No charges filed against SQ officers in Val dOr

That does not mean that nothing happened

Algonquin territory- November 18, 2016- "The fact that there are no charges filed in
court against the Sret du Qubec police officers does not mean that nothing happened,
but that there was not enough evidence to prosecute. 37 complaints from Aboriginal
women cannot be invented. "
This is the message that the 10 Algonquin communities gouped into two organizations, the
Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council and the Algonquin Nation Secretariat, expressed
showing their concern following the decision of the Director of Criminal and Penal

Prosecutions of Quebec not to lay any charges against the police officers identified by
Aboriginal women in Val dOr.
Particularly sensitive to the situations facing indigenous women, the AANTC Grand Chief
Verna Polson is convinced that something has indeed happened in Val d'Or and it would be
dangerous to believe that this report will bring an end to the tension between the First Nations
people and the police force. The Chief of Wolf Lake and representative of the Algonquin Nation
Secretariat, Harry St-Denis, explained that this decision was a slap in the face of all women,
whether Aboriginal or not, who would dare to denounce their aggressors.

The Algonquin chiefs added their voice to the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of
Quebec and Labrador, Ghislain Picard, who calls for an independent police investigation,
but Ms. Polson and Mr. St-Denis said they hoped that such an inquiry should not be limited
to the question of possible sexual abuse, but could also cover the entire relationship
between police officers and First Nations.
The representatives of the Algonquin Nation also believe that the police must be better
trained to understand First Nations' realities and that there is a need for more recruitment
in the communities to get more Aboriginal policemen in the ranks of the SQ. "Police
sensitivity training on First Nations' realities should be given by First Nations people and
delivered directly within the communities," she said, adding that the representatives of the
Algonquin Nation are willing to collaborate on this kind of project if Quebec empowers
them to participate fully.
"When non-Aboriginal women were sexually assaulted a few weeks ago in Quebec City,
there was a spontaneous movement that was created to say "We believe you" when no
aggressor had been identified. I have not heard the same from these people about the

Aboriginal women of Val d'Or, but I want to say to these women in the name of our nation
and members of the Tribal Council; "We believe you" concluded Mrs. Polson.
-30Source:
Verna Polson
819-449-1225
819-462-0436
Harry St-Denis
819-723-2019
705-498-1465