{"id":89873,"date":"2025-02-25T17:07:21","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T22:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=89873"},"modified":"2025-02-25T17:07:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T22:07:21","slug":"b-c-first-nation-files-charter-challenge-over-rcmp-refusal-to-enforce-bylaws-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/25\/b-c-first-nation-files-charter-challenge-over-rcmp-refusal-to-enforce-bylaws-2\/","title":{"rendered":"B.C. First Nation files Charter challenge over RCMP refusal to enforce bylaws"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Ashley Joannou -CP-Inaction by the RCMP has emboldened criminals to enter and stay on First Nation reserve lands without the fear of consequences, worsening a drug crisis and violence, the Heiltsuk Tribal Council says. The small First Nation on British Columbia\u2019s Central Coast says it is taking the attorney general of Canada to court, arguing its Charter rights have been violated because police refuse to enforce its bylaws, including those around trespassing that would allow officers to remove people engaged in dangerous activities. Elected Chief Marilyn Slett told a news conference Tuesday that 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 Mounties refusal to enforce Heiltsuk law&#8230;. <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F02%2F25%2Fb-c-first-nation-files-charter-challenge-over-rcmp-refusal-to-enforce-bylaws-2%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Ashley Joannou -CP-Inaction by the RCMP has emboldened criminals to enter and stay on First Nation reserve lands without the fear of consequences, worsening a drug crisis and violence, the Heiltsuk Tribal Council says. The small First Nation on British Columbia\u2019s Central Coast says it is taking the attorney general of Canada to court, arguing its Charter rights have been violated because police refuse to enforce its bylaws, including those around trespassing that would allow officers to remove people engaged in dangerous activities. Elected Chief Marilyn Slett told a news conference Tuesday that 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 Mounties refusal to enforce Heiltsuk law.... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F02%2F25%2Fb-c-first-nation-files-charter-challenge-over-rcmp-refusal-to-enforce-bylaws-2%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>B.C. 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The small First Nation on British Columbia\u2019s Central Coast says it is taking the attorney general of Canada to court, arguing its Charter rights have been violated because police refuse to enforce its bylaws, including those around trespassing that would allow officers to remove people engaged in dangerous activities. Elected Chief Marilyn Slett told a news conference Tuesday that 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 Mounties refusal to enforce Heiltsuk law.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/25\/b-c-first-nation-files-charter-challenge-over-rcmp-refusal-to-enforce-bylaws-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-25T22:07:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/25\\\/b-c-first-nation-files-charter-challenge-over-rcmp-refusal-to-enforce-bylaws-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/25\\\/b-c-first-nation-files-charter-challenge-over-rcmp-refusal-to-enforce-bylaws-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"B.C. 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