Ontario to bring First Nations police forces under provincial standards – The Globe and Mail

Police in many Ontario First Nations communities will be held to the same standards as those in the rest of the province as part of a massive transformation of law enforcement being proposed by the Ontario government.

Legislation introduced on Thursday will allow First Nations communities to create their own police-services boards that would adhere to a new Police Services Act. It would require the Indigenous forces who opt in to the act to meet provincial standards for such things as service delivery, training and equipment – and for governments to provide the funds to ensure that happens.

As it stands, Indigenous policing is just another government program financed by Ottawa and the province. It is not backed by the rule of law. Indigenous communities, especially those in the North, struggle to make do with inadequate police resources, and there is no legal basis to demand better.