Listening and Reading – Thunder Bay

Change written in neon lights

Last week after a two year investigation, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director released its review on the relationship between Indigenous people and the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS). The full 208 page report, “Broken Truth: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Policy Service,” is worth taking the time to read and reflect on.  At minimum I encourage everyone to read the executive summary.  The report sheds light on historical contexts in the land we currently call Canada and provides 44 recommendations for the TBPS.

Senator Murray Sinclair also recently released his final report on the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, at his recommendation the Ontario Civilian Police Commission has disbanded the policy services board for at least one year. This is an equally important report that I encourage people to engage with.

If reading reports isn’t for you, I recommend listening to Ryan McMahon’s Thunder Bay podcast. This five episode podcast talks about the history and current reality of Indigenous life in Thunder Bay.  As a warning, one of the episodes deals with underage sex trafficking and folks might find the entire series hard to listen to.  That being said, McMahon’s work is really important in terms of light it sheds on local politics, lived experiences, and centering Indigenous realities.

Photo credit: Ross Findon on Unsplash

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