Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Meegwetch. Thank you for being here, Chiefs of Police Liu, Skye and Killeen.
It was a pleasure to meet you a few weeks ago, when you clued me in to a number of difficulties related to your profession. One thing struck me.
According to Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario, first nations must have the freedom to design and administer their own policing model. However, within the current provincial and federal funding structure, the Ontario Provincial Police continues to provide critical support, including specialized unit reinforcements and major investigative services.
Should the funding program be adapted to enable first nations police services to develop their own expertise in things like accident reconstruction, homicide investigation and missing persons cases?