OTTAWA — The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is chiding the federal government for failing to deliver on its promise to introduce legislation to declare First Nations policing an essential service.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told MPs on the House of Commons Indigenous affairs committee that the failure of governments to equally fund First Nations police services is leaving communities unsafe, with no way to address crime and hold perpetrators accountable.
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau promised his government would bring forward a new First Nations policing law in 2020 but the law has yet to materialize.
Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict similarly told the committee First Nations policing should be made an essential service and communities empowered to make operational decisions.
Benedict says northern and remote communities are in most need and many have been victimized by organized crime because of the lack of a constant police presence able to enforce the law.
Woodhouse Nepinak also pointed MPs to the call from chiefs for a federal inquiry into systemic racism in policing following a string of police-related deaths last year that has gone unanswered.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2025.
Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
