Indigenous Peoples deserve better service: ombudsman

The Quebec ombudsman’s office knows it needs to do better by Indigenous Peoples in the province and wants the next couple of years to be a turning point in that direction, Ombudsperson Marie Rinfret said on Wednesday.

Speaking before the Viens commission, a public inquiry into the mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples by Quebec government institutions, Rinfret said the office is studying ways to make itself more accessible in communities and ensure it’s equipped to better respond to their needs.

Though she said the office has no way of tracking how many complaints it receives from Indigenous people each year — the question of whether they are Indigenous or not simply isn’t asked when someone files a complaint, she said — other factors, such as location and the nature of the complaints tend to demonstrate the number is quite low.

“And that’s the big question,” Rinfret said. “Why is it (low)?"

The office’s mandate is to step in when people feel their rights have been abused by government bodies, including the provincial justice department and health and social services network. It receives roughly 20,000 complaints a year, with half leading to an investigation. It says 98 per cent of its recommendations are approved.

But as of this year, the ombudsman’s services aren’t offered in Indigenous languages, which Rinfret admitted creates an imposing barrier. Rinfret also speculated the independent office simply isn’t well-known in more remote communities, or that it’s not in Indigenous Peoples’ “reflexes or culture” to turn to an administrative body for help.

“There is a mistrust toward Quebec institutions,” she said, “whether governmental or not.”

Rinfret said the office is studying how to fix that.

It’s hoping to host meetings with Quebec’s 10 First Nations and Inuit communities to understand how it could adjust its services to better meet their needs. It’s also planning awareness sessions among its own staff, led by Indigenous people, to better understand the history and cultural issues at play.

Rinfret said she also supports a recommendation the commissioner of Quebec’s police ethics commission, Marc-André Dowd, put forward earlier in the inquiry.

Dowd suggested adding liaison officers in Indigenous communities to make it easier for someone to file a complaint against a police officer. The liaison officer, who Rinfret said would need to be Indigenous, would then accompany the person through the process.

“We need to establish a relationship built on trust, respect and understanding,” Rinfret said. “It’s about listening, reconciliation and progress.”

After visiting three villages — Puvirnituq, Akulivik and Kuujjuaq — in April 2015, the ombudsman’s office tabled a scathing report into Nunavik’s detention and justice system in 2016.

It detailed horrific prison cells, described detention conditions as “below even the most basic standards,” and pointed out how the lack of information available in Inuktitut made it difficult for inmates to assert their rights.

It was the first time in its 50year history the office thoroughly examined an Indigenous-specific issue. On Wednesday, Rinfret presented the report as a turning point of sorts for the office.

But Marie-Josée Barry-Gosselin, a prosecutor overseeing the inquiry, asked Rinfret if any efforts had been made to translate the ombudsman’s services — “at least into Inuktitut” — since then.

“No,” Rinfret answered quietly, adding the office is, however, planning to award contracts soon to have its essential materials translated into Indigenous languages.

Barry- Gosselin then pointed out

We need to establish a relationship built on trust, respect and understanding. It’s about listening, reconciliation and progress.

the first time the words First Nations or Inuit were ever mentioned in the office’s annual reports was in 2015-2016, and asked if the office had held training or awareness sessions in the past. “No,” Rinfret answered again, before reiterating that its Nunavik report had been an eye-opening experience.

Rinfret ended her testimony by reaffirming the office’s willingness to do the necessary work, sooner rather than later, “so that we can better understand Indigenous Peoples and be able to act more effectively.”