Experience Class Actions Gull Bay First Nation et al v. Canada and Ontario

Gull Bay First Nation et al v. Canada and Ontario

June 09, 2026

Ontario First Nations On-Reserve Policing Class Action

What this Class Action is About

Goldblatt Partners LLP is counsel in a proposed class action commenced by Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation) and three of its members against the Government of Canada and Government of Ontario over their alleged underfunding and mismanagement of the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (“FNIPP”) in Ontario.

The lawsuit alleges that Canada and Ontario:

1. Discriminate against First Nations and their Indigenous residents by providing on-reserve policing services that fail to meet First Nations’ needs and are lesser than the policing services delivered in comparable non-Indigenous communities; and
2. Act dishonourably and in bad faith by locking First Nations into unfair policing contracts in which First Nations are unable to negotiate reasonable terms for their communities; and
3. Breach the fiduciary duties they owe to First Nations and their Indigenous residents in delivering core policing services on reserve lands.

The lawsuit alleges that the discriminatory delivery of First Nations police forces has harmed First Nations and their Indigenous residents. Among the many harmful effects of discriminatory police service delivery are long emergency wait times, lack of 24/7 policing, and lack of First Nation-led policing programs.

The proposed class consists of:

i. All Indigenous communities that have, or have had, policing services or policing infrastructure funded through an agreement that includes as parties Canada, Ontario, and an Indigenous government or other Indigenous entity, between 1991 and the present (the “First Nation Subclass” or “First Nation Subclass Members”); and

ii. All Indigenous individuals who are or were ordinarily resident On Reserve at the time that the First Nation in question had policing services or policing infrastructure funded through an agreement that includes as parties Canada, Ontario, and an Indigenous government or other Indigenous entity, between 1991 and the present (the “Resident Subclass” or “Resident Subclass Members”).

Read the Statement of Claim here.

If you have questions about this case, please contact Elizabeth Lalonde (Smith) or call 1-855-214-7557.