TORONTO -- After the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake offered to replace RCMP officers on Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n territory with their own Indigenous peacekeeping force in order to help satisfy one of the main concerns of Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said such a solution wouldn鈥檛 happen any time soon.
鈥淣ot tomorrow,鈥� Blair told CTV鈥檚 Power Play.
In a, Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton said that providing Kahnawa:ke Peacekeepers to head up a temporary Indigenous police force in the region could be 鈥渁 possible solution to address one of the most problematic issues in the Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n situation.鈥�
Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs and supporters have been protesting the construction of a Coastal GasLink pipeline slated to go through unceded Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n land in northern B.C., a project that hereditary chiefs say they have not consented to.
Friday saw the second day of talks between Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs and provincial and federal officials, as all parties attempt to find a solution to end solidarity protests across the country that have disrupted rail service.
A key sticking point has been the continued presence of RCMP on Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n land.
But although hereditary chiefs have said that the RCMP must remove themselves from Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n territory and cease patrols in order for negotiations to succeed, Blair said on CTV鈥檚 Power Play that it 鈥渋sn鈥檛 possible,鈥� for the RCMP to completely vacate the area.
鈥淚n every place in Canada, the rule of law will prevail, and underpinning that rule of law is the presence of an effective police service,鈥� Blair said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the RCMP in that region.鈥�
Grand Chief Norton also spoke of the need for there to be policing in his offer of assistance.
鈥淭he key demand is for the RCMP to leave, but there is a need for policing services to offer assistance in everyday matters,鈥� he wrote.
The statement went on to say that Chief Peacekeeper Dwayne Zacharie had agreed to coordinate with Indigenous police chiefs in order to procure a sufficient number of officers to volunteer to patrol Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n territory.
鈥淲e feel this can lead to an immediate de-escalation of the current crisis,鈥� Norton said in the statement.
Blair said 鈥渢hat鈥檚 a model that has worked in a number of jurisdictions, and it can form part of the discussion,鈥� but emphasized further that 鈥渋n every place in Canada, people that live in Canada are entitled to the service and protection of a functioning police service.鈥�
Nathan Cullen, a former NDP MP who is acting as a liaison between the governments and chiefs during the talks, said Friday that the Mohawk offer of peacekeeping assistance isn't a part of the discussions in Smithers, B.C., and that 鈥渋t鈥檚 going to be the people around that table who are going to make the solutions happen.鈥�
Sgt. Janelle Shoihet, of the RCMP, also said that the RCMP were aware of the offer, but that any decisions around police service delivery would need to include the federal and provincial governments and the affected parties.
Blair, who is a former police chief himself, said that 鈥渢he RCMP are the police of jurisdiction in that area, and they have demonstrated -- I think -- throughout this, a willingness to work closely with hereditary chiefs and with everybody in that community to provide those policing services.鈥�
During the RCMP raids on Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n camps set up along Morice West Forest Service Road in early February, the RCMP arrested more than a dozen unarmed land defenders. Journalists attempting to report on the raids were threatened with arrest. A video taken during one of the raids by a land defender at the protestor while he pleaded 鈥渄on鈥檛 point your gun at me.鈥�
Blair pointed out that the RCMP offered themselves to pull their forces out of a remote detachment set up on Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n territory during the enforcement of the injunction.
However, despite this, Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n officials say that Mounties have increased patrols on their land.
Molly Wickam, spokesperson of Gidimt鈥檈n Clan of Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n Nation, spoke to 麻豆影视 on Monday and alleged that the RCMP have continued to harass, arrest and detain Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n people on their own territory even after the Mounties moved their main force to nearby Houston, B.C.
According to Blair, the RCMP 鈥渄o a great job in that community.鈥�
He added that ultimately, policing is a provincial responsibility, and that he has confidence in provincial officials to deal with protests and policing as they see fit.
Historically, relationships between Indigenous communities and the RCMP have been fraught. A detailed how the RCMP in B.C. in particular had frequently mistreated Indigenous girls and women or failed to properly investigate the murders and disappearances that had taken place within that province.
With files from the Canadian Press
