Chantel Moore’s mother Martha Martin, centre, participates in a healing walk from the Madawaska Malaseet reserve to Edmundston's town square on June 13 to honour, Chantel Moore was a 26-year-old Indigenous woman who was fatally shot by police in Edmundston.Stephen MacGillivray/The Canadian Press
The mother of a young First Nations woman who was killed by a New Brunswick police officer in 2020 is calling for justice in her daughter’s death – and systemic changes to policing.
Chantel Moore, who was a member of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia, was 26 when she was shot and killed by Edmundston police officer Constable Jeremy Son during a wellness check.
“You might have silenced my daughter, but I will continue to be the voice for her and each and every one of those who’ve lost their lives,” Ms. Moore’s mother, Martha Martin, said at a news conference alongside members of the Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN) Women’s Council. “I’m so tired of hearing recommendations after recommendations and we see no action.”
Ms. Martin’s calls are part of the wider demands being raised by women leaders within the AFN as hundreds of First Nations leaders, elders and youth gather in Vancouver this week for the organization’s annual general assembly, which officially begins on Tuesday. While much of the public attention has focused on the political future of AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, who was suspended from her role last month, women are pushing to address systemic issues facing First Nations women and girls.
Two resolutions will be introduced at the assembly demanding action on the 231 calls for justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which concluded its final report in 2019, and for all levels of government to implement a national action plan that was created by several groups in 2021.
“Unfortunately, concrete action to address these pathways and implement the calls for justice has been severely lacking,” Louisa Housty-Jones, a councillor for the Heiltsuk Nation and the B.C. AFN women’s representative, said at the news conference.
The federal Liberal government has committed to act on the calls, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on his ministers to accelerate the implementation of the federal government’s component of the plan. Advocates have nonetheless criticized the government for lack of action.
A coroner’s inquest into Ms. Moore’s death concluded in May. It made several recommendations for change, including access to non-lethal weapons for more officers, and for police to improve their relationship with First Nations communities. The inquest jurors ruled Ms. Moore’s death a homicide.
Ms. Housty-Jones said the Women’s Council wants the recommendations to be implemented, but added, “we maintain that they do not go far enough into addressing the systemic issues.” She said the council echoes the calls of Indigenous leaders in New Brunswick for a public inquiry into systemic racism against Indigenous people.
One of the two resolutions being introduced this week, which was moved by Bear River First Nation Chief Carol Potter, calls on the federal government to disclose how funding for the national action plan is allocated and to establish a third-party oversight body to provide accountability over its implementation. Chief Potter’s motion also urges the AFN to advocate for Ms. Moore’s family.
Ms. Moore had a young daughter, Gracie, who is now eight years old. Ms. Martin said that since her mother’s death, Gracie has become terrified of sirens and will hide under a table if she hears them – or if she sees a police officer.
“We turn to the police, and we’re looked at as a drunken Indian. We’re here to say ‘no more,’” said Ms. Martin, who broke down at several points during her remarks. “It doesn’t get any easier.”
In testimony earlier this year, Constable Son said Ms. Moore advanced on him with a knife and did not respond to commands to drop it, leading him to shoot her four times. A lawsuit filed by Ms. Martin against Const. Son and his employer allege that he did not have proper training on wellness checks, interactions with Indigenous people, use of a taser and proper use of force, according to CBC News.
About a year after Ms. Moore was killed, the province’s prosecution service announced that no criminal charges would be laid against the officer, due to his belief that he was in danger during the incident.
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