The Heiltsuk First Nation has launched a Charter challenge lawsuit against the RCMP in B.C. Supreme Court for what it says is failing to enforce band council bylaws.
The lawsuit claims the force’s ongoing failure to enforce trespass bylaws on Heiltsuk reserve lands duly enacted under the Indian Act “amounts to unequal and discriminatory treatment that infringes their section 15 Charter rights to receive equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination.”
The nation, joined by Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, stated on Tuesday morning that the RCMP’s failure to enforce is a Canada-wide problem that “erodes the rule of law in First Nations communities, exacerbates systemic problems involving substance abuse, mental health issues, and violence against women and girls; and deprives First Nation governments of the necessary tools to protect their communities.”
Marilyn Slett, elected chief of the Heiltsuk Nation, said that when the RCMP “refuses” to enforce their bylaws it is discriminatory towards their governance and their people and enhances the fear of calling the RCMP for help because they don’t support their bylaws.
“Today, when a non-Indigenous municipality, landowner or business requests enforcement of a property law, the RCMP enforces it without question, but when an Indigenous government makes the same request, we are refused,” Slett said.
“This is racist and discriminatory, and it is putting our lives at risk.”
The Heiltsuk First Nation, located near Bella Bella on B.C.’s Central Coast, said it is experiencing a crisis of public safety due to violence and drug dealing.
The nation said that without enforcement by the RCMP, offenders feel like they can act freely without fear of accountability.
“The RCMP’s failure of enforcement is racist and discriminatory, and it violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” Phillip said in a statement.
“They have no problem enforcing bylaws to keep non-Indigenous Canadians and businesses safe, but when it comes to Indigenous people, they have an illegal double standard. We stand with the Heiltsuk Nation in calling on the RCMP to enforce First Nations’ bylaws across Canada.”
Global News has reached out to the RCMP for comment on the lawsuit.