Security on agenda at Iroquois Caucus

The Iroquois Caucus will support Kanesatake and other communities in their efforts to crack down on crime in their respective territories, said Serge Simon, caretaker council member of the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK).

The Caucus is drafting a joint letter urging federal and provincial ministers to participate in a meeting with the Caucus to discuss the insurgence of organized crime in the communities, said caretaker council member of the MCK Brant Etienne.

“We’ve been trying, trying desperately, to reach out to both (federal Public Safety) minister Gary Anandasangaree and other officials at different levels that we’ve had dealings with on security, and we’re getting the cold shoulder,” said Etienne, referring also to minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty. “Our calls aren’t getting picked up, and we’re not getting callbacks or anything. So when this was sort of discussed at the Caucus, it was decided that we should be utilising our voice collectively to talk about this.”

The letter will be sent to various provincial and federal ministers, said Etienne. He said the meeting will also address the concerns held by different communities within the Iroquois Caucus with the 2018 Cannabis Act.

“It’s going to be a request from the Caucus to have a meeting of of all the chiefs of all the communities with the ministers to talk about the situation here, but also how Canada passing the Cannabis Act and everything against the wishes of many communities who voiced, what turns out to be correct, that they’re going too fast and hadn’t put the necessary measures in place to make sure that we aren’t overrun with organized crime because of Canada passing this act,” said Etienne.

Etienne said the Caucus’s communities have seen more unregulated cannabis operations on their territories. These operations have brought increases of other issues ,including a rise in traffic problems, crime, and illegal drugs, he said.

“A business may have been on the surface a cannabis dispensary, but when it gets raided, they find all kinds of other illicit drugs, fentanyl, crack, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, you name it,” said Etienne. “Cannabis is just being used as a cover for organized crime.”

Another concern that will be included in the joint letter is the need for more law enforcement within the communities, said Simon. The Kanesatake Perimeter Security (KPS) team is an informal security team within Kanesatake and they require more support, said Simon.

“KPS is the basic minimum that we’re asking for,” said Simon. “But, you know, in the best of circumstances, we get our own Mohawk policing services again.”

Both Simon and Etienne attended the Iroquois Caucus meeting last week. Both say it is part of the duty of the caretaker council to participate in the Caucus.

“The caretaker Council has the responsibility to protect the rights and security of the Mohawk people, the Mohawks of Kanesatake. That’s squarely within the mandate. That’s what we’re doing. We’re trying to ensure the continued safety and security of the band members. This isn’t something that only started after the election was cancelled. This has been ongoing,” said Etienne. “If somebody’s genuinely trying to say that the safety and security of the community are outside of Council’s duties, I think you’ve got to wonder about what their motivations are, because it’s clearly not the safety of their fellow community members.”

The MCK is also currently continuing its efforts to speak with federal and provincial ministers about security within Kanesatake, said Etienne, to help get more funding for the KPS and to help ongoing efforts to provide more security for the community.

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Hadassah Alencar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter