Indigenous Safety First: Supreme Court Enforces Honour of the Crown in Indigenous Policing
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Posted by Shelby Percival
- Posted in BlogsNews
(pictured: UCCM Police Chief James Killeen, APS Police Chief Jeff Skye, T3PS Police Chief Kai Liu)
November 27, 2024
Today, the Supreme Court of Canada released a landmark decision in Quebec (Attorney General) v. Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan, 2024 SCC 39 (“Takuhikan”), confirming the right of every Indigenous person to the same safety standards as all Canadians. The decision involves decades of chronic underfunding of community safety, and dishonourable negotiation tactics by the Canadian and Quebec governments.
The Falconers legal team, including Julian Falconer, Asha James, Jeremy Greenberg, and Shelby Percival, was honoured to represent the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (“IPCO”), which participated in this case to provide an Ontario perspective on these profound safety challenges.
Click here for a press release from IPCO regarding today’s decision.
At issue in Takuhikan was Canada and Quebec’s refusal to negotiate funding under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (“FNIPP”), resulting in chronic safety challenges in Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation.
In 2022, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled against Quebec and Canada. After Canada agreed to comply with that ruling, Quebec brought its own appeal to the Supreme Court.
Writing for the eight-judge majority, Justice Kasirer held that Canada and Quebec breached their obligation to negotiate funding in good faith, and that the Honour of the Crown had been violated when they refused to negotiate.
In describing Indigenous efforts to obtain adequate funding, the Court compared FNIPP negotiations to “having a knife to the throat” (para 215).
The Court further observed that Canada failed to fulfil its own commitment, set out in a decades-old Policy, that Indigenous people should have policing “equal in quality and level of service” to non-Indigenous communities (para 26).
While this decision will bring immediate, long-overdue relief to the community of Takuhikan, the judgment has broader implications.
Meanwhile, IPCO continues to fight for the safety of dozens of Indigenous communities in Ontario, through IPCO’s own human rights complaint at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
IPCO’s complaint, alleging systemic discrimination against Public Safety Canada in the funding, administration, and implementation of the FNIPP, is scheduled to be heard by the Tribunal in January 2025.
For more on IPCO’s appearance and its ongoing human rights complaint, click here.
For a news report on the Supreme Court’s landmark decision, including comments from IPCO legal counsel Julian Falconer, click here.
Today’s Judgment
- Quebec (Attorney General) v. Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan, 2024 SCC 39.
Key Judgments in IPCO’s ongoing Human Rights Complaint
- IPCO v. Public Safety Canada, 2024 CHRT 104: Tribunal dismisses Canada’s “Scope” Motion.
- IPCO v. Public Safety Canada, 2023 FC 916: Federal Court orders emergency injunction against Canada.
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