Death of Chantel Moore: towards a change in mentalities

The group met again on September 5 in front of the British Columbia Parliament to call for changes to wellness checks and the creation of an Indigenous oversight body as part of the investigation into the death of Chantel Moore. It has been three months since the young woman was killed by a police officer during a wellness check in Edmundston, New Brunswick.

Since then, her family and supporters have been calling for justice and for changes to this police protocol. This is the second time since Chantel Moore's death that her family and supporters have gathered on the steps of the British Columbia Parliament. Again, they called for changes to wellness checks and the creation of an Indigenous monitoring body.

“We are gathered here today to let the country know in a strong voice that we will not sit idly by. No, we will no longer sit idly by, said Marth Martin, Chantel's mother. I shouldn't have to beg for justice for my daughter. Our children's lives matter. My daughter was more than a number on a status card...”

Chantel Moore was a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. Her death is currently the subject of an investigation by the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI), the Quebec body responsible for monitoring the police. Judith Sayers, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribal council, of which the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation is a member, was asked to be the spokesperson for Ms. Martin when she was overwhelmed by emotion.

“Do you know what the terrible irony is in all of this? Ms. Sayers continued. The fact is that the final report on murdered or abducted Aboriginal women was tabled exactly one year, day to day, before Chantel's death. A measure that is supposed to make a difference in this country has virtually not been implemented.”

In fact, you can read in the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls that “[...] mistrust due to negative law enforcement experiences continues to foster an environment in which, as noted by many participants, people do not feel comfortable simply seeking police assistance.”

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Changes to welfare checks and police work

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Ms. Sayers then added that, under the circumstances, getting justice would mean getting changes to the way wellness checks are done in the country.In an interview with Times Colonist, Ms. Martin said that Chantel's boyfriend, living in Toronto, asked the police to conduct a wellness check on the young woman because he was worried that she might be harassed.

According to Del Manak, Victoria Police Chief, who was present at the rally on the steps of Parliament, a police officer performs a wellness check when called to ask him to go see how a person is doing because there is a fear for their well-being. He also said in an interview that people who make this type of call do so “for a multitude of reasons,” which are often related to mental health issues.

“What we are asking for is for Chantel to get justice and for wellness checks to be redesigned from the ground up,” Ms. Sayers summarized. Responders who are aware of the traumas people are suffering, not police officers, should be the first to intervene during these stops.”

The Final Report Recommend also that mental health services be integrated into various sectors, including the criminal justice system, housing services and family and child welfare services. It states that “[for trauma-informed services], a sense of safety is created during each interaction” and that “[a trauma-informed approach to all policies, procedures, and practices related to solutions and services is critical to implementing calls for justice.”

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Indigenous Oversight Body and Calls for Justice

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Jeremy Son, the police officer who shot the Aboriginal girl, was initially put on paid leave but was later reinstated and assigned to administrative tasks.Ms. Moore's family filed two complaints against Edmundston police officers before the New Brunswick Police Commission. One is calling for Agent Son to be fired. The other is a complaint against a police officer who laughed while talking about the drama in a video interview with CTV News on June 5. The Tla-o-Qui-AHT hereditary chiefs released A press release on June 20 to request that Officer Jeremy Son be charged with murder under the Criminal Code of Canada. They said that Ms. Moore's death “seems senseless, avoidable and to be an act of systemic racism.”

Ms. Moore's family also expressed concern about the possibility that the BEI does not recommend the filing of charges against the police officer who shot the young woman. In the 125 independent investigations opened by the Office following an injury or death caused by police officers, no charges were brought against the police. At the 5 September rally, Ms. Sayers also called for Aboriginal people to be involved in dealing with police complaints.

“That way, there would be an understanding of Indigenous ways of doing things, Indigenous knowledge,” she explained. We need an Indigenous oversight body for all police forces in Canada.”

NDP MPs Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni) and Laurel Collins (Victoria) also took part in the rally. Mr. Johns' constituency partly covers Nuu-chah-nulth territory. Ms. Sayers recalled that the deputy offered support to Ms. Moore's family “from the beginning.”

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1. Johns and Ms. Collins, who both said they were in favor of changes to welfare checks in the country, assured that they would continue to ask for such changes.

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“We need to make sure that citizens, especially Indigenous people, have confidence in a police oversight process,” Ms. Collins said in an interview. We also need to make sure that we change the way police officers do their jobs and the way wellness checks are done. All of these things are part of the systemic racism that is rife in most of our communities.”