THUNDER BAY - In the wake of several First Nation youth death investigations, an ongoing review looking into possible systemic racism and growing mistrust from First Nation chiefs, leadership with the Thunder Bay Police say there is no crisis.
“I don’t see the situation as a crisis,” said acting Thunder Bay Police Service Chief, Sylvie Hauth. “I see it as a current situation we can work through and something that involves all the community members. We are part of the community as a police service.”
“To say we are in challenging times would be an understatement,” added Thunder Bay Police Service Board chair Jacqueline Dojack. “We recognize that we are in challenging times, that’s different than being in crisis.”
Hauth and Dojack made the statements during a media conference on Wednesday hosted by Thunder Bay Police to address the realities and challenges currently facing the local police force.
“We have a job to do and a community to serve and protect and we will continue to do so,” Hauth said. “There are a lot of challenging events. . . If the community sees this as a crisis, that’s their perception. I’m not negating the fact that there are challenging times. We have a lot of things on our plate right now, but its business as usual, we have a job to do.”
One of the challenges facing the police service is its relationship with First Nations people and leadership. Following the deaths of 17-year-old Tammy Keeash and 14-year-old Josiah Begg, who were both found dead in local waterways last month, First Nations leaders called on the RCMP to take over the investigations.
“At this time, we do not believe this is a practical or necessary action to take,” Hauth said. “The OIPRD will be reviewing these two death investigations as part of their current review and we are fully co-operating with the director on this manner.”
In order for the RCMP to take over the investigations, a request would need to be made by Thunder Bay Police leadership, something Hauth said is not being considered at this time.
“We currently have a review process underway,” she said. “NAN leadership itself has expressed that they have confidence in the OIRPD review and that we will continue to cooperate with the director and follow that course of action.”
According to Hauth, the Thunder Bay Police has a strong relationship with the broader community, including First Nations people, and she said the call to bring in the RCMP came from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation leadership.
“The leaders themselves are insinuating the trust is permeating all aspects of our community,” she said. “I’m not sure to what extent that is coming from the NAN leadership. They have come forward and that is their position.
“It’s not what I see in our daily interactions. We do have a lot of public support and a lot of positive interactions.”
Hauth added that the police service is working to improve relations with all aspects of the community and the people they serve.
She pointed to the police’s participation in the Unity Walk last week as the most recent example of working to strengthen relationships.
“I would like to continue on that momentum,” she said. “We have been working for the last year on a number of inquest recommendations. We’ve built some strong partnerships within the community.”
However, Hauth said the police service cannot solve all the issues and problems facing the city of Thunder Bay.
“We can’t fix all of the underlying issues,” she said. “We are a partner at the table and we are committed to working with those partners and making our community safe.”
Dojack added the police service board will accept and follow all recommendations from the OIPRD review when it is completed.
The Police Services Board is under investigation by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.
“The service board in this city, along with many other organizations, agencies, the city of Thunder Bay, all need to work together in our respective roles on those boards committees, and agencies, and as citizens of Thunder Bay,” she said.
Deputy Chief Don Lewis also provided more details on the police’s request to the Ontario Provincial Police to conduct a review of their investigation into the 2015 death of Stacy DeBungee.
The second request to the OPP was made on Feb. 1 and Thunder Bay Police received the report on the review on May 15. The report is being reviewed by Thunder Bay Police leadership.
