The Globe and Mail: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the Assembly of First Nations Thursday morning that the ongoing deaths of First Nations people in police altercations needs to stop and vowed to change and address the systemic discrimination and racism that exists “within our systems”.
“No mother should have to bury their child, let alone two,” he told First Nations leaders gathered at the special assembly in Ottawa.
In an emotional plea to the Prime Minister at the assembly, Martha Martin demanded answers from the feds, four and a half years after her daughter Chantel Moore was killed by police in New Brunswick. Her son died in police custody months later.
“It’s time to sit with us, it’s time to start making change,” a distressed Ms. Martin told the Prime Minister.
Chantel Moore was shot and killed by Edmunston police in New Brunswick when they responded to a mental wellness check for the 26-year-old from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia.
Ms. Martin said Chantel’s daughter is now terrified of the police.
“What are you going to do to rectify this and make this right?” Ms. Martin pleaded.
The Prime Minister vowed to make change.
“I am committed to doing everything in my power, in my government, to try and fix this, to try to change and address the systemic discrimination, the built-in colonialism, racism that continues to exist within our systems,” Mr. Trudeau responded. “These are things that should not be.”
Mothers Claudette Korchinski-Paquet and Edith Wells also joined Ms. Martin to address the PM at the assembly, calling for police reform.
“We don’t want the police out there shooting our children,” Ms. Korchinski-Paquet said. Her daughter Regis died after falling from a 24th floor balcony while the police were inside her unit. The 29-year old was experiencing a mental health crisis.
“We don’t want police investigating police,” Ms. Korchinski-Paquet told the panel that included Mr. Trudeau and several federal ministers.
Edith Wells said she speaks for all the mothers who cannot be there. Her 42-year-old son, Jon Wells, was killed by Calgary police in September.
“Something needs to be done, [police] are targeting all the Native people throughout Canada and that’s not fair,” she said through tears.
As the PM responded to the group of mothers, wails of grief could be heard along with shouts of “Shame on Canada” from the crowd.
Since August, there have been 10 deaths of First Nations people in police altercations, prompting the Assembly of First Nations to call for a national inquiry on systemic racism in policing and First Nations peoples’ deaths. The prime minister didn’t respond to the media at the assembly on whether he would support that work.
Minister of Indigenous Services Canada Patty Hadju delivered a stern warning to contractors working with First Nations on multimillion dollar infrastructure projects like the water treatment plant upgrade in Neskantaga First Nation in Northern Ontario.
“I’m watching and I’m appalled at the ways First Nations communities are ripped off when millions of dollars are invested to build [water treatment] plants that don’t deliver the water they promised to deliver to you” Ms. Hadju told the assembly.
Neskantaga First Nation has been under the longest-standing boil water advisory in the country after 29 years and the project has been plagued by issues including contractors that have bailed partway through the work.
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