WINNIPEG – Manitoba is replacing front-line band constables on dozens of the province’s reserves with better-trained safety officers.
Federal funding for the band constable program runs out in March and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney has rejected any extension.
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After publicly criticizing the decision as a “line of attack” on First Nation communities, the governing NDP introduced a bill today moving toward funding safety officers with potentially greater powers of enforcement.
Attorney General James Allum says the new program will tailor the safety officers with the needs of individual First Nation communities.
Some 31 First Nations communities across Manitoba rely on band constables and get about $1.7 million for the program.
Supporters of the program say the constables are a vital front-line service for many remote reserves where the RCMP detachment is several communities away.
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