Evidence of meeting #83 for Public Safety and National Security in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was communities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to pursue the issue of funding. The minister announced an extension to funding. For how many years would that be?
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
The minister announced sustainable funding for five years.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
I'm trying to remember now, was there an increase relative to the funding levels prior, or was it just a straight extension of existing funding?
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
The last negotiated funding was in 2008. There has been a cash injection into the budgets over two years, which represented about 8%, but that 8% does not meet the actual operational costs of the service. There really hasn't been any increase to the funding since 2010.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Except for that cash injection, which was for what?
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
It was to help cover some of the costs we had.
Liberal
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
We have global budgets. We don't have capital or operational budgets. We just have global budgets.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Is the level for the next five years on an annual basis the same as it has been in the past, except for that two-year injection of cash?
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
I can't answer that beyond this year, because this year I know that the funding level is based on the same formula. I don't know what it's going to be from a go-forward perspective.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
But this year it is.
Is the money allotted to the different first nations police forces in a way that uses some kind of objective formula? Is it based on population that you serve, or something else? How do they decide which first nations police force gets how much money out of that global budget?
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
I can't speak to the CTAs. I can tell you about the first nations policing program in Ontario. It's based on a cost per officer, and it's much lower than what my friend from Whitehorse said. He said that somewhere around $200,000 is the cost per officer. It's around $130,000 or $140,000.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Okay.
Are you stuck in a situation whereby both governments, Ontario and Ottawa, say that first nations policing is very important and that it's your responsibility?
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
They tend to point fingers,
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
There's a lot of pointing of fingers, and in the meantime you don't get an upgraded radio system. Is that what happens?
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
It's interesting. I've heard plenty of times from the federal side of it that policing or justice is a provincial responsibility under the Constitution, but I suppose health care is as well, and other services.
At the end of the day, I think there's a fiduciary responsibility for the federal government to be part of the solution. If the finger-pointing goes on, these problems are not going to be fixed.
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
That's right.
You said something, and Mr. Rafferty alluded to it before, that on December 31, 2013, certain funding will come to an end, or you'll have to lay off some people. Could you repeat that?
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
It was a police officer recruitment fund and it was a five-year program.
Chief of Police, Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
I lost 80% of my service.
Liberal
Liberal
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Could that be reflected later on in higher crimes rates, perhaps?