The tool used to track police-reported crimes in Canada is racist and hateful, according to the eleven municipalities with the highest crime rates in the country.
A coalition of eleven municipalities spanning Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia convened in Saskatoon at the end of last month to discuss Statistics Canada’s annual crime severity index – which reports crime rates based on data that deals with the nature of the crime and their severity.
The meeting culminated in a formal request for Ottawa to halt the reporting of the index due to concerns that it discriminates against Indigenous communities.
According to Statistics Canada, the index only covers those that meet a population threshold of 10,000 people. Without that threshold, the top 15 localities with the highest crime severity would all be Indigenous communities.
However, the towns that top the list – many of which are located near First Nations – insist that the outcome of the index “causes racism and hateful statements” towards Indigenous residents.
“The outcome of the CSI causes racism and hateful statements to be directed at First Nations people. This indexing undermines reconciliation, and it takes us back to when those eight First Nations leaders were hanged,” said Sweetgrass First Nation Chief Lori Whitecalf in reference to the Fort Battleford incident in 1885.
Whitecalf said “when that (index) is released, and it’s very high, or we’re number one, a lot of times the First Nations in the community (and) surrounding area, are blamed.”
The list of municipalities in attendance included North Battleford, Sask.; Thompson and Portage La Prairie, Man.; Cold Lake and Wetaskiwin, Alta.; Fort St. John, Langley, and Prince George, B.C.; Prince Albert and Yorkton, Sask.; and Lloydminster, a community straddling Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Another concern was that their rankings were driving away investment and tourism into the regions.
“We’re here to issue a formal request to Statistics Canada to hold the release of the annual (CSI) rankings until future … consultations are held with small communities and indigenous leadership,” said Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalberts.
“When you see the numbers that are presented by Statistics Canada, it’s very unnerving.”
