Ontario Regulation 516/24, enacted under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, addresses transitional matters related to the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service Board (NAPSB). The regulation delineates the transition from the “old board” established under the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 to the “new board” formed under Ontario Regulation 515/24. The regulation ensures continuity by deeming all First Nation Officers and special constables employed by the old board as appointed under the new board. These appointments are subject to specific conditions, including a three-year training completion period for officers and exemptions for some special constables based on prior employment or reappointment terms.

The regulation adopts the “Strategic Plan 2024-2027: Nishnawbe Aski Police,” initially prepared by the old board, as the new board’s strategic plan, effective on the transition date. Additionally, board members of the new NAPSB are allowed a temporary grace period of up to six months to fulfill mandatory training requirements while continuing their duties. Labour relations are addressed by transferring existing collective agreements from the old board and the Public Service Alliance of Canada to the new board and the N.A.P.S. First Nations Police Association. These agreements remain in effect with necessary modifications to reflect the new organizational structure, and the old board and the previous union are no longer parties to them.

The regulation also provides a framework for handling complaints and proceedings initiated before the transition date. Complaints about conduct by officers or board members that occurred before the transition date are addressed using pre-transition rules, modified as needed. Complaints relating to a series of events continuing past the transition date are handled under the provisions of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019.

The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS), also referred to as the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, is the policing agency for the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN) in Ontario, covering the territories encompassed by Treaty 9 and Treaty 5. As of July 2020, NAPS operates 34 detachments across NAN communities, with 203 officers, approximately 60% of whom are Indigenous, making it the largest Indigenous police force in Canada and the second-largest in North America. The agency’s jurisdiction spans two-thirds of Ontario, an area comparable to the size of France. Funding for NAPS is shared between the governments of Ontario (48%) and Canada (52%). Established on January 14, 1994, through a tri-partite agreement between NAN, Ontario, and Canada, NAPS was created to provide efficient, effective, and culturally appropriate policing. Its development occurred in phases, beginning in 1994 with the transfer of First Nation constable positions from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and culminating in 1999, when NAPS assumed responsibility for most of the OPP’s Northwest Patrol Unit. The transition included the formation of an Operations Transition Committee to oversee administrative and operational changes, ensuring a seamless transfer of duties to NAPS.

Ontario (516/24) December 28, 2024