“Our Tŝilhqot’in communities need to be able to tackle this problem directly. We are the ones who are closet to the social issues and addiction and substance abuse. We see the impacts in our communities everyday. Through our culture and the knowledge of our Elders, we know how to address it best. My community of Tl’etinqox has the majority of prolific offenders in the region. Federal, provincial and municipal governments have repeatedly failed to address the problems around addiction and prolific offenders. It should be obvious that funding for the RCMP is not the solution while there remains the unaddressed issue of systemic racism throughout the police force. The government’s proposed plan seems to be more about scoring political points, rather than being about effectiveness and seriously addressing the issue. It is unacceptable that there was not one mention of Indigenous groups and partners being involved in this plan. It is time to consider a new approach, which includes more funding and support for Tŝilhqot’in communities to deal with the underlying issues, as well as supporting our Tribal Police initiatives. It is far too costly to continue the failed policies and processes of the government; our People are suffering and the lack of progress is leading to criminal
ramifications.”