FORT SEVERN, ON and SANDY LAKE, ON — On January 11th, Greg Rickford, Member of Parliament for Kenora, on behalf of the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, celebrated the Grand Openings of two new Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service stations in the communities of Fort Severn and Sandy Lake, Ontario along with community leaders,  members and other officials.

“As a former nurse who worked for years in many of these communities in the riding, I can fully appreciate how important modern critical infrastructure, like police stations and nursing stations, are to the communities,” said MP Rickford. “The opening of these facilities will deliver a boost to the local economies and help to better ensure the safety of the residents in both these communities by providing modern policing infrastructure.  Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, as well as effective partnerships with the province, NAPS and Fort Severn, our government is delivering better tools so our law enforcement officers can better protect the safety and security of our communities.”

At the Grand Opening ceremony in Fort Severn, Chief Matthew Kakekaspan remarked "As Chief of Fort Severn, I am pleased to say that we are represented in Ottawa by a man like Greg Rickford.  Fort Severn is not the largest community in the Kenora riding but he always answers my calls and listens to what my First Nation needs.  We would not be cutting the ribbon on this police station detachment today had it not been for Mr. Rickford's personal intervention".  The Government of Canada provided $1,218,464 for this project while the Province of Ontario contributed $1,124,736.

Later in the afternoon over in Sandy Lake, MP Rickford was pleased to join Chief Adam Fiddler, officials and residents at their Grand Opening.  “This new facility provides better working conditions for our police officers in their efforts to provide a safer community for the people of Sandy Lake First Nation” said Chief Fiddler.  The Government of Canada provided $1.1 million for this detachment and another $1 million was committed by the Province of Ontario.

Under Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government delivered $15 million in funding to improve First Nations policing infrastructure. This funding was available to communities currently receiving enhanced funding for police services through Public Safety Canada’s First Nations Policing Program (FNPP). Under the FNPP, the Government of Canada provides contribution funding for dedicated and culturally appropriate policing services in First Nations and Inuit communities. The costs are shared by the federal (52%) and provincial (48%) governments.