C/Supt. Reti's Response to Media Reports

Sue Bailey’s September 18, 2007 article (CP) entitled "Police brace for spike in violence, scams fueled by native compensation cash", inaccurately reported my views and took considerable liberty in attributing her choice of language to me. Follow up media editorials, such as Mr. Jim Harrison’s commentary on September 23, 2007 entitled, "Mountie’s attitude helps reinforce racist stereotype", have confounded these misrepresentations.

The purpose of my interview with Ms. Bailey was to help inform Canadians on the settlement agreement and our collaborative efforts to support and protect former students. It is unfortunate that the media has chosen to sensationalize rather than educate the public on this very important matter.

Anyone receiving large sums of money can be victimized by unscrupulous people. Crime affects us all. To suggest that Aboriginal people are at a greater risk of being victimized contributes to the racism that has plagued Aboriginal communities and opens the possibility of re-victimizing former students. As an RCMP officer and an Aboriginal person, I take offence to tone of media reporting of this issue and the suggestion that I hold such views.

My concerns were also shared by Grand Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations which he stressed to the media during his press conference in Winnipeg Wednesday, September 19, 2007, “ I've read too much in the last few days about the money, and what it means to the survivors and what might be befall our people, and I sense a tune of racism to all of those concerns and worries.”

As the Director General of the National Aboriginal Policing Services in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, I take tremendous pride in my work and the relationships I have with my communities and people. The RCMP is fully committed to supporting the needs of Aboriginal communities during this historic time of reconciliation, healing and celebration.

Chief Superintendent Doug Reti
Director General
National Aboriginal Policing Services

Doug Reti's biography