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VPD, Heiltsuk Nation relationship needs repair: B.C. human rights head

Rights adovcate also calls for new apology ceremony for cops who wrongfully arrested Heiltsuk family
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Heiltsuk First Nation man Maxwell Johnson and elected Chief Marilyn Slett at a news conference on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. (Jane Skrypnek/Black Press Media)

B.C.’s human rights commissioner says the Heiltsuk Nation and Vancouver Police Board (VPB) have a real opportunity to address racism in policing if they can find a way to work together better.

Kasari Govender released an interim report on the groups’ progress on Wednesday (March 6). She was tasked with monitoring their work as one of the conditions of a 2022 human rights settlement between VPB and a Heiltsuk grandfather and granddaughter who were wrongfully arrested outside a Vancouver bank.

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Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
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