September 26, 2018

Vancouver Police Board Service and Policy Complaint Review Committee

Re: Service or Policy Complaint #2018-133 on Street Checks

Dear Committee members,

We appreciate the VPD’s considerable effort in drafting report #1809C01 in relation to the above-noted complaint. We have had a brief opportunity to review the report. Due to the short time we have had to review the report, this letter is not our full response.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – June 28, 2018) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is shocked and outraged that on June 27^th, 2018, 28-year-old Peter Khill, a settler living in Hamilton, Ontario, was found not guilty in the murder of Jonathan Styres, a 29-year-old man from Ohsweken, Ontario, part of the Six Nations reserve.

OTTAWA – Today, June 13, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Ewert v. Canada, a case challenging the use of prisoner risk assessment tests that can be culturally biased against Indigenous prisoners.

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) co-intervened to ask the Court to require, for the first time within prison walls, that decision-makers follow the Gladue framework by taking into account the unique circumstances of Indigenous people that come into contact with the criminal justice system.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – February 12, 2018) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is shocked and outraged that on February 9^th, 56-year-old Gerald Stanley, a white settler living in Biggar, Saskatchewan, was found not guilty in the murder of Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old man from the Red Pheasant First Nation. 

Vancouver, B.C. [April 15]—The Supreme Court of Canada has struck down yet another mandatory minimum sentencing provision introduced by the former Conservative government.