‘Never get that downtime’: Why an Ontario community only has 1 cop

Everyone living in eastern Ontario’s Hiawatha First Nation knows when Const. John Sahanatien is on duty, and they know when he’s not.

Since his partner went on long-term leave two years ago, Sahanatien has been the only officer patrolling the community near Peterborough, Ont., and he’s heard how word spreads when he clocks off for the day.

When he’s not around, Sahanatien has been told people take off-road vehicles onto roads in the community and drive them at dangerous speeds. Parties get out of hand, and no one is around to conduct RIDE checks on drivers.

“What happens is, while I’m not here, the community doesn’t feel as safe as it used to because there’s no one on patrol, and there’s nobody responding to calls, there’s no one doing proactive work,” he told Global News.

In Sahanatien’s absence, police calls coming from Hiawatha First Nation are redirected to the Ontario Provincial Police assigned to Peterborough County. In a vast part of the province, their responses can be slow.

“It’s a bit of a struggle, but powering through here,” Sahanatien said.

Sahanatien is one of 78 Ontario First Nations Policing Agreement officers across the province. Those officers operate under a tri-lateral agreement with the federal and provincial governments to allow First Nations to provide their own policing, in partnership or with backup from the OPP.

The agreement was signed in the 1990s, and a recent report published by the Chiefs of Ontario argues it suffers from “gross and chronic underfunding.”

The lack of resources, the report said, is taking a toll on officers.

The study polled the 78 OFNPA officers on their mental health, with 43 responding.

It concluded the agreement had led to insufficient staffing levels and intense uncertainty around employment. Officers also reported a lack of career opportunities, trauma and the need to take extended breaks because of the toll their work takes on their mental health.

“Staffing levels for each service are critically insufficient, resulting in officers working alone and without adequate back-up,” the report said.

“OFNPA members experience job insecurity because they do not have the same employment structure as other police officers in Ontario and there is ambiguity and inconsistency with respect to key aspects of their employment, including discipline, termination, accountability and oversight.”

Seventy-four per cent of the officers who responded to the survey said they had experienced mental health issues during their work, and 92 per cent of those who took leave for psychological reasons were off for more than a year.

“It weighs on your mind what could happen,” Sahanatien said.”I’ve been lucky enough to not get into a serious situation on my own, but I’m also cautious and I’m aware of what I want to get myself into. Do I get involved in this, or do I wait for backup?”

Backup means waiting 45 minutes to an hour for support from the OPP.

Among several recommendations contained in the report is that more government resources and funding be put into the program to rapidly increase staffing to ensure officers don’t work alone and to improve their compensation.

Asked about the report, Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner didn’t say if the province would increase its funding to resolve officer shortages — stressing dollars come from a three-way deal.

“The issue is those agreements are subject to the tripartite agreement that includes the federal government,” he told Global News, pointing to areas he wanted to see federal legislation.

“We are not passing the buck,” he insisted, when pressed about what the Ontario government would do. “I want to see the federal government come forward and introduce legislation, but also come forward with more money. Under (the current) formula, they pay 52 cents on every dollar, we pay 48.”

Kerzner said Ontario would put forward more money “as well,” if the federal government did so.

A spokesperson for the federal government said Public Safety Canada had met with the Chiefs of Ontario to discuss the report, but pointed the finger back at Ontario.

“Administration of justice, which includes policing operations, is a matter that falls under provincial jurisdiction,” they said in a statement.

“The Government of Canada works closely with the provinces and territories to provide support for culturally responsive policing, through the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program, which is a cost-shared program.  Under the FNIPP, the federal government matches provincial investments in First Nation and Inuit policing.”

Last year, Ontario signed a “historic” agreement with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service to recognize the First Nations force as the police service responsible for the area and give it the funding necessary to provide effective policing.

The agreement funded the force to respond to crimes it had previously relied on the OPP to solve, and allowed it to double the number of officers it had.

While the two levels of government accuse one another of failing to respond, there are concerns about the toll the current setup is taking on frontline officers.

“This should not be a difficult task,” Ontario NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa said at a news conference. “We will be asking the Ontario government to act now.”

Sahanatien said the weight of responsibility never leaves him.

“I feel like when I’m off duty, I should probably go back,” he said. “I’m always, constantly checking my work phone to see what’s going on. You never get that downtime anymore because you’re always worried about what’s going on back at work.”

Being alone also stops Sahanatien from doing a lot of non-emergency police work — educating people, stopping in to check on individuals or setting up checkpoints to disincentivize impaired driving.

“I know if I had partners, I’d be able to do more proactive work and we’d be able to do (things) like a RIDE check,” he said.

“Yes, I can do it by myself, but if I’m then standing in the middle of the road talking to a driver on this side, facing you, and a car is coming up behind me, I may not see it. It’s always that risk.”

The issues Sahanatien faces — according to the report — stem from how the policing agreement works and from underresourcing.

“These challenges are a direct result of the implementation of the OFNPA model, which is significantly underfunded and confusing to administer,” it said.