A report from the federal spending watchdog shows that although funding has increased for First Nations and Inuit policing services, spending for the programs hasn’t caught up, while Indigenous communities say their police services are going underfunded.
Tuesday’s report from the parliamentary budget office (PBO) looked at funding and spending for the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (FNIPP).
The program provides funding for policing and community safety services through two types of policing agreements: self-administered police services and community tripartite agreements where existing police services for the province or region provide policing services to a First Nations or Inuit community.
The program’s cost is shared between federal and provincial/territorial governments in a 52 per cent to 48 per cent ratio.
The report says annual funding for the program increased to $395 million from $123 million between 2015-16 and 2024-25, but since 2021-22 those program funds haven’t been fully spent.
The report said the differences in planned and actual spending were arising from differences in funding cycles.
“If the province has already tabled their budget and suddenly the federal government comes up and says ‘we’ve got money for this additional program,’ it’s probably going to have to wait until the next provincial budget,” said PBO director Govindadeva Bernier.
The First Nations and Inuit Policing Facilities Program (FNIPFP) was introduced in 2018-19 to help renovate or replace existing policing facilities in communities, which accounted for an increase in funding.
This program had the same type of funding ratio and also saw less spending than funding, which the report says may be due to Public Safety Canada’s delays in project approval causing misalignment of funding cycles.
Other factors cited included the COVID-19 pandemic, difficulty of construction in remote communities, and a lack of project management skills within Public Safety Canada and communities.
The report said communities say self-administered police services are underfunded and are calling for federal legislation to recognize First Nations policing as an essential service.
While the federal government has committed to that, that goal hasn’t yet been met.
The report says if First Nations policing services were deemed essential services in federal legislation, the FNIPP would need far more funding.
The Senate’s standing committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs requested the report after last year’s audit of the program.
Auditor general Karen Hogan first pointed out the mismatch in funding versus spending.
“Funds allocated to the program are going unspent, which is concerning in the context of a program intended to support the safety of Indigenous communities,” her report stated.
Her audit found Public Safety Canada — the federal department responsible for FNIPP — was not fulfilling its duty to work with Indigenous communities to provide programming tailored to community needs.
Her report said Public Safety Canada lacked an established approach in allocating funding and rather relied on provinces’ and territories’ abilities to fund their share of the program.
Public Safety Canada did not respond to a request for an interview by deadline.
A post on its website said Public Services Canada is undergoing program reform and working with the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute Inc. to inform First Nations Police Services Legislation.
