‘People are dying’: Indigenous families ask Doug Ford to disband Thunder Bay’s police force

“People are dying. My daughter is gone ... but the province, Doug Ford, has the power to give us justice,” Vince Ostberg said at the legislature where three families experiencing losses urged the government to act.  

They held pictures of deceased family members as politicians left the chamber following the daily question period. 

“If we can’t have our loved ones, we want justice,” added Ostberg, whose 21-year-old daughter Jenna Ostberg, a member of Bearskin Lake First Nation, was found dead in a Thunder Bay home Dec. 30, 2023.

There had been three 911 calls to police. 

Ostberg called the investigation into her death “incomplete” and said he hopes the formal complaint will bolster efforts to have Ontario Provincial Police replace the Thunder Bay Police Service over fears it cannot conduct “credible” investigations.  

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation said the death investigations of Ostberg and two others should be assigned to another police service. 

“The Thunder Bay Police Service has turned into a ‘cold case’ factory when it comes to investigations into the deaths of Indigenous Peoples,” Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said. 

Pressed on the issue by New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles and MPP Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong) in the legislature, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said Thunder Bay’s new police chief and police services board have “good intentions” but need time. 

“We have to give the new police service board and command leadership an opportunity to work with all community stakeholders so that members of the community feel served and protected,” Kerzner told MPPs.

The new chief, Darcy Fleury, and police board chair, Karen Machado, held a news conference a week ago acknowledging an erosion of trust. Their comments came after the arrests of a former chief and the department’s former in-house lawyer in a misconduct investigation by the OPP.

“More can and will be done to communicate with the families about their loved ones’ investigations,” Fleury said in a statement Monday. 

Hired a year ago, Fleury spent 36 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, most recently as district commander and chief superintendent for central Alberta, based in Edmonton. He is Métis and from Manitoba.

“I know TBPS (Thunder Bay Police Service) is under scrutiny. I take very seriously my responsibility to build confidence,” Fleury said in the statement. 

The former police chief, who was charged with obstructing justice, breach of trust and obstruction, is the third arrested in the investigation that began in late 2021 when Ontario’s attorney general asked the OPP to look into allegations of misconduct. 

Thunder Bay police have been under the microscope after several reports found investigations into the unexpected deaths of Indigenous people have been marred by stereotyping and racist attitudes. Several deaths have been reinvestigated because the initial probes were poorly conducted. 

The inspector general of policing is a new agency created under the Community Safety and Policing Act and took effect April 1.