The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation has passed an emergency order to keep a known criminal out of Old Crow until a reintergrational progam can be set up.

Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm held a press conference Tuesday afternoon in Whitehorse along with Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Doris Bill to explain their displeasure with the order from the Department of Justice to have Christopher Schafer returned to the remote village.

Tizya-Tramm said they learned of the decision late last Friday afternoon, when the First Nation received a phone call from the RCMP.

The community, he said, is not ready to accept Schafer without having a reintegration program in place.

Schafer is described in the emergency order to be a violent sexual offender as well as a serial dangerous offender who has committed offences against women and girls on the First Nation’s land.

Tizya-Tramm said the court order is an affront to the women and girls in the community who would have to face having Schafer in their community – and would have to see him.

The order, he said, was made without any conditions.

Tizya-Tramm was in court Tuesday to speak to the matter. The court case continued today.

The order to return Schafer to Old Crow is just one example of how many Yukon communities face these types of situations regularly, he said,

Chief Bill said the order was made with no monitoring place, no case management plan and no support whatsoever.

“It is left to the communities to deal with these individuals,” she said.

In many cases, she added, families are traumatized because they have to see these individuals on a daily basis.

“We have to give communities resources to deal with these situations,” Bill said.

“Communities can’t be expected to care for these individuals without proper support in place.”

Tizya-Tramm said they dealt with Schafer in a similar situation a year ago and were able to establish an acceptable method of managing the concerns and Schafer’s presence – but it took about month to put a plan in place.

In this case, he said, the community should have been told about what was being talked about.

Even last year, when the community of fewer than 300 people was given a month’s notice, it was not enough time to prepare, he said.

Tizya-Tramm is confident they can accommodate Schafer’s return under certain conditions, such as requiring him to live out on the land.

He said he was there not to judge Schafer but to say the community is not ready, but that he was there to help.

Bill said recommenations are coming from the Missing and Murder Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry as well as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“We need to start implementing these recomendations,” she said.

“Right now, we are setting up these individuals to fail. That is not fair to them, it’s not fair to the communities and it’s not fair to the families.”

Bill said she has invited federal Justice Minister David Lametti to the Yukon to get a better understanding of Yukon communities and First Nations.

Tizya-Tramm sent a letter Tuesday to Lametti, territorial Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee and Judge Michael Cozens, the chief judge of the territorial court.

“The release order of the territorial court of Yukon was made with no prior notice of consultation with the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation nor any apparent consideration of the safety of our community, and in particular the women and girls within our traditional territory,” the chief wrote.

He said the release order prompted the emergency declaration to keep Schafer from returning.

The case is another example of not treating the communities with the respect they deserve, he suggested.

“... The decision of the justice of the peace of the territorial court of Yukon to make the release order demonstrated a total lack of disregard for the safety and well-being of our community and the women and girls within our traditional territory and our responsibilities as a self-governing First Nation,” the letter says.

In his letter, Tizya-Tramm calls for an apology to the citizens of the First Nation and to the community.

He also called for a public inquiry into the direct and systemic factors that contributed to the release order.

The letter also calls for community wellness supports, counselling and aftercare on a permanent and ongoing basis for any Vuntut Gwitchin citizens affected by the order.

Renée Francoeur, a spokeswoman for the territorial cabinet, said in a statement this morning McPhee’s office will provide a response to Tizya-Tramm’s letter.

Francoeur goes on to list the services of the territorial victim services branch, and how it provides a long list of how staff help victims of crime and offenders.

The Dawson City Mental Wellness and Substance Hub pro-vides services to Old Crow.

An additional community counsellor is dedicated to Old Crow and travels regularly to provide services to the community, says the statement.