By Stephanie Taylor and Jim Bronskill THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says he hopes to introduce legislation declaring First Nations policing an essential service early in the new year, with one regional chief calling that timeline “tight.” In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Mendicino said the prospective law is under development with input from Indigenous stakeholders and communities, who he said deserve “the same quality of policing” as non-Indigenous communities.   He described the work as the next step in advancing reconciliation with Indigenous people.   “We need to anchor our work in a relationship that is based on trust, on respect and on a recognition of the inherent right of Indigenous Peoples to self-determine when it comes to public faith,” Mendicino said.  

The post Regional chief warns of ‘tight’ turnaround as Ottawa eyes First Nations policing law appeared first on The Turtle Island News.