Human rights hearing called for by Indigenous police chiefs of Ontario is delayed

A scheduled three week hearing before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to hear a complaint filed by Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO) has been delayed.

It was set to begin January 6, 2025 to hear arguments that Public Safety Canada chronically underfunds and unfairly restricts Indigenous police from providing protection to First Nations.

IPCO initiated the case in March, 2023, on behalf of Treaty 3 Police, UCCM Anishnaabe Police and the Anishinabek Police Service 

According to a ruling by the Tribunal's adjudicator, IPCO was asked to provide more details last November. 

The complainant added 14 new expert witnesses to its list and increased the number of documents in its submission from 89 to more than 800.

Public Safety Canada asked for the hearing to be adjourned as a matter of fairness to allow it to review the information.

The adjudicator agreed, writing in his decision that the case is complex and affects 86 First Nations.

"The remedies being sought are systemic in nature and if awarded will have far-reaching impacts," wrote Athanasios Hadjis. "Given these complexities, parties must adhere to the rules to enable everyone to know the cases that they must meet and be able to present their own cases fully and amply. The right to know the case to meet and the right to fully respond are the very foundations of natural justice and procedural fairness."

Julian Falconer is a lawyer representing IPCO, and he unsuccessfully argued further delay is an abuse of process.

"It is important to understand that the delivery of new documents was at the direction of the adjudicator, and it is also important to understand that many of these documents, such as commission of inquiry reports, auditor general reports, are all documents that Canada got first when these documents were created," he said

Falconer said it's a difficult pill for his clients to swallow at this point, and to have to wait longer.

"This is an extremely artificial exercise that is a source of great frustration," he said. "But we respect the adjudicative process and the authority of the adjudicator. He's made his decision."

The parties will meet next month to discuss next steps, but there's no date yet for a future hearing.

Falconer says court-ordered negotiations continue to try to come to a new funding formula that would put First Nations police on equal standing with their non-Indigenous counterparts.