- - An Investigative Report On the Stoney Indian Reserve. Prepared for Judge Reilly. November 18,1997

Transcription

1 - - R. v. Ernest Hunter An Investigative Report On the Stoney Indian Reserve. Prepared for Judge Reilly November 18,1997 Prepared by: Corporate Support Services Branch Alberta Justice

2 Introduction This report is prepared pursuant to the Order of The Honourable Judge J.D. Reilly of the Provincial Court of Alberta dated 26 June, 1997 and amended by the 01-der of The Honourable Mr. Justice S.J. LoVecchio of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench dated 26 September, The amended Order directing that the Office of the Crown Prosecutor cause an investigation into social conditions, political corruption, and financial misn~anagement on the Stoney Indian Reserve at Morley and that he produce a report thereon...so far as necessary to give factual answers to the following questions: With regard to domestic abuse I ask for a review of all files of domestic abuse on the Stoney Indian Reserve and that I be provided with the following information: (1) Over a two year period commencing January 1,1994 (or whatever date is convenient), how many complaints have been received by the Stoncy Tribal Police and the Cochrane RCMP in relation to domestic abuse? (2) How nlany of those conlplaints have resulted in charges being laid? (3) How many of the charges resulted in pleas of guilty, and how many were set for trial and preliminary? (4) (a) How many trials and preliminaries proceeded? (b) How many did not proceed because of lack of witnesses? {Questions 4(b) need only be answered to the extent that the Crown has information which would enable it to respond). (5) How many did not proceed because witnesses did not show up?

3 With regard to social disorder generally: (13) How many people have been terminated from their en~ployn~ent? What reasons have been given? What are the qualifications of the replacements? (14) Have the Stoney Tribal Police been laid off? What is the effect on the safety of victims of violence? (16) What is the incidence of drug and alcohol addiction? What programs are available for treatment? (17) What is the incidence of suicide? What is being done about it?

4 Question 1: Over a two year period commencing January 1,1994 (or whatever date is convenient), how many complaints have been received by the Stoney Tribal Police and the Cochrane RCMP in relation to domestic abuse? The following data represents the number of complaints received by the Cochrane RCMP in regards to spousal assaults from Morley: October 1 - December 31, 1995 January 1 - December 31, 1996 January 1 - September 30, 1997 TOTAL There were two hundred and sixty-nine (269) assaults reported during the time period of October 1, 1995 to September 30, Fifty-nine (59) of these incidents were related to domestic assault. The Cochrane RCMP only keep records of complaints of domestic abuse as they relate to physical assault. Complaints of domestic abuse such as uttering threats, pointing a firearm, etc. are not included in the above count. Source: Cochrane RCMP Detachment, Cochrane, Alberta

5 Question 2: How many of those complaints have resulted in charges being laid? From the Criminal Justice Information System we determined there were forty-two (42) complaints of domestic abuse that resulted in charges laid from October 1, 1995 to September 30, Thirty-three (33) of those complaints were physical assaults. Nine (9) of those complaints were other domestic abuse situations such as pointing a firearm, uttering threats, etc. which resulted in charges laid. Source: Cochrane RCMP Criminal Justice Information System Criminal Justice Division, Alberta Justice

6 Question 3: How many of the charges resulted in pleas of guilty and how many were set for trial and preliminary? With reference to the forty-two (42) complaints of domestic abuse where charges were laid, four (4) of these complaints resulted in guilty pleas and one (1) resulted in a peace bond. Trials and preliminaries were set in thirty-seven (37) of these complaints of which twentyone (21) are still outstanding before the courts. Cochrane RCMP, Criminal Justice Information System Criminal Justice Division, Alberta Justice

7 Question 4 and Question 5: How many trials and preliminaries proceeded and how many did not proceed because of lack of witnesses? Where witnesses did not show up, what steps were taken to determine why they did not show up? With reference to the thirty-seven (37) complaints that were set for trial or preliminary, five (5) of these were tried in court with one (1) found guilty, three (3) found not guilty, one (1) was committed for trial and twenty-one (21) were still outstanding as of September 30, Trials or preliminaries that did not proceed due to lack of witnesses cannot be determined from the Criminal Justice Information System; however, from manually reviewing the closed files of the Crown, nine (9) of the remaining eleven (1 1) cases were located in dead files not yet destroyed. Of the nine (9) cases, four (4) were withdrawn due to being consolidated on other Informations. Five (5) were withdrawn because of lack of witnesses. ANALYSIS OF THE FIVE 15) CASES WITHDRAWN DUE TO LACK OF WITNESSES w The victim did not show up and the Crown applied for and obtained a warrant. The victim had outstanding criminal charges. The victim did not show up because she was in an alcohol treatment centre in Vancouver. w The victim appeared in court, then told the prosecutor she was going for coffee and never returned when the case was called. At the end of the day, the Crown advised the Court of the facts of the case, which in the Crown's view were serious, and asked for a warrant and an adjournment. The Court would not issue the warrant nor grant the adjournment. The fact the Crown has proceeded summarily was the reason given. The Court then dismissed the charge. No reasons are on the file explaining why the victim did not return. Cases 4 Zz 5, No witnesses appeared and the charges were withdrawn. No reasons are provided on these files and it is not known what steps were taken to determine why the witnesses did not appear., Source: Criminal Justice Division, Alberta Justice

8 Question 13: How many people have been terminated from their employment? What reasons have been given? What are the qualifications of the replacements? Alberta Justice has requested this information from the Stoney Tribal Council representing the Stoney Nation. The Council has refused to provide this information for the reasons set out in their letter of November 13, 1997, a copy of which is appended to this Report.

9 Question 14: Have the Stoney Tribal Police been laid off? What is the effect on the safety of victims of violence?. Four (4) members of the Cochrane RCMP detachment are assigned to police the Stoney Indian Reserve at Morley. Cochrane RCMP had completed the training of four (4) more police officers to work on the Stoney Reserve as the Stoney Tribal Police in mid-december, As a result of lack of funding, the four (4) Stoney Tribal Police officers were not employed. The original four (4) RCMP officers assigned to the Reserve continue on that assignment and therefore, the safety of victims has not changed. - The safety of victims could be enhanced by the employment of the other four (4) officers. However, policing levels remain the same as before and victim safety has not been compromised. m: Cochrane RCMP Detachment, Cochrane, Alberta

10 Question 16: What is the incidence of drug and alcohol addiction? Data regarding drug and alcohol addiction on the Stoney Reserve was unavailable, howcver, Cochrane RCMP data regarding Morley prisoners (defined as persons arrested at Morley) arrested for intoxicationiimpaired drivinglother reasons was available as follows: October 1, September 27,1997 Morley Prisoners Total Morley Prisoners Number arrested for intoxication Number arrested for impaired driving Number arrested for other reasons 1,863 1, There were 2,858 prisoners in Cochrane from October 1, 1995 to September 27, Sixty-five percent (65%) of these prisoners come from Morley. Seventy-six percent (76%) of these prisoners were arrested for intoxication with no charges. Clearly alcohol is a problem on the Stoney Reserve. m: Cochranc RCMP Detachment, Cochrane, Alberta

11 What programs are available for treatment?. It is generally believed that the incidents of drug and alcohol abuse in the Stoney Communities of Morley, Eden Valley, and Bighorn is considered high. The federal Auditor General's report reinforces the fact that prescription drug abuse in ALL First Nation communities is an issue.. What is known, is that the incidents of drug and alcohol abuse are the result of deeper underlying problems in First Nation communities. Medical Services Branch, Health Canada, directs the following resources to the Stoney First Nation for Drug and Alcohol issues as well as Community Wellness programming: I Stoney Communities I Strategic Reserve I I Community Wellness NNADAP - Pooulation I Eden Valley $8 1,423 $57,159 $93,449 (3) Morley - 2,795 $353,443 $419,282 $84,450 (3). I Bighorn $42,336 I $54,363 1 $20,481(.5) 1 The Strategic Reserve is a yearly allocation of money that can be accessed by written proposal by the communities to address community health concerns. The resources identified are for the fiscal year. Community Wellness is an ongoing allocation which is provided to the community through a contribution agreement to address social and health issues. These resources have been available at the noted reference levels for at least two fiscal years. NNADAP is the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse allocation which provides salary and operating expenses for the community to provide for prevention, intervention and after care programs. These resources have been available at the nuted reference levels for at least two fiscal years. The bracketed numbers refer to human resources funded in each community for this program.. The number of drug and alcohol counselling sessions provided in fiscal year were provided to approximately five hundred and thirty-six (536) individuals. This indicates that approximately fifteen percent (15%) of the Stoney Reserve residents sought assistance for drug and alcohol related issues during that time frame.

12 With reference to Mr. E. Hunter, the Stoney NNADAP Counselling Services have no record of him contacting the Program for referral to treatment over the past year. The community NNADAP Program keeps daily logs of all incoming calls and also records client contacts. Records were researched back to August, 1996, for any record of Mr. Hunter and there is no evidence of contact. Resources have been provided to the Stoney First Nation to have psychological services on site at the Public Health Clinic five days per week. These on-site services have been available to the Stoney First Nations since June 1, In addition, all Stoney residents have access to psychological services off-reserve as do all Status First Nations residents of Alberta. Medical Services Branch also provides for free drug and alcohol treatment in native operated in-patient institutional treatment centres across Alberta. The nearest centre to the Stoney Band is on the Blood Reserve near Cardston. In 1995, Medical Services Branch, Alberta Region, launched a computerized prescription drug control program which allows the Region to track over-prescribing physicians/pharmacies as well as client utilization. Also in 1995, Alberta Region initiated a stringent communication Strategy with over prescribing physicians in conjunction with the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Source: Health Canada, Medical Services Branch, Alberta Region

13 Question 17: What is the incidence of suicide? Stoney Reserve Unnatural Deaths January 1,1995 to October 30,1997 Ymber of Deaths, Prepared by: Corporate Support Services Source: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner The above graph represents deaths of reserve members who reside in Morley. The Stoney Reserve consists of three bands: Bearspaw Band, Chiniki Band and Wesley Band. The place of death for the majority of those who committed suicide occurred in either Morley or Calgary. In 1995, there were a total of nine (9) deaths: two (2) females and seven (7) males. In 1996, there were a total of eight (8) deaths: three (3) females and five (5) males. In 1997, there were a total of ten (10) deaths: two (2) females and eight (8) males (one (1) of thcse was a resident of the Sampson reserve]. Males accounted for the majority of suicides as a result of hangings, firearms or motor vehicles. The majority of suicides were committed by members who were in their mid-20s; the age ranged from age nineteen (19) to age thirty (30). "Other" deaths includes cases where the person died from drug or alcohol overdose, accidental deaths resulting from fire or motor vehicle, or undetermined deaths where the death cannot be confirmed as an accident or a suicide.

14 The Cochrane RCMP have identified a number of unnatural deaths on the Morley Reserve and adjacent highways. There were twenty-five (25) deaths from October 1, 1995 to September 30, In three (3) of the investigations, non-morley residents were the victims of Morley drivers who were charged with alcohol related offences. Three (3) of the investigations identified suicide as the cause of death. The Cochrane RCMP suspect that one (1) of their other investigations was a suicide while four (4) other investigations involving drug/alcohol consumption may have been suicide. All of the unnatural deaths reported by Cochrane RCMP involved drugs or alcohol abuse. m: Cochrane RCMP Detachment, Cochrane, Alberta

15 What is being done about it?. Medical Services Branch, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and the Stoney Tribes are in the process of finalizing a Task Team Terms of Reference to review socio-economic conditions and programming at the Stoney community level. Included in this partnership are other federal departments. Part of this review process includes a Technical Committee that will: - Review and assess the health and socio-economic priorities identified by the Stoney Tribes and the Task Team; - Review and assess the existing programslse~ices and the communities' delivery system in order to develop innovative and alternative approaches to improve delivery; - Develop an action plan. This partnership for review began in August, 1997, and three meetings have been held to date. m: Health Canada, Medical Services Branch, Alberta Region

16 FAXED TO: Phone: (403) FAX: (403) Dave LaVallie, Legal Counsel November Mr. Bruce Fraser, Q. C. Chief Crown Prosecutor Crown Prosecutor's Office 15" Floor, 615 Macleod Trail S.E. Calgary. Alberta T2G 4T8 Dear Sir: Re: Ernest Vernon Hunter Further to your request for information with respect to the employment situation on the Stoney Nation, we can only provide some general comments at this point. As the leaders of an independent nation, the Stoney Tribal Council does not recognize the authority of a Provincial Court judge to order an investigation into matters on the Stoney Nation. However, the Stoney Tribal Council also cares for its people and therefore will provide the following information in the best interests of the Stoney Nation members. As you can appreciate, we cannot disclose details regarding specific employment situations due to the fact that many of these matters are in lit~gation, and others may be in the future. Additionally, we have a duty of confidentiality to our employees. We have obtained unemployment figures from Statistics Canada which indicate that in 1991, there was a 37.3% unemployment rate on the Stoney Nation. This is compared to an unemployment rate of 8.1% in the City of Calgary for the same period. The results from the 1996 census will not be available until March We trust the foregoing is satisfactory Yours truly, d Dave ia~a~~ie Legal Counsel DL:jl CC: Stoney Tribal Council Rick Butler