continue to have a lot of work to do. We've got to keep hard at it," O'Regan said.

He's hopeful that a bill making its way throughthe Senate, whichwould overhaul Canada'sIndigenous child welfare system andsee control of services handed over to Indigenous communities, will make sweeping changes.

The inquiry's report has 231 recommendations, and 15 of those are aimed at the childwelfare system. He hopes the bill will pass in the Senate in the next couple of weeks.

"There are more Indigenous children in institutional care now than there was at the height of the operation of residential schools. This is an absolute disaster it's a catastrophe," O'Regan said.

"We want to make sure the communities have the capabilities to look after a mother, who is perhaps not able at that time to look after her child, and make sure that the community can look after the child."

Canada isn't Canada without Indigenous peoples the original people of this country O'Regan said, adding any discussion needs to be done in partnership with Indigenous communities, not "from the top down."

"Indigenous peoples add so much. They are the original people of this country, and they add a richness to this country that is just remarkable," he said.

"So many bands, communities, nations, are so individually rich with language, culture, tradition and their heritage, and they're the fastest-growing population in this country.

"What's really important to remember is that, if Indigenous peoples in this country don't succeed, then Canada is not going to succeed."

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