Native groups demand more action on crime

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The Edmonton Police Commission wants Native groups to help clean up the city's image but Alberta Native leaders insist that the commitment should be more involved than simply downplaying its violent reputation.

They want the city to recognize the needs of Native people and not view them as the source of the city's high crime rate.

Police commission vice-chairman Wayne Drewry said Edmonton's reputation as the "murder capital of Canada" is a dubious distinction the city can do without.

He wants to form a task force to study the problem of Native violence and alcohol abuse near the downtown core.

Last year there were 24 murders in Edmonton, eight were in the downtown core. Drewry said "that's just not acceptable."

"We have to find a way to tackle this thing and find out what the problem is," he said.

"We're not very happy with this title, particularly when we see a lot of the murders happening in a defined, geographic area."

Drewry noted that most of the violence that occurs in the inner city involves Natives and alcohol abuse. He said the five-member board is not going to ignore the problem any longer.

During its meeting in December, the police commission requested that the Edmonton Police Department devise an "action plan" to study the social problems that are affecting the area.

This week, the police department announced it will form a special committee to study crime in a target area to determine why it is happening and what can be done to lessen it.

The area borers 114th Avenue on the north, 111th Street on the west and the river on the south and east.

Drewry, an Edmonton lawyer, said the commission wants Native groups to become part of the plan.

He said the commission issued its position prior to Native organizations in Edmonton late last year seeking their support and recommendations for undertaking the comprehensive research plan.

The commission is waiting to get a response.

But Metis Zone 4 vice-president Joe Blyan said the commission's focus is too vague.

He said the root of Edmonton's social problems extend into northern Alberta where Native people become frustrated with the poverty in their own communities.

He said they eventually wind up in Edmonton looking for work, but encounter poverty all over again.

"We're the victims. Why are we having such a migration into the city every fall? It's simple. There's nothing in the North," he said.

In the past, the social problems of Native people in Alberta have never been recognized by the City of Edmonton and the Native people living in the downtown core have never been the focus of any municipal government initiative, he charged.

He said the city should start recognizing Native people as citizens of Edmonton who need help and not outsiders who are causing problems.

"There are people crying for help. Our agencies are plugged up," he said.

Roy Louis, president of the Indian Association of Alberta, said he has been pushing for the city to set up a task force into Native social problems in Edmonton for more than a year.

He said there should be a Native Standing Committee on Urban Affairs established "to investigate the horrendous social problems affecting the Native community in Edmonton."

Louis said Native people make up a very significant part of Edmonton and their problems should be taken into consideration by city council.

He said there are more than 30,000 Native people living in Edmonton.

The issue should not be focused solely on bringing down the crime rate in Edmonton, Louis noted, and the city council should meet with Native groups to establish a working group in an effort to address Native needs.

Georgina Donald, director of the Canadian Native Friendship Center, said she received the letter from the commission but hasn't decided whether to reply.