First Light is calling for increased police oversight in Newfoundland and Labrador in light of changes being proposed in other parts of Atlantic Canada.

Earlier this week, the Serious Incident Response Teams in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick announced that they are creating a position for an Indigenous investigator following several shootings involving Indigenous peoples.

The director of advocacy with First Light in NL, Justin Campbell, says he would like to see a similar role adopted here. He says they’re asking for a “community liaison” to work with marginalized groups on police oversight.

“It comes down to creating a police oversight board that is civilian-led, politically neutral, and able to engage with community in a productive way to identify priorities and to bring a variety of perspectives to the way that policing work is done in the province,” he told VOCM News.

Campbell says it’s something he’s pitched to government in the past, and he’s encouraged by the response to-date.

“I am optimistic that there’s been some positive uptake from the current minister of justice, that’s Helen Conway-Ottenheimer. Earlier this year, she released a statement saying that she was committed to moving forward as early as the fall with police reform legislation and possibly a much broader Police Act. So, those are encouraging signs.”