Ontario's finance committee refuses to provide funding for NAPS facilities in First Nations
NAPS vote 'disgraceful': Bisson
Posted By Chelsey Romain, March 8, 2008
The fight over current Native police station conditions continues, but it is a battle MPP Gilles Bisson said will be won in the end.
Bisson (NDP-Timmins-James Bay), on Friday, said a budget motion that would help bring Nishnawbe-Aski Police Services stations up to provincial standards was put forward by the new democrats at this week's Finance Committee meeting only to be voted down by Ontario Liberals.
"Damn right it's a disgrace," Bisson told The Daily Press Friday afternoon. "The province has to start dealing with the conditions of these stations so we put forward a motion to ask the minister of finance to put the money needed into the budget. "
Bisson said of the $23 million needed to build 15 new police stations, the province's 48-per-cent share would account for just under $12 million, a "drop in the bucket" when compared to the province's $100 billion budget.
"Here was an opportunity for the government to do good on its commitment on forming a new relationship with First Nation communities," said Bisson. "Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Michael Bryant and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Chuck Strahl have both stated publicly they want to form a new relationship and do right by the First Nation people.
"This shows there is no new relationship, a lot of rhetoric, but no new relationship."
It was more than two years ago when two inmates at a Kashechewan jail died in a fire because the station was not up to provincial standards. Two officers were also injured.
Since then First Nation communities have been told time and time again that new police stations will be built, but officers continue to work out of portables, some which don't even include toilets.
Last week Kashechewan Chief Jonathan Solomon gave the provincial and federal government 30 days to act or NAPS would be removed from his community, forcing Ontario Provincial Police officers to take over policing duties in the Northern community.
"The government could have fixed this last week with Minister (of Community Safety and Correctional Services Rick) Bartolucci and they could have fixed it with this budget motion," Bisson said. "If this were happening in any other non-Aboriginal community, it would have taken two seconds to find the money to fix this."
Bisson said in the end, it's up to the provincial government to decide whether or not the money is put into the budget, but the least that could have been done this week was for the Finance Committee to put the request into the report.
"We're going to win this in the end," Bisson said. "A lot of communities feel like Jonathan.
"If communities start telling NAPS to get out, it's going to cost the province a whole lot more money, because I guarantee you the OPP won't work in those conditions, because we wouldn't let it happen."