Dear Mr. Regan Bader and Mr. Jim Pattison,
The BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN) is calling on the Save-On-Foods Pine Centre location in Prince George, BC to formally apologize to two First Nations youth who were victims of excessive use of force at the hands of loss prevention officers. BCAFN calls for the Pattison FoodGroup to conduct an internal review of the incident and security personnel’s response. Additionally, BCAFN calls for security personnel to attend cultural competency training to prevent any additional profiling or discrimination against First Nations customers, following the violent and reprehensible apprehension of two First Nations youth at the Save-On-Foods Pine Centre location in Prince George, BC in June of 2024, resulting in widespread media attention.
This event was brought to my attention when it was reshared on social media detailing the utterly inappropriate and unacceptable treatment of the First Nations youth. As a result of this incident occurring, Prince George residents have shared many stories of either witnessing or being subject to similar interactions at this Save-On location by on-site security, who have been reported to be unfairly targeting people of colour, and Indigenous people in particular. Several First Nations people have reported being followed around the store by loss prevention staff or have been questioned without reason regarding their intentions in the store resulting in First Nations shoppers being deliberately racially targeted and discriminated against.
First Nations in BC and across Canada are consistently discriminated against or profiled by law enforcement or security personnel, which often leads to aggressive, excessive and unjustified use of force.
As a part of my role as the Regional Chief of British Columbia, I am a co-portfolio holder of the Justice and Policing file at the national level with the Assembly of First Nations. As we work to engage with law enforcement agencies on the disproportionate use of violence against First Nations peoples, we need to begin having conversations with security and loss-prevention officers on the proper treatment of our people. There is no justification for this behaviour, especially when it involves First Nations youth, who are already vulnerable and unaware of their rights.
As a result of this incident, I demand the Save-On-Foods Pine Centre location to issue a formal apology to the First Nations youth involved in this incident, as well as members of the PrinceGeorge community who report experiences of mistreatment in your store. Additionally, I urge the Pattison Food Group to conduct an internal review of your security personnel, to ensure they are provided the proper cultural competency training to adequately engage with First Nations customers. Additionally, I urge you to review the procedures followed by security staff involved in this incident. It must be emphasized that both girls involved in this incident were underage youth, and the violent physical restraint of these children is unacceptable in any context.
I would like to extend the invitation to meet with you to discuss this event, and to discuss a clear path forward to ensure the safety of First Nations shoppers is upheld within Save-On-Foods grocery stores.
Mussi,
Regional Chief Terry Teegee