NAPS launches border control pilot in five First Nations

The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS) began searching travellers entering five northern Ontario First Nations on Monday, launching a border control pilot meant to stem the flow of drugs into the remote communities.

The pilot covers Eabametoong, Sandy Lake, Sachigo Lake, Kasabonika Lake and Kashechewan First Nations, according to NetNewsLedger and Your Thunder Bay. It was formally unveiled Nov. 9 at Thunder Bay International Airport, with representatives of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), the Nishnawbe Aski Police Services Board, NAPS and Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General in attendance.

Specially designated constables, recruited from the communities they serve, search travellers under Band Council Resolutions adopted by each participating First Nation, the outlets reported. Signage has been installed at airlines serving the communities. Details are posted on the NAPS border control page.

Frank McKay, chair of the Nishnawbe Aski Police Services Board, said the constables’ roots in the communities are central to the program. “They know their communities and its people and have a vested interest in helping to maintain its safety and security,” McKay said in a news release.

NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said the idea came from the chiefs. “This works because it is built by communities, for communities,” Fiddler said. He said Nishnawbe Aski Nation is grateful for Ontario’s investment, but argued the program should not stay a pilot. “Every First Nation in NAN deserves this protection,” he said.

Eabametoong Chief Solomon Atlookan told CBC News his community has few resources to stop drugs from arriving. “We have very limited resources and we do what we can to try to prevent all the drugs coming in,” Atlookan said. He said drugs arrive by air and, in colder months, on the winter road.

Kasabonika Lake Chief Matthias Anderson said the pilot arrived when it was needed. “We’re looking to increase prevention of outsiders coming into our community,” Anderson said.

The initiative traces back to August 2022, when NAN chiefs directed NAPS to develop a search strategy, according to NetNewsLedger and CBC. NAN has declared a state of emergency over drug trafficking and violence in its territory, CBC reported.

Ontario had not issued its own statement on the pilot in the coverage reviewed, and none of the reports gave a funding amount, the number of constables or an end date for the pilot. The federal government was not quoted.

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