The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is calling for an immediate and in-depth investigation into the actions of the Thunder Bay Police, following the suspicious deaths of three Indigenous people – Corey Belesky, Mackenzie Moonias and Jenna Ostberg.
Recently, the Ontario Provincial Police laid charges of obstruction and breach of trust against former TBPS (Thunder Bay Police Service) police chief Sylvie Hauth, for her role in the deaths. In 2022, Hauth was also suspended following charges of misconduct, but she retired shortly after, before facing justice.
The call comes just one day after NDP Deputy Leader Sol Mamakwa stood alongside First Nations Chiefs, leadership from Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Anishinabek Nation, and families from Thunder Bay left without credible investigations into the deaths of their loved ones. The group called for a complete reform of the Thunder Bay police service (TBPS) after multiple instances of corruption resulting in decades-long cold cases rendered the existing agency unfixable.
“Ontario and the Thunder Bay Police have failed these families,” stated Mamakwa. “The ongoing failure to investigate the deaths of First Nations people in Thunder Bay has turned the service into a cold case factory with over 20 unsolved cases. The rightful pain, frustration and fear Thunder Bay residents feel about TBPS misconduct cannot be ignored.
“Repairing the governance would go a long way in undoing these systematic injustices. Ontario is not allocating proper resources to relieve these families from this nightmare and give them the justice they deserve.
“The Moonias, Belesky, and Ostberg families need support from Ontario to move investigations out of the TBPS and into the hands of a service capable of conducting credible investigations. They are calling for a complete reform of TBPS after countless instances of corruption have rendered the existing force unfixable.
“This isn’t a simple problem, and we can’t solve it overnight. Whatever the ultimate plan is, it doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to work better than what we have now,” said Mamakwa.
“The Thunder Bay Police have a long history of racism and bias towards Indigenous Peoples,” says CAP National Vice-Chief Kim Beaudin. “It’s obvious their attitudes and prejudices are spilling over into their day-to-day work, and that needs to stop immediately – it’s costing lives.”
Thunder Bay is a hub for many Northern Ontario First Nations, with thousands of Indigenous Peoples visiting for healthcare, school and other services. Between 2000 and 2011, seven Indigenous students were found dead under suspicious circumstances. And in 2017, a First Nations woman, Barbara Kentner died months after being hit by a trailer hitch thrown by a non-Indigenous man hurling racist comments towards her.
Now families of the latest three victims are calling for the TBPS to be disbanded and temporarily replaced by the OPP and First Nations police.
“First and foremost, we must support the families of these victims who simply want justice for their lost loved ones,” says CAP National Chief Elmer St. Pierre. “If we’re going to all move forward in the spirit of reconciliation, police have to immediately change their toxic attitudes and be held accountable for any misconduct.”
