Akwesasne, Quebec
Indigenous communities, like all communities in Canada, should be places where individuals and families feel safe. That is why the Government of Canada has been making unprecedented investments in community safety, including in policing and in initiatives aimed at preventing serious and organized crime.
Today the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, announced funding of more than $12 million to help increase community safety in Akwesasne.
To help combat serious and organized crime, Public Safety Canada is providing the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service with funding renewal of $10.4 million through the Akwesasne Organized Crime Initiative (AOCI) to support a team dedicated to combatting serious and organized crime in and around the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.
Over the next five years, federal support will continue to enhance the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service's capacity to address cross-border crime, investigate and disrupt organized crime, strengthen the coordination of enforcement efforts across jurisdictions, equip officers with additional tools and training and raise awareness among youth in the community about the risks of criminal involvement.
Public Safety Canada is also providing the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne with one-time funding of over $849,000.00 under the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program to purchase additional equipment for the provision of policing services, including an airboat, vehicles, firearms and tasers, and forensic equipment and materials. Through this investment, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service will be better equipped to ensure the safety of the communities they serve.
Finally, Akwesasne will receive up to $1.13 million under the Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF) to help the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne address the underlying conditions that give rise to crime. This funding will support community-led projects to prevent violence among young people who are involved in gangs, or at risk of joining them, helping them set themselves up for success in life.
The funding announced today will be essential to helping stop crime and supports the Government of Canada's commitment to building safer Indigenous communities.
