THUNDER BAY -- Nishnawbe Aski Nation grand chief Alvin Fiddler responded Friday to news about Facebook comments allegedly made by police.
“It’s very disappointing,” Fiddler said. “If in fact these were posted by members of the Thunder Bay Police, I think it’s a setback for the state of relations between the First Nations community and the Thunder Bay Police especially with what happened with the inquest.”
A Police Services Act investigation by the Thunder Bay Police Service Professionals Standards Unit was launched on Thursday after a local reporter with the Aboriginal People’s Television Network provided police with comments posted on the Chronicle-Journal’s Facebook page made on Sept. 17 and 18.
The comments were posted regarding a letter to the editor by Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief, Alvin Fiddler, which was critical of the Thunder Bay Police Service.
Fiddler said the inquest into student deaths put a lot of emphasis on bridging a gap between the city's police and indigenous citizens, especially with the children that come to the city. This incident shows there’s still a long way to go.
“I think it just shows that there’s so much work that needs to be done to educate members of, in this case, the police service on the true history of this country,” Fiddler said.
“They need to be educated on what happened – to truly understand the impacts that we still see in our communities, and to put that in such a negative way it just shows that there’s so much to be done to educate those that work in the front lines.”
The investigation is ongoing and according to a news release issued by the Thunder Bay Police Service it is a top priority.
