First Nations in Bella Bella Call for Removal of RCMP Officer Over Social Media Posts

Members of the Heiltsuk Nation have united to oppose what they describe as a threat within the RCMP detachment in Bella Bella.

“People felt like they didn’t want to call the RCMP, they’re hesitant to call the RCMP,” Marilyn Slett, Elected Chief of the Heiltsuk First Nation told Global News.

“It leads to mistrust, you know, of the RCMP.”

The mistrust arises from social media posts found on Facebook under the name Adrian Rubenstein. In the small community, it quickly became known that Adrian Rubenstein is actually Constable Adrian Robinson of the Bella Bella RCMP.

“These posts were unacceptable and absolutely racist,” Slett said.

“Our community was feeling some fear obviously, with having an RCMP with these types of racist attitudes,” Slett added.

Previous posts, now removed, depicted Robinson in costume alongside inappropriate comments targeting Jehovah’s Witnesses and individuals of color. Among them, a 2014 profile picture portrays Robinson in a period military attire seated behind the Union Jack.

Below he comments: “Now, what’s to be done about these pesky natives stirring up trouble in the colonies…?”

Slett said it does not matter when these posts were made.

“Whether or not these posts were made yesterday, last week, or 10 years ago, he had them on his Facebook publicly for everybody to see,” she said.

The Heiltsuk Nation asserts that time has prevented the RCMP from initiating a code of conduct investigation that would automatically suspend Robinson from active duty.

In a statement, the RCMP explained that since the posts were made before Robinson joined the force, they are striving to strike a balance between addressing concerns fairly and maintaining public trust in law enforcement.

Slett raised questions about the vetting process and why the concerning posts weren’t flagged during screening.

According to the Heiltsuk Nation, they’ve been informed that a transfer for Robinson is in progress but may take up to 90 days.

During this period, Robinson will continue serving the community under the supervision of another officer.

Leaders emphasized that this underscores the need for collaborative efforts with the RCMP in the hiring process. They view the necessity of such actions as a failure by the RCMP to safeguard the community from both past and present trauma, as well as ongoing harm.