Let me speak to a couple of things that I think are very important.
One thing that was recognized prior to the recent incidents, and that was placed right in my mandate letter from the Prime Minister, was to co-produce with indigenous leadership in Canada a new legislative framework for indigenous policing. For 35 years indigenous policing, policing in indigenous communities and in the territories, has been done primarily as a program. That's the first nations policing program. It receives program funding every year, but it's never been acknowledged or recognized as an essential service. I think that's to its detriment.
It's also, I think, necessary and appropriate to work with indigenous leadership to acknowledge and recognize their jurisdiction in governance, in oversight and in accountability and for them to have the ability to define how they want their communities to be policed. There are a number of models with various levels of success across the country. I think we can learn and build upon that. We've been doing that work. I have reached out to regional chiefs of the AFN and to the national chief, but also grand chiefs from around the country. We're also looking at those communities that are currently being policed by their own first nations policing program to look at how we can improve, through a legislative framework, the delivery of those police services. It may include the RCMP. It may include other provincial police services, such as the Sûreté du Québec and the Ontario Provincial Police. Really, it's to acknowledge and recognize the indigenous leadership in their communities and how they want to be policed. We believe there's a need and an opportunity to move forward on that.
As well, we have been investing in creating a more diverse and inclusive RCMP. The commissioner can share with you as well the work that is being done. I will tell you from my own experience that having people in policing who have the lived experiences of the people they serve, who know what it's like to face discrimination and disparity, who know what it's like to be a new immigrant family, who have that lived experience and who bring it to the profession of policing makes policing more effective in those communities. As we work to create more diverse police services, I think that's an important step forward as well. So there is no one thing to do. There are very many things to do.
The last thing I will say in response to your inquiry is that it's not simply about the police; it's about the community in which the police work and the type of work we have them do. It's also necessary to invest in communities, in kids, and to support other aspects of those communities that reduce the need for police intervention. Perhaps no greater challenge exists for the police in this country than that of dealing with people in crisis. A great deal of work has been done and much more needs to be done in that regard.