ANISHINABEK POLICE SERVICE ONE SERVICE S EXPERIENCES WITHIN THE FNPP Presentation to Assembly of First Nations Indigenous Public Safety and Policing Forum March 30, 2016 Regina, SK
HISTORY OF SELF ADMINISTERED ABORIGINAL POLICE SERVICES First Nations Policing Program established in 1991 as a result of the Indian Policing Policy Review in 1990 FNPP self-administered agreements allow First Nations the ability to provide policing services that are culturally appropriate A 2010 evaluation of the program determined that there is a continued need for professional, effective and culturally appropriate Aboriginal policing services to First Nations
BACKGROUND & ISSUES Anishinabek Police Service has operated since 1994 providing policing services to 16 First Nation communities that have transferred their OFNPA agreement to our service We are funded 52/48% by Canada & Ontario by way of a tripartite agreement Our communities are spread across the Province of Ontario We are funded for 61 uniformed members Our headquarters is based out of the Garden River First Nation We have the following key issues: Wage Parity Infrastructure Lack of legislative base
WAGE PARITY
HISTORY OF RATES OF PAY Historically the rates of pay for First Nation officers reflected an adjustment to allow for non-taxable income Clearly, this is discrimination that has been allowed to continue Our taxation status should not be an issue
WAGE PARITY In 2013, the Federal government announced that the First Nations Policing Program (FNPP) would commence a 5 year policing agreement The 2013-2014 budget and subsequent years would provide a 1.5% increase to base salaries only with zero percent provided for all other budget items The increase of 1.5% was the first increase to our annual operating budget since 2008 Our service has operated without any increases for five (5) years prior
APS HISTORICAL ANNUAL FUNDING LEVELS 2008-2009 $10,573,795 3% Increase 2009-2010 $10,573,795 2010-2011 $10,573,795 2011-2012 $10,573,795 No Increase 2012-2013 $10,573,795 2013-2014 $10,573,795 2014-2015 $10,708,129 1.5% increase to base salary only 2015-2016 $10,844,478 1.5% increase to base salary only 2016-2017 $10,982,873 1.5% increase to base salary only 2017-2018 $11,123,343 1.5% increase to base salary only
SUSTAINABILITY The 2013 announcement a five year tripartite agreement was a welcome outcome to the efforts to secure multi-year agreements The FNPP continues to operate hand to mouth and the impact of one year extensions does not allow for: Long term planning Negatively impacts recruitment & retention of front line officers due to instability of funding extensions Retention of trained officers is difficult as they seek services of stability & better salaries Construction of detachments that meet provincial adequacy standards
INFRASTRUCTURE 2014 Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada
INFRASTRUCTURE The instability of funding equals our inability to provide financial institutions the comfort required to support community infrastructure development The provision of detachments is a community effort which requires the securing of funding for construction Our service then enters into a long term lease with the community The majority of structures are far from functioning police detachments Best described as administration centers where community members can discuss police matters 7 out of 12 detachments lack adequate infrastructure & floor space 1 detachment that has cells that would meet adequacy standards was built prior to APS assuming policing responsibility Rely on the OPP facilities for the lodging of prisoners in our remaining communities
LEGISLATIVE BASE ESSENTIAL SERVICES DESIGNATION April 2015 Fort William FN
LEGISLATIVE BASE ESSENTIAL SERVICES DESIGNATION Our service is not subject to the Police Services Act of Ontario The lack of a legislative base has been problematic in our efforts to manage discipline The tripartite agreement requires that we have a Code of Conduct, however, the lack of legislation to support discipline processes creates a significant challenge The Police Services Act relies on the Statutory Powers & Procedures Act of Ontario to compel witnesses & to help manage the hearing process We lack the ability to compel witnesses to provide evidence at our discipline hearings as our Code of Conduct does not have the same advantage
The presence of a trade union is an ongoing concern IMPACT ON DISCIPLINE PROCESSES The union does not recognize the validity of our Code of Conduct The tripartite agreement requires a Code of Conduct to allow employees due process We provide for a disciplinary hearing however at the conclusion of this process the union initiates a grievance under the authority of the Canadian Industrial Relations Board Our service has ongoing & dated grievances that have exceeded thousands of dollars in costs to defend Funding provided under the Tripartite agreement is inadequate to address costs of defending grievances under our Code of Conduct disciplinary process that lacks a legislative base
F.N.C.P.A. 2015 FEDERAL ELECTION During the 2015 Federal Election a letter was sent to all candidates requesting their comments on the issue of the Essential Services Designation of the FNPP
PARITY BUDGET Our staff meet provincial standards requirements and are trained at the Ontario Police College The current level of salaries are not reflective of the OFNPA or OPP We have prepared a draft budget that addresses parity issues relating to salaries, building leases, annual Fleet rotation and new firearms (OPP moving to new standard) The figures identify that we will require an additional $3 million dollars with future adjustments reflective to our counterparts
SUMMARY BY CATEGORY Current Year Parity Budget Salaries & Benefits $ 9,111,367 $10,980,620 Automotive 460,138 954,138 Facilities 307,284 510,074 Training & Travel 413,119 413,119 Policing Expense 74,217 165,717 Professional Fees 166,500 166,500 Insurance 175,536 175,536 Administration 329,650 394,098 Telecommunications 134,589 134,589 Community Service 14,485 14,485 BUDGET PREDICTIONS TOTAL $11,186,885* $13,908,874 Current Level of Funding $10,844,479
PROVINCIAL CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS Acknowledge support of the provincial contribution agreements for RIDE, PAVIS, Community Policing Partnership Program, 1,000 Officer Domestic Violence and First Nation Constables Fund (FNCF) The FNCF agreement has allowed for actual hiring and transfer of tripartite officer s overtime which has reduced our costs and allowed us to balance our budget Without that opportunity, our service would operate in a deficit position Wish to acknowledge the Province s support
CLOSING COMMENTS Meegwitch! John W. Syrette