Communication breakdown

And puppies at the Park

ABOVE THE FOLD

More dramatic scenes at the Pink Palace this week: Indigenous leaders, on-reserve police chiefs and New Democrat SOL MAMAKWA chanted and marched their way from the Premier’s Office to the chamber to draw attention to their latest constitutional challenge alleging they’ve been denied equal access to justice.

To wit: The Chiefs of Ontario lawsuit, which also targets the federal government, argues that while First Nations can make their own laws, they’re not being properly enforced or prosecuted. The Chiefs claim the governments don’t provide enforcement and prosecution services, nor do they provide enough funding for First Nations to hire their own officers.

“This leaves us with no access to justice and unsafe communities,” Ontario Regional Chief GLEN HARE told reporters.

A major sticking point is the province’s Community Safety and Policing Act, which came into force April 1 and excluded the enforcement of First Nations bylaws from the list of mandatory policing duties. T…