-CP-A small First Nation on British Columbia’s Central Coast is taking the attorney general of Canada to court, arguing its Charter rights have been violated because the RCMP refuses to enforce its bylaws. The Heiltsuk Tribal Council says in its lawsuit that the police are “emboldening drug dealers” and other wrongdoers to enter and stay on reserve lands by refusing to enforce its bylaws banning people engaged in dangerous activities. Elected Chief Marilyn Slett says her community in Bella Bella, B.C., is experiencing a crisis due to drugs and drug trafficking and that harms from overdoses and sexual violence are made worse because of the police refusal to enforce Heiltsuk law. Slett says if a non-Indigenous municipality, landowner or business asks for enforcement of a property law, the RCMP takes…
Register
