Video - "To Serve and Protect?" - Police chiefs ask government for advice about Idle No More blockades.

HT: SunNews. TORONTO - Under fire from the judiciary and media, Ontario's police chiefs are turning to the provincial government for advice on how to proceed with enforcement of court orders to break up Idle No More protests.
In a letter dated Jan. 9, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police president Steve Tanner asks Community Safety Minister Madeleine Meilleur for advice.
Some First Nations chiefs have declared Wednesday a national day of action with blockades planned in several locations across Ontario, including the Ambassador Bridge, North America's busiest border crossing.

"I am writing to ask you, as the minister responsible for community safety in the province of Ontario, to advise what the ministry's expectations and position is with respect to the appropriate police response in these types of protests," Tanner writes.

In the letter, Tanner says the priority of police at Idle No More protests is to "keep the peace."
"Our police leaders and the men and women on the front lines have been working hard at doing just that, despite what one might perceive from media reports."

Tanner also said previous court rulings and oversight recommendations place the priority on "peacekeeping" and give chiefs of police "discretionary powers" when it comes to enforcing court orders concerning public safety.
The same day Tanner penned the letter to Meilleur, Premier Dalton McGuinty told media the province wouldn't give direction to police on how to handle Idle No More protests. "In our democracy, we do not direct the police, that would be inappropriate," he said. "They make their own operational decisions on the ground. We'll leave that in their capable hands."