![RCMP_Ford_CVPI_in_Ottawa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/RCMP_Ford_CVPI_in_Ottawa.jpg)
The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
(RCMP) has a history dating back to 1873 and has been involved in several high-profile controversies.
Early controversies
![RCMP officers during the Estevan Riot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/RCMP_officers_during_the_Estevan_Riot.JPG)
Until 1920, the RCMP's forerunner, the
Royal North-West Mounted Police
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupertâs Land and North-Western Territor ...
, operated only in
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canadaâ ...
and
the North. The new organization was created by an amalgamation with the
Dominion Police
The Dominion Police Force was the federal police force of Canada between 1868 and 1920, and was one of the predecessors of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was the first federal police force in Canada, formed the year following the Canadian ...
, giving the RCMP a
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
mandate as a departure from its earlier role as a
frontier
A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"âthe region of a country that fronts o ...
police force. Early controversies grew from its preoccupation with
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and the
labour movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
.
Following from its operations in the
Winnipeg General Strike of 1919,
the RCMP intervened in labour disputes, not as an impartial law enforcement agency, but to assist with breaking strikes.
In one incident, RCMP officers clashed with striking coal miners for 45 minutes in
Estevan, Saskatchewan
Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the CanadaâUnited States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5.
History
Th ...
in 1933 and killed three miners during the
Estevan Riot
The Estevan riot, also known as the Black Tuesday Riot, was a confrontation between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and striking coal miners from nearby Bienfait, Saskatchewan which took place in Estevan, Saskatchewan on September 29, 1931. T ...
.
Part of its strategy against labour organizing included extensive use of
spies
Spies most commonly refers to people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations.
Spies or The Spies may also refer to:
* Spies (surname), a German surname
* Spies (band), a jazz fusion band
* "Spies" (song), a song by Coldplay
* ...
for surveillance of suspected
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
s, which was revealed at the court trial that convicted the leadership of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
under
Section 98
Section 98 (s. 98) of the ''Criminal Code'' of Canada was a law enacted after the Winnipeg general strike of 1919 banning "unlawful associations." It was used in the 1930s against the Communist Party of Canada.
After the Winnipeg general strike ...
of the
Criminal Code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
in 1932. Political surveillance activities were conducted out of its
Criminal Investigation Department
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...
until a separate branch, the
RCMP Security Service The RCMP Security Service (french: Service de sécurité de la GRC) was a branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that had responsibility for domestic intelligence and security in Canada. It was replaced by the Canadian Security Intellige ...
, was established in 1950. The RCMP was also the force used to stop the
On-to-Ottawa Trek
The On-to-Ottawa Trek was a mass protest movement in Canada in 1935 sparked by unrest among unemployed single men in federal relief camps principally in Western Canada. Federal relief camps were brought in under Prime Minister R. B. Bennettâs ...
by precipitating another bloody clash that left one
Regina city police officer and one protester dead in the 1935
Regina Riot
The On-to-Ottawa Trek was a mass protest movement in Canada in 1935 sparked by unrest among unemployed single men in federal relief camps principally in Western Canada. Federal relief camps were brought in under Prime Minister R. B. Bennettâs ...
. The Mounties were frequently criticized for these activities by labour and the left, including one of its most prominent surveillance targets,
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
J. S. Woodsworth
James Shaver Woodsworth (July 29, 1874 â March 21, 1942) was a preâFirst World War pioneer of the Canadian Social Gospel, a Christian religious movement with social democratic values and links to organized labour. He was a long-time leader ...
. A dispute with the
Government of Alberta
The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crownârepresented in the province by the lieutenant governorâi ...
over
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
led to the creation of a separate
Alberta Provincial Police
The Alberta Provincial Police (APP) was the provincial police service for the province of Alberta, Canada from 1917 to 1932. The APP was formed as a result of the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP) leaving the prairie provinces during the Fi ...
from 1917 to 1932.
Killing of Inuit-owned sled dogs
There have been many Inuit accounts related to the alleged killings of
sled dog
A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in Dog harness, harness, most commonly a Dog sled, sled over snow.
Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transport ...
s during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, as well as the impact of the federal government's efforts during that time to relocate
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, áááአ'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
into modern settlements.
Theft of dynamite
In April 1971, a team of RCMP officers broke into the storage facilities of
Richelieu Explosives, and stole an unspecified amount of dynamite. A year later, in April 1972, officers hid four cases of dynamite in
Mont Saint-Grégoire
Mont Saint-Grégoire (height: ) is a mountain in the Montérégie region of southern Quebec, Canada. It is composed of essexite and syenite, strongly contrasting with the surrounding sedimentary rocks. The area around Mont Saint-Grégoire is know ...
, in an attempt to link the explosives with the
FLQ. This was later admitted by
Solicitor General Francis Fox
Francis Fox (born December 2, 1939) is a former member of the Senate of Canada, Canadian Cabinet minister, and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada, Principal Secretary in the Canadian Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister's Of ...
on October 31, 1977.
Intelligence mole
In 1967, it was suspected that there was a Soviet infiltrator in the ranks of Canadian intelligence. Suspicion initially fell upon
Leslie James Bennett. With Bennett's personal
leftist
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
politics, and past acquaintanceship with defector
Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...
, he has pilloried as the most likely suspect by the RCMP themselves, although the RCMP was asked to investigate Bennett by
James Jesus Angleton
James Jesus Angleton (December 9, 1917 â May 11, 1987) was chief of CIA Counterintelligence, counterintelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1954 to 1974. His official position within the organization was Associate Deputy Di ...
of the CIA. The accusations and interrogations by the police led to the breakdown of Bennett's marriage and early retirement.
[Sawatsky, John. "For Services Rendered: Leslie James Bennett and the RCMP Security Service", 19782]
In the 1980s it was discovered that the mole had actually been Sergeant
Gilles Brunet
Sergeant Gilles G. Brunet was a career officer in Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
He was born on September 20, 1934, in Rimouski. Commenced Saint Aloysisus School. He also attended A school at CĂŽtes des Neiges and St-Nicolas School in Mo ...
, the son of an RCMP assistant commissioner.
Barn-burning scandal
On the night of May 6, 1972, the RCMP Security Service
burned down a barn owned by
Paul Rose's and
Jacques Rose Jacques Rose (born 1947) is a Québécois nationalist who was a member of the Chénier Cell of the ''Front de libération du Québec'' (FLQ), along with his brother Paul Rose, who led the cell.
The Chénier cell of the FLQ kidnapped Quebec Labour ...
's mother in
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Rochelle, Quebec
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Rochelle is a community in Quebec, Canada, situated within the Regional County Municipality of Le Val-Saint-François in the administrative region of Estrie.
It is served by Quebec Routes 243 and 220. Route 220 has its beginn ...
. They suspected that separatists were planning to meet with members of the
Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...
from the United States. The arson came after they failed to convince a judge to allow them to
wiretap
Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...
the alleged meeting place. This was later admitted by
Solicitor General Francis Fox
Francis Fox (born December 2, 1939) is a former member of the Senate of Canada, Canadian Cabinet minister, and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada, Principal Secretary in the Canadian Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister's Of ...
on October 31, 1977.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Rod Stamler later said that the barn-burning operation was "morally wrong and unlawful" and if the police leadership condones such actions, it will lose control of the (police) force."
Staff Sergeant Donald McCleery (1934-2014) was involved in the operation,
and following his retirement from the RCMP ran his own "investigation and surveillance" company in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec. The firm was acquired by Gardium Sécurité in 2008.
Theft of PQ members list
In 1973, more than thirty members of the RCMP Security Service committed a break-in to steal a computerized members list of
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
members, in an investigation dubbed Operation Ham. This was later admitted by
Solicitor General Francis Fox
Francis Fox (born December 2, 1939) is a former member of the Senate of Canada, Canadian Cabinet minister, and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada, Principal Secretary in the Canadian Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister's Of ...
on October 28, 1977.
John Starnes (RCMP), head of the RCMP Security Service, claimed that the purpose of this operation was to investigate allegations that the PQ had funneled $200,000 worth of donations through a
Swiss banking account.
Break-ins and bombing
A series of more than 400 illegal break-ins by the RCMP were revealed by
Vancouver Sun
The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...
reporter
John Sawatsky
Ferdinand John Sawatsky (born 1948) is a Canadian author, journalist and interviewer.
Early career
Born in Winkler, Manitoba in 1948, he graduated from Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford and attended Simon Fraser University in the late ...
in his front-page
exposé
Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to:
News sources
* Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism
* '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website
Film and TV Film
* ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film
* ''Exposed'' (1932 ...
headline "''Trail of break-in leads to RCMP cover-up''" on December 7, 1976. The story won the Vancouver Sun the
Michener Award
The Michener Award is one of the highest distinctions in Canadian journalism. The award was founded in 1970 by Roland Michener, who was Governor General of Canada at the time, and his wife Norah. The idea for the award was developed in 1969 with Bi ...
that year.
It wasn't until the following year that it was uncovered that the October 6, 1972, break-in at the
Agence de Presse Libre du Québec office, had been the work of an RCMP investigation dubbed Operation Bricole, not right-wing militants as previously believed.
The small leftist Quebec group had reported more than a thousand significant files missing or damaged following the break-in. One RCMP, one
SQ and one
SPVM officer pleaded guilty on June 16, 1977, but were given
unconditional discharges.
A similar break-in occurred at the same time, at the office of the
Mouvement pour la Défense des Prisonniers Politiques Québécois.
In 1974, RCMP Security Service Corporal
Robert Samson
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''HrĆĂŸiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''HrĆĂŸ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
was arrested at a hospital after a failed bombing - the bomb exploded while in his hands, causing him to lose some fingers and tearing his eardrums - at the house of Sam Steinberg, founder of Steinberg Foods in Montreal. While this bombing was not sanctioned by the RCMP, at trial he announced that he had done "much worse" on behalf of the RCMP, and admitted he had been involved in the APLQ break-in.
On April 19, 1978, the Director of the RCMP criminal operations branch, admitted that the RCMP had entered more than 400 premises without warrant since 1970.
Inquiries
In 1977, the Quebec provincial government launched the
Keable Inquiry into Illegal Police Activities Keable is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Cale Keable (born 1976), American politician
*Robert Keable (1887â1927), English writer, Anglican priest and missionary
*Russell Keable, British composer and conductor
*Sasha Keable ( ...
, which resulted in 17 members of the RCMP being charged with 44 offences.
In the same year, a
Royal Commission was formed by
Justice David McDonald entitled ''
Inquiry Into Certain Activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police'' to investigate allegations of vast wrongdoing by the national police force. The inquiry's 1981 recommendation was to limit the RCMP's role in intelligence operations, and resulted in the formation of the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...
three years later.
The Savoie scandal
In 1992 a senior RCMP officer
Claude Savoie ''For the policeman, please see Claude Savoie .''
Joseph Vincent Claude Savoie (July 30, 1916 â May 29, 1990) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
A legislature is an deliberative assembly, as ...
was exposed as corrupt, causing a major scandal that ended with Savoie shooting himself in his Ottawa office.
One of Savoie's subordinates,
Jorge Leite, was found guilty of corruption in 1999.
Excessive use of force at the 1997 APEC Summit
In 1997, the APEC summit was held in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia. Controversy arose after officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used
pepper spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, cr ...
and
strip search
A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...
es against protesters, who were objecting to the presence of several
autocratic
Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...
leaders such as
Indonesian president
The President of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Presiden Republik Indonesia) is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president leads the executive branch of the Indonesian government and is ...
Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 â 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
. A subsequent public inquiry concluded that the RCMP was at fault, showing a lack of professionalism and a failure of planning. The report also charged that the Canadian government interfered with police operations, possibly in an effort to shield certain leaders from being publicly embarrassed by the protests.
Killing of Darren Varley
In 1999 RCMP Constable Michael Ferguson fatally shot local resident
Darren Varley after being attacked inside the holding cells at a
Pincher Creek
Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary.
History
For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indigen ...
police station. Ferguson was prosecuted twice for murder, resulting in two hung juries, and was then convicted of the killing and found guilty of
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
.
RCMP bombing in Alberta, scapegoating farmer
The RCMP bombed an oilsite in Alberta on October 14, 1998, on the instructions of the Alberta Energy Co. No injuries were caused or intended. The Crown lawyers, representing the government, accepted that the allegations were true. An Alberta farmer was blamed for the bombing. He had been complaining about oil pollution causing a nuisance. The court held him and another farmer without bail.
Torture scandal: Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Maher Arar
On September 26, 2002, during a stopover in New York City en route from a family vacation in
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Maher Arar
Maher Arar ( ar, Ù
ۧÙ۱ Űč۱ۧ۱) (born 1970) is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who has resided in Canada since 1987.
Arar was detained during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Septem ...
was detained by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, acting upon information supplied by the RCMP.
Arar was sent to Syria where he was imprisoned for more than 10 months, tortured and forced to sign a
false confession
A false confession is an admission of guilt for a crime which the individual did not commit. Although such confessions seem counterintuitive, they can be made voluntarily, perhaps to protect a third party, or induced through coercive interrogat ...
that he had trained in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. A public campaign ended in his release and won a public inquiry into his case, which found that he had no ties to terrorism.
Like Arar, Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin are Canadian Muslim men who were detained and tortured overseas while under investigation by Canadian investigators. They were all detained when they arrived in Syria and taken to the same Syrian detention centre â the Far' Falastin, or Palestine Branch â of the Syrian Military Intelligence. All were tortured. All were interrogated by the same Syrian interrogation team, who accused them all of links to terrorism using information and questions that could only have originated with Canadian agencies. The Arar Inquiry has already determined that the RCMP sent questions for Abdullah Almalki to his Syrian interrogators. As in the case of Arar, unnamed Canadian officials used the media to publicly accuse El Maati and Almalki of having ties to al-Qaeda. No Canadian official has admitted to making these accusations in the media, and many years later, no evidence has ever been produced to back their claims. Like Arar, El Maati and Nureddin were eventually released without charge. Almalki was cleared, acquitted and released. When they returned to Canada, they all called for a process which would expose the truth about the role of Canadian agencies in what happened to them, and which would help them clear their names and rebuild their lives.
On September 28, 2006, RCMP Commissioner
Giuliano Zaccardelli
Giuliano Zaccardelli (born ) is an Italian-born Canadian retired police officer who served as the 20th commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) from 2000 to 2006. His departure from the RCMP was linked to the force's involvemen ...
issued a carefully worded public apology to Arar and his family during the House of Commons committee on public safety and national security:
Mr. Arar, I wish to take this opportunity to express publicly to you and to your wife and to your children how truly sorry I am for whatever part the actions of the RCMP may have contributed to the terrible injustices that you experienced and the pain that you and your family endured.
In a subsequent December 2006 appearance in front of the Commons committee, Zaccardelli said the timelineâregarding what he knew at the time and what he told government ministersâgiven in his first appearance in September was inaccurate. He resigned the following day.
On January 26, 2007, after months of negotiations between the Canadian government and Arar's Canadian legal counsel, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a formal apology "for any role Canadian officials may have played in what happened to Mr. Arar, Monia Mazigh and their family in 2002 and 2003" and announced that Arar would receive $10.5 million settlement for his ordeal and an additional $1 million for legal costs. Ahmad El Maati and Abdullah Almalki, meanwhile, still await answers in their cases from th
secretive Iacobucci Inquiryinto the RCMP and other Canadian agencies' alleged role in their overseas detention and torture.
Pension fund scandal
In 2004, Andrew McIntosh, an
investigative journalist
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...
at The
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
, revealed a secret audit that detailed misuse of millions of dollars by the RCMP of its own members' pension fund.
He also revealed that several people had been forced from their jobs because of the scandal, but that there had not been a proper probe into the irregularities. The same day his story was published, Commissioner Zaccardelli announced the force would pay back to the pension fund the millions misused and that he called for a police probe by Ottawa Police Force, though Zaccardelli somehow managed to maintain control over the probe and nobody was subsequently charged.
After Zaccardelli's resignation in 2007, a public accounts committee heard several testimonies from former and serving RCMP officers alleging serious fraud and nepotism at the upper management level under Zaccardelli. The fraud allegations go back to 2002 and are related to RCMP pension and insurance plans for members of the force. Zaccardelli launched and then two days later cancelled a criminal investigation into the matter, which was resumed by the
Ottawa Police Service
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS; French: ''Service de police d'Ottawa'') is a municipal police force in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OPS serves an area of 2,790 square kilometres and 1,017,449 (2021 census) people alongside several other police f ...
after his resignation. That investigation found serious nepotism and wasteful spending. A follow-up investigation by the Auditor-General found millions of dollars inappropriately charged to the pension and insurance plans.
A subsequent investigation conducted by a former head of the Ontario Securities Commission strongly criticized the management style of Zaccardelli, who, he said, was responsible for "a fundamental breach of trust" and called for a major shake-up of the force. Specifically, RCMP members and employees who attempted to address the pension fund issue suffered "career damage" for doing so, according to the investigators findings. Interim RCMP Commissioner
Beverley Busson concurred with the recommendations and promised that individuals that the upper ranks attempted to silence would be thanked and recognized.
Constable Justin Harris and the Prince George RCMP
Following the 2002 case of a
Prince George judge, David Ramsay, who pleaded guilty to misconduct with young prostitutes, similar allegations were made against Constable Justin Harris and other RCMP officers. Harris was accused of having touched an underage prostitute, paying a prostitute for sex, and refusing to pay at all, between 1993 and 2001.
[Accused RCMP officer says force acted too late against him](_blank)
CBC, Tuesday, October 3, 2006.
The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, ...
forbids a hearing from taking place more than one-year after a senior officer has been made aware of such allegations, but because the allegations had been made against nine officers with little evidence, the RCMP did not launch a criminal investigation against Harris and did not launch a misconduct hearing until 2005.
On October 4, 2006, the RCMP disciplinary board decided to stop all proceedings against Harris because the investigation conflicted with the RCMP Act. (This decision has since been appealed by the senior RCMP officer in BC)
[Hearing dismissed for Mountie accused of having sex with teen prostitutes](_blank)
CBC, Wednesday, October 4, 2006 Public outcry from people like Daisy Kler of
Vancouver Rape Relief
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
and Women's Shelter criticized the RCMP's internal investigation policies.
Ian Bush incident
On October 29, 2005,
Ian Bush, 22 was arrested in
Houston, British Columbia
Houston ( ) is a forestry, mining and tourism town in the Bulkley Valley of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its urban population is approximately 3600 people, with approximately 2000 in the surrounding rural area. It is known ...
. At the RCMP detachment office, Bush died due to a single gunshot wound to the back of the head.
[ ][ ]
Constable Paul Koester and Bush were alone in the interrogation room.
Koester claimed Bush attacked him, and that he was being choked from behind to unconsciousness and acted in self-defence.
An investigation was conducted by an RCMP team brought in from another region.
That investigation was reviewed by several agencies including the Ministry of the Attorney General of BC,
and the federal
.
Koester was cleared of any wrongdoing.
The Coroner's Inquest into the death reached the same conclusion.
Conflicting evidence was given at the inquest.
The analyses of the
blood spatter
Blood squirt (blood spurt, blood spray, blood gush, or blood jet) is the effect when an artery is ruptured. Blood pressure causes the blood to bleed out at a rapid, intermittent rate in a spray or jet, coinciding with the pulse, rather than the s ...
evidence by an RCMP forensics officer, Jim Hignell, and
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
police constable, Joseph Slemko, differed; the former supporting Koester's account, the latter contradicting it.
Robert DziekaĆski Taser incident
The
Robert DziekaĆski Taser incident occurred when DziekaĆski, a Polish immigrant, arrived at the
Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busiest ...
on October 13, 2007. After being released from Customs after a ten-hour delay, he became agitated and violent. Four RCMP officers attended to arrest DziekaĆski; one fired a Taser after which DziekaĆski fell to the ground. He was then pinned and handcuffed by the officers, and then Tasered repeatedly until he lost consciousness. Testimony from the officers differs regarding whether or not DziekaĆski's pulse was checked, but when paramedics arrived approximately 15 minutes later he could not be resusciated, and he was declared dead at the scene.
Police were heavily criticized for their handling of the incident, and the incident has revived
debate concerning police use of tasers in Canada. A
public inquiry
A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal ...
into the incident ruled DziekaĆski's death a
homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
, and two of the officers were convicted of
perjury
Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
for giving false statements to the inquiry regarding their actions in the incident.
Royal Inland Hospital taser incident
In May 2008, at Royal Inland Hospital in
Kamloops
Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...
, an RCMP officer used a taser on 82-year-old
Frank Lasser while he was in his hospital bed. He was reportedly "delirious" and wielding a knife.
Allegation of political bias against Insite
In October 2008, it was revealed that the RCMP had used taxpayer money to pay individuals to write negative, politically biased reports about the Vancouver safe injection site,
Insite
Insite is the first legal supervised drug injection site in North America, located at 139 East Hastings Street, in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. The DTES had 4700 chronic drug users in 2000 and ha ...
. In addition to this, memos were distributed referring to British Columbia's Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS - a nationally renowned repository of some of the top AIDS research in the world - as the "Centre for Excrements", and suggesting stacking radio shows with callers against Insite.
Mountie takes woman home from jail
In 2011, a northern Manitoba RCMP officer took an intoxicated woman he had arrested out of a cell and to his home to "pursue a personal relationship." Several of his colleagues witnessed this but only two reported it. The constable admitted to the allegations, got a reprimand and lost pay for seven days. The
Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation
The Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN; cr, ááŻááááŻáœ, nisicawĂąyasihk; formerly the Nelson House First Nation) is a Cree First Nations community centered in Nelson House, Manitoba, Canada. Its main reserve is Nelson House 170.
Nelson ...
has called for an independent investigation.
Criticism from SCC on failure to protect wife who hired hitman
In January 2013, the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprĂȘme du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
criticized the RCMP for pursuing charges against
Nicole Doucet Ryan (also known as Nicole Patricia Ryan) after she attempted to hire an undercover officer as a
hitman
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...
to kill her husband. The criticisms were based on her post-arrest courtroom allegations of abuse, which proved highly controversial since the judges based their decision and criticism entirely on her testimony that she had called the RCMP to report the abuse but received no help. The former husband was never called to appear in court but refuted that he was abusive. After an internal investigation the RCMP stated that no allegations of abuse were ever brought forward by Nicole Ryan. On February 6, it was announced that The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police would investigate the allegations.
High River weapons search
On June 21, 2013, High River, Alberta suffered major flooding; the residents were evacuated, and the town searched for anyone stranded. By June 24, High River RCMP reported to Edmonton that they had completed their search of every home in town, 3,337 in all. After June 24 the RCMP checked approximately 1900 homes for firearms. The check continued until July 10.
Discrimination against women
Janet Merlo claim of misconduct
In 2007
Janet Merlo filed a claim of harassment and misconduct against the RCMP
stating that their continual abuse over a decade of service had led to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In 2015, hearings were held to determine if her case should be elevated to a class action, as nearly 400 other women officers had asked to join it.
Sherry Lee Benson-Podolchuk
In 2007, Sherry Lee Benson-Podolchuk wrote and published ''Women Not Wanted'', which detailed her experiences with frequent harassment during her 20-year career as the sole female officer in the Prairie region at the time. Benson-Podolchuk sued the RCMP, eventually settling out of court in 2009.
Catherine Galliford claim of sexual harassment
In November 2011, Corporal
Catherine Galliford, a former
spokeswoman
A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.
Duties and function
In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
for the
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
Division, came forward with a claim that she had been the victim of
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
by senior officers as far back as 1991, when she graduated from the
RCMP Academy.
Sexual harassment settlements
In October 2016, RCMP commissioner
Bob Paulson
Robert Wilfred Paulson, (born 1958) is a former Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He retired from the RCMP at the end of June 2017.
Life and career
Paulson was born in Lachute, Quebec in 1958. His father was an Icelandic Can ...
apologized for what he referred to as "shameful conduct" by the organization. An internal investigation determined that up to 20,000 female officers and civilian employees since 1974, may have been the victim of harassment, discrimination, and/or sexual abuse. Additionally, the organization has set aside a $100 million compensation fund for victims. They did not however address the matter of SSgt Caroline OâFarrell, who brought a separate suit due to her treatment while part of the iconic
Musical Ride
The Musical Ride of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is an event showcasing the equestrian skills performed by 32 cavalry who are regular members of the force. The event is held in Canada and worldwide to promote the RCMP. The first official rid ...
in the late 1980s.
On July 8, 2019 the National Post announced that a $100 million settlement was reached in a class-action lawsuit against the RCMP for sexual harassment. The Federal Government of Canada and the RCMP have entered into a Settlement Agreement in the Tiller et al., vs Her Majesty the Queen (Federal Court File Number T-1673-17) to compensate qualified claimants who have been subjected to the gender or sexual orientation based discrimination and/or harassment. The previous similar 2017 Merlo and Davidson Class Action Settlement only compensated female members and a limited number of public servants. Compensation for proven claims over the 45-year period would range from $10,000 to $222,000 each.
The 2016 settlement for $100 million covered female officers who had been sexually harassed in the RCMP since September 1974. A second settlement in 2019 for $100 million was for women in non-policing roles at the RCMP. According to the CBC in 2019, around 2,500 women were expected to claim claims under both of the settlements. The payouts are only allowed for living officers, with payments denied to the families of Mounties who had committed suicide since coming forward about the harassment.
Animal abuse
In 2017, allegations of animal abuse against horses used for the
RCMP Musical Ride emerged. Following the allegations, the riding master conducting the musical rides, Mike CÎté was removed from his post and restricted to administrative duties. This revived previous allegations going back as far as 2004 that the officer severely beat a horse until it was bleeding, punching another horse and ramming another into a wall. Other previous claims of public concerns were cited that he was promoted to a horse master.
Four years earlier, Staff Sgt. Caroline OâFarrell filed a lawsuit against thirteen colleagues in the musical ride alleging physical and sexual abuse.
Kinder Morgan pipeline in Canada
During early stages of the construction of the controversial
Kinder Morgan pipeline which was met by massive protests and physical resistance, the RCMP was brought in to disperse them. This resulted in a number of arrests. Amongst those arrested were
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
Elizabeth May
and
Tamo Campos
Tamo Campos is a professional snowboarder and noted environmentalist from British Columbia, Canada.
He is the founder of the humanitarian group Beyond Boarding. In 2022, he directed the documentary film '' The Klabona Keepers'', about the Tahlt ...
, grandson of
David Suzuki
David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at th ...
, which the activist made a speech against, and criticized the RCMP's actions.
Opponents of the Kinder Morgan pipeline alleged that the RCMP deliberately targeted them for arrests.
Homophobia
On November 11, 2020 the Honourable Michel Bastarache, C.C. Q.C. Independent Assessor, released his report Broken Dreams Broken Lives.
In it Bastarache wrote "What I learned led me to conclude that a toxic culture prevails in the RCMP. This culture encourages, or at least tolerates, misogynistic, racist and homophobic attitudes among many members of the RCMP."
See also
*
List of cases of police brutality in Canada
This is a list of incidents involving proven police brutality by law enforcement in Canada.
Alberta
*1999: An RCMP constable in Alberta, Michael Ferguson, fatally shot Darren Varley after Varley attacked him in a jail cell. He was convicted of ma ...
*
*
Corruption in Canada
Corruption represents an increasing issue across Canada. On Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, Canada scored 74 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("highly clean"). This score continues a slow decline from ...
*
Human rights in Canada
Human rights in Canada have come under increasing public attention and legal protection since World War II. Prior to that time, there were few legal protections for human rights. The protections which did exist focused on specific issues, rather t ...
References
Further reading
RCMP scandals and setbacks since 2006 ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', March 29, 2007
Tips For Canadian Citizens On How To Survive An Encounter With The RCMP Cannabis Culture Magazine
''Cannabis Culture'' is a Canadian online magazine and former print magazine devoted to cannabis and the worldwide cannabis subculture. ''Cannabis Culture'' publishes stories about the struggle to legalize marijuana, profiles of marijuana paraphe ...
, September 2, 2007
Kerry Pither's''Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror'' documents how three men targeted by an RCMP national security investigation were detained, interrogated and tortured overseas. It tells the stories of Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki, Maher Arar and Muayyed Nureddin.
External links
RCMP Watch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Controversies involving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
*
Canadian commissions and inquiries
Legal history of Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Human rights abuses in Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
Police misconduct in Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
Lists of events in Canada