WHITE HORSE –
A First Nation of fewer than 300 people in northern Yukon used a law it created during the COVID-19 pandemic to bar a convicted sex offender from being sent to their community.
The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation of Old Crow issued a declaration under its Community Emergency Act banning Christopher Schafer from air access nearly 800 kilometers north of Whitehorse for at least the next 90 days.
Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm said the Yukon Territorial Court’s decision to allow Schafer to live in Old Crow was faxed to the local RCMP detachment 24 hours before his arrival and was made without consulting the First Nation. , which has limited supports with only two RCMP officers and no clinical health staff.
“This action shows that while we may talk about reconciliation in this country, and we may think it’s important, the work is left to our communities, (which are) understaffed and undersupported,” he said. he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Tizya-Tramm said when news hit the small community that Schafer, whom the First Nation called a “recidivist violent sex offender,” might return, “the emotions and pain were visceral.”
He said the emergency declaration was the only tool available to “slow down this process”.
“I’m not here to pass judgment on Mr. Schafer. I’m here to address systemic problems with our justice (system) that don’t allow our people a modicum of influence in the wider workings of the system. justice, which continues to fail Yukoners and our Indigenous women across the country.”
He said the community had already tried to reinstate Schafer to Old Crow and provided the court with details of what supports would be needed.
The chief said he is in contact with Schafer’s family and there is a willingness to work on another plan, but the community needs more time and support.
For now, Schafer remains in jail in Whitehorse and will appear before a judge on Wednesday to continue discussions about his future.
Chief Doris Bill of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation in Whitehorse said similar situations have happened in other small communities where people are being released from prison without proper support or reintegration plans.
“This needs to stop. We need to give communities the resources to deal with these cases,” she said.
“They can’t be left on their own and take care of these people without the proper expertise and resources in place.”
Tizya-Tramm said he wanted an apology and a public inquiry into what happened. He sent a letter to federal Justice Minister David Lametti, Territorial Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee and Michael Cozens, Chief Justice of the Territorial Court of Yukon.
“We will not and will never tolerate such institutionalized indifference that deprives the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, our citizens and the Old Crow community — particularly Indigenous women and girls — of our inherent rights and freedoms to survive. and to live in dignity, well-being, peace and security in our land,” the letter reads.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the firm said McPhee would respond to Tizya-Tramm’s letter.
A “hub,” comprising counselors and a mental health nurse based 400 kilometers away in Dawson City, supports Old Crow with staff visiting the community regularly, the statement said.
“The ministry is working directly with the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation to coordinate mental wellness education and supports, in addition to guest counselors, which aim to meet the specific needs of the community as well as Vuntut Gwitchin citizens at Whitehorse,” the statement read.