NORTH BATTLEFORD — Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC) leaders held a press conference in North Battleford Dec. 1 to discuss their concerns with policing on area First Nations.
Representatives from Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation, Red Pheasant, Saulteaux, Sweetgrass and Ahtahkakoop spoke about their concerns.
“Leaders with the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs feel their communities are facing a public safety crisis fuelled by chronic RCMP shortages, long response times and a policing model that they believe is no longer working,” BATC said in its news release. “The chiefs say several of its First Nations are lacking adequate numbers of police officers and often responding members are dispatched from neighbouring communities.”
Chief Cody Benson of Red Pheasant Cree Nation said the press conference was about bringing awareness to issues happening within the First Nation communities.
“[We have concerns] with the gang activity,” he said. “There are a lot of guns coming into our communities. It's about trying to get some safety back within our communities, so our people are feeling safe again at home. We are just calling on the RCMP to be more active in some of our calls and be more open when an incident does happen in our community. We want it to be public and we want the public to know what's going on, so that other people can know that there are issues happening. It's just being more transparent [about] what's taken place within our First Nations communities.”
Benson said there have been many incidents of concern at Red Pheasant Cree Nation. He said the First Nation has two unsolved murders and a missing person report that has not been solved.
“We continue to lobby for answers,” Benson said.
“[The RCMP] don’t have the manpower to keep up with some of the situations that are happening because they are happening rapidly in all of our communities,” he said. “It's almost pick and choose what's more severe, I guess. It's not the answer. We need to have better answers for that, maybe that's teaming up with the Sask. Marshals and getting answers to some of these unsolved murders that are happening in our communities.”
BATC is asking for increased investment in recruitment and retention, including a focus on mental health resources for first responders.
Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation Chief Tanya Stone said she is concerned about a number of shootings that occurred on her First Nation recently.
“We're uncertain as to where it's stemming from, from our neighbouring nation Red Pheasant or within Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man, but there have been a couple of shootings [that didn’t receive much coverage],” she said. “It's very concerning. That's the reason why we're here today.”
Stone said she hopes to see greater collaboration to improve policing on area First Nations.
“Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs, we have seven First Nations, and it's time we sit down with the City of North Battleford, with the province, with the feds, in regards to public safety,” she said.
She said the First Nations have a good relationship with the local RCMP detachment, “however we need something more.”
“We need resources,” Stone said. “We need an increase of visibility; we need better response times. We need an opportunity to sit down and collectively discuss these concerns.”
She said the First Nations have discussed the issues with the RCMP.
“We’ve been informed it’s part of their strategy, their work plan at the local level, their gang strategy,” Stone said. “But we need more. We need something to improve the service delivery and public safety out in the First Nations.”
Stone added the First Nations see a lot of social concerns, gang activity and addictions that require more support.
“It continues to rise,” she said.
Earlier in November, leaders with Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) issued a public call for urgent action on policing-gaps in northern First Nations, citing chronic shortages of officers, long wait times for emergency response and rising violence. In response, the RCMP acknowledged the issues, noting that remote geography, weather and a surge in calls for service had strained resources — and said policing alone cannot address the underlying social problems faced by these communities.
