Police

The Wôlinak and Odanak police services are now one, having merged to form the Abenaki Police Force in 2009. This decision was made to provide better coverage of the entire territory and reduce response times.

This merger is a first in the province since the Quebec government adopted amendments to the Police Act. The agreement aimed to establish or maintain police forces by negotiating with one or more Indigenous communities. “The goal is to ensure the continuation of services offered by these regional services. With this agreement, you are demonstrating leadership and are ahead of other Indigenous communities,” said Robert Lafrenière, Deputy Minister of the Quebec Police, Prevention and Security Services Branch.

Éric Cloutier, Director of the Abenaki Police Force, believes that this decision will serve to provide a more professional service to help the Indigenous population. “We will be able to preserve the relationship of trust that exists between the community and the police. In the event of a rapid deployment, we will be able to reduce our response times, and we now have more police officers to cover the territory.”

The police service will be based at the current Odanak reserve station, which was built four years ago. It is equipped with a 911 dispatch center and will allow people who want to file a complaint to do so in complete confidentiality, compared to the old facility.