‘Show respect’ where it’s due: Métis leader defends pro-cop ad

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/03/2021 (1681 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand is pushing back on criticism of the group’s public support of Winnipeg police, arguing painting cops with the same brush is akin to stereotyping Indigenous people.

“If you’re from any particular group in society, there’s going to be a bad apple in that crowd no matter what,” Chartrand said Monday. “It’s good to show respect where respect is due.”

The MMF ran a full-page ad in Saturday’s Winnipeg Free Press, hailing Police Chief Danny Smyth “for defending and protecting the integrity and character” of the “noble profession” of protecting the public and breaking down racial barriers.

“We cannot let the actions of a few determine our confidence in the many,” reads the ad, which faced instant backlash.

The Winnipeg Police Service has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years over the shooting deaths of First Nations people, such as teenager Eishia Hudson in April 2020.

A month later, demonstrations swept the continent following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis.

National surveys show Winnipeggers are among the least trusting of the police, and growing support for funding to be diverted to social services.

Yet, Chartrand said he’s alarmed there wasn’t a similar outcry when a local WPS constable died by suicide.

“These people who come out there shooting, with animosity and disdain because they’re hurting — I understand that,” Chartrand said.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has called on the Winnipeg police to undertake serious reforms and have more of its budget diverted to social services. The chiefs have hailed some reconciliation projects, but have avoided effusive praise or excessive criticism.

Chartrand said the MMF felt the need to speak out clearly, after months of discussion about systemic racism and local first responders.

For example, the Free Press has reported on internal probes that found city firefighters had denied care to a bleeding Indigenous woman due to racism.

“We can’t duck our heads in the sand like an ostrich; we’ve got to stick out and stand up and figure out how we build a bridge,” said Chartrand, who said he was unfazed by the criticism.

“Our elders always tell us: try to work together; try to find a solution,” he said.

“I guarantee the vast majority of my people, without doubt, without hesitation, will support what I’m doing.”

The ad generated a torrent of criticism on social media, arguing it glossed over recent shooting deaths, as well as the role of police officers in disbanding the Red River Colony and persecuting Métis people.

Some of the harshest criticism came from prominent Métis artist Christi Belcourt.

“The MMF and David Chartrand have no right to speak on behalf of the Métis Nation. They are an embarrassment to our ancestors and the next generations,” Belcourt tweeted.

Chartrand said his legitimacy comes from Métis people electing him to lead the MMF for two decades, just as Belcourt’s father, Tony Belcourt, was founding president of the MMF’s Ontario equivalent.

The MMF has previously riled up Indigenous people over its criticism of some land-rights protesters, and for decrying former federal justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who is Indigenous.

Chartrand argued the Winnipeg police have changed dramatically since the 1988 J.J. Harper shooting, and said both the WPS and RCMP have done a good job liaising with the MMF about safety issues impacting his community.

“We’re definitely miles ahead of the Americans. When you look at it from our context, society is slowly coming to a better place, it’s going to take more olive branches, and that’s what we’re trying to provide here,” he said.

Winnipeg has about 1,400 police officers and about 600 civilian staff, including cadets, and Chartrand said the majority of them are trying their best to protect people.

“There are First Nations and Métis officers out there; are we saying they’re bad apples, too?” he said.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

MMF ad on Winnipeg police in March 13 edition of Free Press