RCMP and FSIN sign agreement to improve communication and safety among First Nations in Saskatchewan

The RCMP and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve communication between police and First Nation communities in Saskatchewan.

The FSIN represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan.

“We are seeing situations like the James Smith Cree Nation case. If there had been a better response time, if there had been better communication between our First Nations and the RCMP, this could have been prevented,” said FSIN's third deputy chief, Aly Bear, at a press conference in Saskatoon, where the signing took place, on Friday.

A stabbing massacre at James Smith Cree Nation and in nearby Weldon, Sask., in 2022 left 11 people dead and 17 others injured.

The agreement includes plans to introduce a new public alert system under RCMP control to help First Nation communities locate missing or at-risk people – a request the community made after the James Smith massacre.

The agreement also sets out the intention to establish a “transparent internal police complaints procedure” to increase transparency.

Another new initiative will establish a direct communication channel between local police chiefs and senior RCMP officers, with the goal of resolving issues without having to go through a long chain of command.

The RCMP and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations signed the memorandum of agreement on Friday during a ceremony in Saskatoon. (CBC News)

“We need to make sure there is good communication between our First Nations and the RCMP so that they can respond in serious situations, in emergency situations, and protect our people,” Bear said.

She said the memorandum of agreement will help strengthen relationships between Indigenous communities and police during a drug epidemic that has sparked fear among First Nations people.

“We need to make sure there is someone we can call and that we are protected,” Bear said.

“Our people have a right to feel safe on their own land. We have a right to feel safe in our own homes, and we have a right to feel safe as non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples living together on this land.”

Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, the highest-ranking RCMP officer in Saskatchewan, said First Nations leaders would know exactly who to ask for help and how.

“It's really hard to put into words how important it is to be able to pick up the phone and have a conversation – when something is happening that may be a crisis situation – that you imagine, not for the first time, that you have a trusting relationship,” she said.

Under this new agreement, the RCMP and FSIN will meet regularly and the agreement will be reviewed every two years.