Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on May 11th, 2021

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Moving along, we'll go to Madame Bérubé for two and a half minutes.

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My question is for Captain Durant.

Captain Durant, what are the successes of the PPCMA?

[Robert Durant]

There have been several successes since the PPCMA was implemented.

First, there have been user-related successes. Several people who might have fallen into homelessness have been able to keep their housing. We supported them so that they could keep it, and we made sure they were able to pay their rent.

Second, we have created connections with communities. In downtown Val-d'Or, many people experiencing homeless or vulnerability have reconnected with members of their community, and this connection has enabled a few people to return.

Third, the PPCMA made a major breakthrough with the development of the clinical committee, which is made up of several stakeholders who work in the field with all users in Val-d'Or. The members of this committee meet once a week in the PPCMA offices to discuss the well-being of the users and to find a sustainable solution. They are looking for solutions for the people, not for society. They try to find mechanisms to achieve this. Case management is done by the group, and one person takes responsibility for their work.

Fourth, Dr. Sébastien Gendron, a psychiatrist at the Malartic hospital centre, became aware of our work. He offered to attend the clinical committee's meetings. When we discuss cases, he listens. He may decide to assess certain individuals to dtermine if they have a mental health issue. If necessary, he can make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

Fifth, we have indigenous staff in our police station. That's a big step forward. These people are from first nations. We are very grateful to the Pikogan community for lending these services. It has opened our eyes to the realities of indigenous communities. It has also helped us to better understand the internal functioning of these communities and given us tools to better intervene with individuals. For instance, we use keywords in the Anishinabe language, which helps us to create a bond of trust with vulnerable indigenous individuals in our community.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Thanks very much.

Ms. Blaney, you have two and a half minutes.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you.

Chief Cox, perhaps I could come back to you.

One of the things you talked about in your presentation to us was the discussion that's happening within the communities you serve on funding the prosecution themselves. We heard from previous testimony that this has been a challenge for a lot of indigenous communities because the cost is so prohibitive.

Could you talk about what that might look like and what sort of plans for that are happening in the communities you serve?

[Chief Dale Cox]

Yes.

Because of the cost restrictions in having to hire their own lawyer to prosecute any of these offences, of my five first nations, I've only had one, and they've only stepped forward to deal with access to the nation, which means banning people they don't want there and putting a bylaw in place for that.

We work together on this. We have an agreement and a partnership that if they find somebody, we will talk to them. Most of those people who they find are an issue are drug dealers and probably are not band members but are living on the nation or coming onto the nation.

If we don't have the grounds to prosecute them for the actual offence, what we will do then is we can prosecute them under the bylaw for being on the nation. There was a band council resolution passed and notice was served upon those people that they were not to be there, and if they do come in, we charge them.

We then work with the band to relay the charges to them so they can move them on to their band lawyer, who will prosecute them at the band's expense.

So far, we've only had one of those happen. Most of it has worked through our taking the band council resolution to the offending party, serving it to them and advising them as to what they will be facing if they do come back on.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

That's really helpful.

Finally, do you have any experience in the nations you serve of enforcing any traditional laws? You talked about banishment. With those traditional laws, has enforcement been successful?

[Chief Dale Cox]

Yes. I was raised among first nations people and I know how important family is to first nations. To ban somebody, to remove them from their family and from access to their family living on the nation, is a very severe step to take. It is taken very seriously among first nations people, and it's the last step that we will take.

That's why programs like community mobilization, the hub program and restorative justice are areas we need to address and move forward towards, to hopefully get to where we don't have to banish and we find another way of fixing the problem.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bob Bratina]

Chief Cox, thank you so much. Thank you, Captain Durant and Captain Guay. I'm sure the testimony you provided today will assist us in resolving so many of the issues that concern us with regard to policing. Once again, thanks for your attendance today.

Members, on Thursday we have our regular meeting with witnesses from 11 o'clock until one o'clock, and then the extra one-hour meeting with additional enforcement witnesses in the evening from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

With that, I will take a motion to adjourn.

Ms. Blaney and Mr. Powlowski, thank you.

(Motion agreed to)

This meeting is adjourned.