First Nation leaders have renewed calls to dissolve the Thunder Bay police service as the previous chief of the northern Ontario pressure faces felony charges in a widening misconduct probe.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a number of chiefs of northern Ontario First Nations and a number of other households with family members who died within the metropolis stated Monday that Thunder Bay police can now not conduct credible investigations.
They stated they want the Ontario Provincial Police to take over for Thunder Bay police.
“Our people are dying. My daughter’s gone, we’ll not have her back,” Vincent Ostberg stated of his daughter, Jenna, each from Bearskin Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario.
She died on Dec. 30, 2023 in Thunder Bay on the age of 21. The Particular Investigations Unit, the province’s police watchdog, stated there have been three 911 requires service from a Thunder Bay residence. By the point police arrived after that third name, officers discovered Jenna Ostberg deceased.
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Vincent Ostberg and two different households visited Queen’s Park in Toronto on Monday to ship a message to politicians.
“We can’t get our children back, but the province, Doug Ford, has the power to give us justice,” Ostberg stated. “If we can’t have our loved ones, we want justice.”
A number of studies since 2018 have documented systemic racism within the Thunder Bay police pressure and outlined how investigations into the sudden deaths of Indigenous folks have been tainted by racist attitudes and stereotyping. 13 of these investigations have been so poorly dealt with they needed to be reinvestigated.
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The households that visited Queen’s Park have filed complaints with the province’s Inspectorate of Policing, a brand new company tasked with inspecting police forces for compliance with the Neighborhood Security and Policing Act.
All three households have requested the province’s inspector basic to reassign the dying investigations into Jenna Ostberg, Corey Beleskey and Mackenzie Moonias to a special police service from Thunder Bay police.
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“The Thunder Bay Police Service has turned into a cold-case factory,” stated Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations in northwestern Ontario.
“When it comes to investigations into the deaths of Indigenous peoples, there is a complete lack of trust, everything has broken down.”
The Ontario Provincial Police introduced felony charges this month in opposition to the previous Thunder Bay police chief and one other high-ranking member.
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Ex-chief Sylvie Hauth and former in-house lawyer Holly Walbourne each face charges of obstruction of justice and breach of belief for allegedly making false statements to the police board and the Ontario Civilian Police Fee.
The fee investigated allegations of misconduct in 2022 and charged Hauth below the Police Service Act for allegedly overseeing an improper felony investigation into the previous police board chair after which allegedly attempting to cowl up her involvement, however Hauth resigned simply earlier than she was set to go earlier than a police oversight tribunal.
In December, as a part of their misconduct investigation, OPP additionally charged officer Michael Dimini with two counts of assault, and one rely every of breach of belief and obstruction of justice for alleged offences happening in 2014, 2016 and 2020.
Present Thunder Bay police Chief Darcy Fleury vowed final week to rebuild the group’s belief within the pressure.
On Monday, Fleury prolonged condolences to the households and others who’re feeling the ache and trauma of loss. He stated the pressure will proceed with its “renewal” and work with households, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Indigenous leaders.
“We are simply not the same service,” Fleury wrote in an announcement. “Change and trust take time. Progress has been made, and more will come.”
The Thunder Bay Police Service Board stated Monday it “understands the process of building trust with Indigenous communities requires transparency, acknowledgment, and accountability.”
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The board stated it “believes having strong local decision making with respect to public safety is critical to the future of policing in our region.”
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The New Democrats requested the solicitor basic within the legislature what the province meant to do with Thunder Bay police.
“There’s a new chief and there’s a new police service board in Thunder Bay with good intentions to keep their community safe,” Solicitor Common Michael Kerzner stated.
“We have to give the new police service board and command leadership an opportunity to work with all community stakeholders so that members of the community feel served and protected.”
The households on the legislature on Monday stated Thunder Bay police had not taken their family members’ instances severely.
Mackenzie Moonias, 14, died whereas in Thunder Bay for highschool. She, like a number of hundred different college students from distant First Nations, left residence as a way to get a high-school schooling.
Moonias was final seen on Dec. 13, 2023, and her physique was discovered 5 days later close to the marina. The household and Neskantaga’s management have questioned the police’s dealing with of the lacking particular person’s case.
“When Mackenzie’s grandmother reported her missing, she was not taken seriously,” stated Chris Moonias, chief of Neskantaga First Nation.
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“I often lay awake in the night wondering if the three days would have made a difference.”
4 months later, detectives assigned to analyze Mackenzie Moonias’s dying haven’t spoken to the household, he stated.
“I also wonder, if she had been white, would the police have responded right away?” the chief stated.
Corey Beleskey, 31, died on Nov. 1, 2022, at a house in Thunder Bay. Police responded for a report of an injured man, however when officers arrived, they discovered Beleskey deceased. They stated the sudden dying investigation was a murder. The pressure recognized suspects, however has but to put any charges greater than two years later, his household stated.
“We still know nothing, we don’t even know his exact cause of death,” stated Donna Beleskey, Corey’s sister.
“We have so many questions and no answers. We feel like the Thunder Bay police forgot about my brother and our family.”
Sol Mamakwa, a New Democrat and the lone First Nation consultant at Queen’s Park, stated Thunder Bay police and its board must go.
“The rot is in the upper echelons of their leadership,” Mamakwa stated. “There has to be change.”
