FREDERICTON -- The shooting death of Chantel Moore at the hands of a police officer in Edmundston, N.B., last week has sparked many discussions about police accountability and racism.
There have been calls from across the country for action in the wake of 26-year-old Moore's death.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," said Chief Allan Polchies Jr. "We demand action now."
The Indigenous mother was shot and killed while a police officer conducted a wellness check at her apartment last Thursday morning.
The Edmundston police force says the officer was defending himself because, allegedly, Moore had a knife and was making threats.
It's believed no one else was there and the investigation has been left in the hands of an investigative bureau in Quebec.
"Something went tragically wrong and there must be answers to all of the family's questions," said New Brunswick Green Party leader David Coon."Not six months from now -- but now."
Coon says New Brunswick is one of four provinces without a police watchdog and because the investigation is in the hands of another province, there's no telling how long it will take.
"This whole investigation is resonating with what's going on elsewhere in North America today around the demand for greater accountability and greater transparency when it comes to policing incidents," Coon said.
Just in December, the province received a report recommending it set up its own serious incident response team, similar to Nova Scotia's.
It would be made up of a group of investigators that take a critical look at incidents involving police officers, so they're not investigating themselves.
At the time, the public safety minister said he was considering it -- but not Tuesday.
"I'm not sure that New Brunswick having its own is the right answer," said Carl Urquhart.
Criminologist Michael Boudreau suggests Maritime governments consider creating one single investigative body that responds to all three provinces.
"There have been calls for decades for more civilian oversight of the police," Boudreau said. "Sometimes, the police are resistant to that, so New Brunswick needs to look at this again. How many more times do we have to go down the road of police-involved shootings and turn to another outside body?"
Premier Blaine Higgs didn't really rule anything out, but feels another province is truly "arms-length."
He says he trusts Quebec's bureau with Moore's case.
"It is a process," Higgs said. "It's more important to be thorough, than fast."
The province is paying Quebec's police watchdog for the investigation.
Higgs says he doesn't know how much it will cost at this time.
