The Cree submission to Quebec’s inquiry on relations with Indigenous people makes waves

When Donald Nicholls walked into the dark, cavernous rooms of the Val-d’Or music conservatory, he was searching for justice, but didn’t know if he would find it there.

This wasn’t entirely new to Nicholls: walking into a large hall, papers everywhere, people adorned with suits and stern faces, ready to listen. He would have encountered similar situations in negotiations and meetings at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, with the Organization of American States, or in numerous courts across the Americas.

For the Director of the Cree Nation Government (CNG) Department of Justice and Correctional Services, however, the September 15 hearing was much closer to home. If it hadn’t been for widespread public pressure, the hearing might not have happened in the first place.

During a Radio-Canada investigative news program in October 2015, several Indigenous women and men accused 28 Sûreté du Québec officers based in Val-d’Or of abuse, intimidation and even “starlight tours” – the practice of driving sometimes inebriated people outside city limits, often in winter, to walk home. The practice gained notoriety after the 1990 death of Neil Stonechild in Saskatoon, and was later found to be a common form of summary punishment for Native people.

After a year of investigation, provincial crown prosecutors announced there would be no charges filed against any of the police officers subject to complaints. (Two other officers outside Val-d’Or were charged on sexual assault charges going back to the 1980s and 1990s.)

Many were quick to condemn the decision, saying that it would further poison relationships between police and Indigenous people. There were repeated calls for a judicial inquiry, which the Quebec government initially ruled out, saying it would conflict with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

For their part, crown prosecutors explained that this didn’t mean the incidents didn’t happen – simply that there wasn’t enough evidence to obtain a conviction. Meanwhile, SQ officers maintained their innocence, and went on to sue Radio-Canada for $2.3 million for defamation for originally airing the allegations.

However, as pressure mounted, Quebec ceded to demands to act. In December 2016, Premier Philippe Couillard announced the Commission on relations between Indigenous Peoples and certain public services in Quebec (CERP for its French acronym).

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When Nicholls finally sat down in front of the CERP commissioner and his staff on that warm September day he detailed a litany of Cree Nation programs and activities that related to the justice system for nearly two hours.

One of the main concerns that Nicholls wanted to stress was the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement’s (JBQNA) ongoing relevance.

In an interview with the Nation, Nicholls explained that commissioners “were told not to worry about the JBQNA, that it was an older document. But when we were there we detailed the provisions of the JBQNA and how it related to frontline services.”

The provisions established in the JBQNA relate to how the Cree Government is meant to work with the province on justice. From the perspective of the Cree Justice Department, many of those provisions were never implemented, which has led to many of the problems seen today.

According to the report, among the policies not implemented were:

• Judges operating in Eeyou Istchee should have knowledge of Cree culture and ways of thinking;
• Justices of the peace and probation officers should be Cree;
• Cree youth offenders should have special facilities for detention, training and rehabilitation;
• Probation, parole and rehabilitation should be provided, where possible, in the Cree language;
• As many Crees as possible should be trained and hired to work in justice.

The report makes several recommendations for the Quebec government.

The first is a focus on adequate housing and women’s shelters in Indigenous communities. The report notes that Indigenous women are three times as likely to face violence as non-Indigenous women. The lack of shelters in Indigenous communities often leads women to flee to urban areas like Val-d’Or or Montreal, where many find themselves homeless and even more vulnerable – sometimes ending up as victims of human trafficking.

The Justice Department report also touches on problems with the police forces.

In 2016, a body called the Native Para-Judicial Services of Quebec was founded to support Indigenous peoples who wish to file complaints against the police. Every month, it receives allegations of abuse. However, according to Quebec Native Women Inc., few of those calls ever turn into official complaints.

In response, the report recommends that all investigations into police activity be conducted by an independent entity with Indigenous representatives participating in the process, and that support and communication be provided to any person going through this process.

Lastly, the Justice Department focuses on the overrepresentation of Natives in the justice system.

In Quebec, Native people make up 5.5% of the incarcerated population, though they represent only 1% of the population.

In Val-d’Or, police ticket Native people for three out of every four citations for public disorder. Of those who had received more than 10 tickets in three years, 95% were Indigenous – many being “over criminalized” for not being able to pay fines, and sent to jail.

The report called for Cree reintegration officers to be placed in all communities, in addition to more Cree staff working within the justice system – a change that would require rewriting policies and laws to recognize the need for Indigenous supports in the justice system.

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Even though he had no idea what to expect going in, Nicholls was more than pleased with the outcome of the meeting.

“It was an incredible opportunity to talk about the highlights of our work, and the things they can step up on,” he related.

He heard back immediately from the commission, who said the presentation was “incredible,” that they were thankful to be educated on the situation in Eeyou Istchee, and were interested in learning more – leaving Nicholls with a standing invitation to submit more information.

The Quebec government and the SQ also quickly got in touch. Both agreed that it was a very helpful submission.

The Justice Department has relationships with its counterparts in the province and federal governments to deal with day-to-day issues. But similarly to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Nicholls sees the CERP as an opportunity to deal with big-picture issues, and resolve problems across the entire justice system.

Nicholls is optimistic that the outcome of the commission won’t just be a report that collects dust on a bureaucrat’s desk. Instead, he’s advocating for the commission to issue calls to action instead of just recommendations – exactly what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission did.

The commission will continue holding hearings this fall.