Wolastoqey First Nation chiefs say New Brunswick needs to act now to address systemic racism in its policing and justice systems.
The chiefs released a joint statement Wednesday calling for an independent review of “systemic bias against Indigenous people.”
It comes after the death of Chantel Moore, an Indigenous woman who was fatally shot by Edmundston police last week.
Moore was shot during a wellbeing check when police allege she confronted an officer with a knife and made threats.
“The circumstances of Chantel Moore’s death are tragic, but these systemic problems run deeper than this one tragic incident,” said the six chiefs.
They suggest the government could appoint Indigenous and legal experts to oversee a systemic investigation in an unbiased way.
The chiefs said the also reject a claim by the province’s public safety minister that government has already begun a dialogue with Indigenous leaders on the subject of racism and bias in the policing and justice systems.
“It is simply not good enough for the minister and his cabinet colleagues to claim dialogue is ongoing when it is not; to claim a process is unbiased when it is not; and to tell Indigenous leaders to sit and wait while our communities continue to suffer from a broken system,” they wrote.
Meanwhile, the opposition Liberals say they support calls by the chiefs for a wider independent inquiry.
“The chiefs say the province’s response on this issue in the wake of last week’s tragic shooting of Chantel Moore by a police officer in Edmundston has been ‘tone deaf and condescending.’ That’s an indication that trust is broken here with the government and the issue needs addressing,” said Lisa Harris, opposition critic for aboriginal affairs, in a statement.
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