Thunder Bay Police Board chair apologizes to families after report urges more death reinvestigations

The chair of the Thunder Bay Police Services Board has broken her silence two weeks after the Broken Trust final report was submitted to the board, and over a week after it was recommended more sudden deaths of Indigenous people in northwestern Ontario should be reinvestigated.

Kristen Oliver, who's also a city councillor, committedto keep working "to rebuild trust and transform" the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS).

"Ensuring investigative integrity in cases, especially involving our Indigenous communities, is paramount to rebuilding trust. Where there are areas to do more, we will ensure that happens," Oliver said during a news conference Wednesday morning.

That investigative integrity and trust in the police service was put into question last week after a confidential report for Ontario's attorney general was leaked to several media outlets, including CBC News.

The report,written by a blended team of investigators who spent years looking through TBPS sudden death investigations, was submitted to the attorney general and the police services boardon March2.

It details serious concerns with the investigations of 14 Indigenous people who died suddenly in the city between 2006 and 2019,with investigators saying they should be reinvestigated. Two other cases, with similar investigative concerns, should go for a coroner review or inquest, and another 25 unresolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG)in Thunder Bay should be reviewed, according to the investigators.

"The impact on these families cannot be overstated. The lack of ability to find closure and the mistrust that has been sown from these experiences with officers goes against everything I stand for," Oliver said, adding shesupports the efforts to find closure andreview the cases.

Oliver apologized to families that have been forced to endure repeated investigations of the deaths of their loved ones.

She repeated multiple times that trust and the deficiencies highlighted by a growing number of expert panel reports and investigations "are not going to be fixed overnight," but promised to continue their work to implement the dozens of recommendations made by the 2016 Seven Youth Inquest, the 2018 Broken Trust report by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director and the 2018 report by now-retired senator Murray Sinclair on behalf of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC).

The board also recently hired an expert panelto help it implement these recommendationsand improve the workplace culture.

Chair expresses confidence in police service

The news conference came after demands for the disbandment of the TBPS.

"There are many people who have lost faith that they will get justice," said Anna Betty Achneepineskum in an interview last week with CBC News.

Achneepineskum is a deputy grand chief with the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a political organization representing 49 First Nations across Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 in the province.

Achneepineskum said she no longer has hope the police service will meaningfully address the systemic racism toward Indigenous people that's documented in the numerous reports by police oversight agencies.

WATCH | NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa calls for OPP oversight of policing in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Ontario NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa calls for inquest and OPP oversight of Thunder Bay Police

2 years ago

Duration 3:58

Ontario NDP MPP Sol Mamawka spoke about the findings of systemic racism within the police force in Thunder Bay, Ont., and is asking the government for an inquest and Ontario Provincial Police oversight of the police service. Here's his exchange in Queen's Park with Solicitor General Sylvia Jones.

The Ontario NDP's critic for Indigenous and treaty relations critic, MPP Sol Mamakwa, also demanded that a commission of inquiry take place andthe OPP be brought in to oversee policing services in the meantime.

Lawyer Julian Falconer supported the call for the disbandment of the TBPS and for the OPP to be brought in, saying city police have demonstrated they cannot be trusted to investigate the deaths of Indigenous people.

In response to those calls, Oliver said she doesn't think this police service should be disbanded.

"There's been substantial work that's already underway or has been completed," she said. "I don't want to try to say the strategic plan is going to be the 'be all, end all' to saving and rebuilding this relationship [with Indigenous communities], but I certainly believe that it's a good step forward."

More to come on additional reinvestigations

The leaked report called for more attention to 41 sudden death and MMIWG cases currently sitting with the Thunder Bay police.

What happens next with those cases is up to Ontario's attorney general, butthe number of cases could possibly continue to grow.

The report begins with the disclaimer: "Due to finite timelines and resources allocated to the process outlined in this report, cases provided here are not an exhaustive list," adding there may be other sudden death cases that "warrant further investigation." It ends with the recommendation for an external audit of all death investigations in the police department's record management system.

CBC News asked Oliver if the board supports the recommendation for the external audit. She responded simply "there will be more to come on that."

Yet another systemic report into the Thunder Bay police's sudden death investigations is also coming, as Ontario's chief coroner, Dirk Huyer, confirmed to CBC News a separate expert panel is reviewing all the material gathered by the Broken Trust investigative team during the last few years. That panel's workhas been underway for close to a month, andwill offer observations about the process and may issue additional recommendations to improve investigations in Thunder Bay.

Oliver said she expects that report to be released later this year.