Today is Red Dress Day – a time to remember, honour, and mourn murdered and missing Indigenous women.
This week, we have been forced to grieve another senseless loss of an Indigenous woman. Sheri Lynn Sabattis – a mother, valued community member and volunteer, sister, daughter, and beloved friend – was murdered by an individual with no ties to our Nation or Oromocto First Nation. In fact, her murderer was a known offender and had been banished from entering Oromocto First Nation by the Chief and Council. However, Oromocto First Nation did not receive support from the Crown to enforce this banishment.
This is a symptom of a much larger rule of law crisis. For many years now, the Crown has refused to enforce or prosecute our laws on reserve, but the Crown does not have any legal basis to do this. Under legislation like the Indian Act and the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management Act, our communities have the right to enact laws, such as laws regulating trespassers on reserve. Our laws are validly passed under this legislation and pursuant to our inherent self-jurisdiction. We have formed working groups, sat at negotiation tables, and tried to build good relationships with local law enforcement.
And, perhaps most importantly, there is a framework agreement between Canada and the Province of New Brunswick, which clearly states that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shall enforce our laws.
Yet, the federal government, provincial government, police, prosecutors, and bureaucrats just point fingers at each other; they blame each other to evade their own responsibilities. All the while, we remain in a legal void. We do not have the tools to enforce or prosecute our laws on reserve.
This is not a new problem, nor is it unique to our communities. Across Canada, we see the Crown uses the same playbook to avoid enforcing and prosecuting First Nations’ laws: jurisdictional buck-passing and vague platitudes, without any political will or practical implementation.
The Crown is denying us access to justice, simply because we are First Nations, and we live on reserve. This is discriminatory and must stop now. We call on the Crown to uphold its honour and act immediately to address this crisis. Had the Crown worked with us to enforce our laws from the beginning, Sheri might still be with us today.
Ross Perley is the Chief of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation).
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