William Leonard Higgitt

William Leonard Higgitt (10 November 1917 – 2 April 1989) was the 14th Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), holding office from 1969 to 1973, and President of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) from 1972 to 1976. Leonard Higgitt's background in intelligence and counterintelligence with the RCMP during and after World War II made him the preferred choice as RCMP Commissioner at what was the height of the Cold War. Higgitt also directed national security operations during the October Crisis of 1970, when members of the Front de libération du Québec ( FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross, events which saw then Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoke the War Measures Act, the first time in Canadian history that the Act was invoked during peacetime. As Commissioner, Higgitt also presided over the RCMP centenary.

Early life

Higgitt was born in the village of Anerley, Saskatchewan, in 1917, to Percy Higgitt and May Higgitt (née Hall), and grew up in Anerley during the Depression years of the 1930s. Percy Higgitt's family traces their roots to Sheffield, Yorkshire, and May Hall to Boston, Lincolnshire. Percy immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1908, meeting May Hall there and starting a farm. Percy gave up his struggling farm when Leonard was four to be an Imperial Oil agent and grain buyer for the Canadian Consolidated Grain Company; later taking over the lone general store and post office in Anerley, which he operated for over forty years. Percy also provided municipal public service in various capacities. After primary schooling, Leonard Higgitt went to high school in Saskatoon.

Interviewed in 1972 by the Winnipeg Free Press, Higgitt said that as a youth he was struck by the dedication RCMP officers seemed to display in coping with the problems and hardships brought on by the Depression: "It wasn't just a matter of enforcing the law. It was a question of helping anyone who was in need. And no one who didn't live through that era can really appreciate what the needs were.". After graduating from high school in 1937, at the age of nineteen, and two years before World War II began, Higgitt joined the RCMP at Regina, Saskatchewan. Here he completed recruit training, winning a medal for marksmanship, and became a stenographer at "F" Division headquarters. He remained in Regina, supervising general criminal files and engaging in active police investigations until the outbreak of the War.

Career

World War II

Britain and France declared war on Germany in September 1939, and Canada followed. Higgitt was posted to Ottawa, Ontario, for special war duties and to serve in the Intelligence Branch. By the late 1930s, various fascist groups across Canada had combined into the National Unity Party under the leadership of Adrien Arcand. Other such groups, and individuals sympathetic Nazism, remained underground. Higgitt was appointed Government advisor to the Commons Judicial Committee on Internment Operations, a committee set up to identify and mitigate potential security risks to Canada and the Allied effort against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and prior to the Allies' pivotal Normandy Landings these operations led to the removal of several hundreds of German- and Italian-born Canadians, Arcand included, to detention camps in Canada's hinterlands until the surrender of the Axis powers. The RCMP advised the Canadian Federal Government that Japanese Canadians, for their part, posed relatively little threat as a supposed 'fifth column' of spies and saboteurs. Subsequently, the Government, not believing the RCMP, took the responsibility for evacuating coastal Japanese Canadians to interior British Columbia out of the Mounties' hands and gave it to the BC Security Commission, and in turn, by 1943, to the Department of Labour. Political scientist Reg Whitaker and historian Gregory Kealey have argued that the relative effectiveness of the RCMP's Intelligence Branch in carrying out the responsibility of penetrating and monitoring pro-fascist groups, along with the nullification of the espionage, sabotage, or subversion threats believed to have been posed by these groups, ensured that the RCMP would carry out of the War an enhanced prestige within the Canadian state and some surety of a continued pre-eminent role in security intelligence in the postwar era. Higgitt remained a key figure in the RCMP's Cold War era security intelligence operations.

The Gouzenko Affair

In 1945, Higgitt, along with John Leopold of the RCMP's Intelligence Branch and two other future RCMP Commissioners, Charles Rivett-Carnac and Clifford Harvison, was a principal investigator of Igor Gouzenko, a cipher clerk for the Soviet Embassy to Canada who defected on September 5, three days after the official close of the War, with 109 documents on Soviet espionage activities in Canada and the United States. Higgitt was in charge of liaison with the special Crown prosecutors at the series of criminal trials related to Gouzenko and had control of the exhibits and documents. Gouzenko's defection was one of the major catalysts for the beginning of the global Cold War, and compelled RCMP leadership to organize a special counter-espionage section of the RCMP, which Higgitt headed until 1952. This was a forerunner of the RCMP's Security Service, an arm of the RCMP that had responsibility for domestic intelligence and security in Canada.

In 1952, Higgitt was commissioned as an officer and became Inspector and Personnel Officer in Ontario. He moved to western Quebec two years later to serve as Inspector at "C" Division, then was transferred to Montreal to take charge of the RCMP's Montreal Subdivision and supervise the RCMP's investigation and enforcement of the Canada Customs Act. He was posted to the RCMP's Security and Intelligence in Ottawa in 1957, the year Soviet spy Rudolf Abel was arrested in New York. With the Security Service, Higgitt was involved in the investigations of Soviet KGB agents Nikolai Ostrovsky and Rem Krasilnikov, and the double-agent Yevgeni Brik. Three years later he was assigned to London, England, where he served as Liaison Officer with British Intelligence and, later, with Western Europe via the Canadian Delegation to the General Assemblies of Interpol. Higgitt remained in Europe for three years, travelling extensively and working closely with police organizations and intelligence agencies throughout the continent. Higgitt made regular visits to Bonn to visit Canada's Ambassador to West Germany, John Kennett Starnes, to compare notes; Starnes eventually going on to become the Director of Canada's Security Service, replacing Higgitt when Higgitt moved on from the Security Service to take the job as RCMP Commissioner.

Promotion to Commissioner

Higgitt returned to Ottawa in 1963, taking the position of RCMP Security Service Superintendent. In 1967, Higgitt became RCMP Assistant Commissioner and Director of Security and Intelligence. In this capacity he worked closely with counterparts in the United States and Europe to monitor communist movements. Two years later, he was promoted to Deputy RCMP Commissioner and became Director of Operations for all Criminal and Security Service matters throughout Canada, and shortly afterward, on October 1, 1969, at the height of the Cold War, he was appointed RCMP Commissioner by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau over several of his senior officers. This was the RCMP's fourteenth commissioner. Upon his appointment, The New York Times described Higgitt as being "in the tradition of quiet‐spoken, approachable but tough headed men who hardly ever, by word or deed, draw attention to themselves". Higgitt continued his duties as Commissioner on a one-year extension granted by Canada's Solicitor-General. Following his appointment as Commissioner, Higgitt was unanimously elected a vice-president of Interpol. Higgitt received a tipstaff at the 65th annual conference of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, London, Ontario.

RCMP Commissioner

During his term in office, the RCMP Guidon was presented to the Force by Queen Elizabeth II, the first videofile system for storing and retrieving fingerprints was obtained, the Canadian Police Information Center (CPIC) with nationwide computer services was opened, and the creation of the Canadian Bomb Data Center was authorized. This all came at a time of increasingly tense domestic and global Cold War politics. One of the first questions posed to Higgitt upon his appointment as RCMP Commissioner was whether he thought a Chinese Communist Embassy in Ottawa would pose a new security problem for the federal police. Higgitt's immediate answer, widely circulated throughout Canadian media, was that a Chinese Communist presence in Canada would indeed require heightened police vigilance; an answer which displeased Trudeau, who had pressed hard for Canada-China negotiations and a diplomatic exchange between Ottawa and Beijing. Higgitt's opinion was that the presence of a Communist Chinese embassy in Ottawa would increase espionage activity in Canada, even if diplomatic links might outweigh those disadvantages. Higgitt was also asked about political movements and political protesting on the domestic front. His stated belief was that that anybody has a perfect right to get up on a street corner and advocate a change in government, and the police should only intervene when dissenters resort to subversive tactics.

Cold War Espionage

Tensions between the RCMP and the Trudeau Government regarding Maoist China continued over the course of Higgitt's career, and in May 1971, after Canada and China had agreed to exchange ambassadors, Higgitt was brought before a Commons Judicial Committee to testify about communist espionage. He was asked by MP Harold Stafford if he maintained his 1969 position on China. Higgitt deflected the question, stating that "In 1969, the obvious answer had to be yes". When Stafford pressed the point, Solicitor-General Jean-Pierre Goyer, who had authorized the wiretapping operation, Operation Cobra, against the militant ''Agence de Presse Libre du Quebec'' (APLQ), intervened to say an improper picture of relations with Communist countries shouldn't be developed, as relations are excellent. Goyer went on to defend the Mounties, maintaining that the RCMP was obliged to often engage in surveillance in order to gather intelligence on foreign and domestic subversive activity. MP Donald Stovel Macdonald asked Higgitt to define subversive activity. Higgitt's response was that this is a most difficult question that anybody could be asked to answer; that the RCMP and the Canadian Government have argued for years on what a proper definition of subversive activity is. "Generally speaking," said Higgitt, "I think probably an acceptable definition is trying to achieve some political purpose by illegal means, or improper means, and trying to destroy the institutions of the country by nondemocratic means, I suppose, if that's understandable." Less than a year after Higgitt's testimony, in April 1972, the Cuba Trade Commission in Montreal was bombed, killing one Cuban and injuring seven others. Seven Cubans were detained and six were charged with weapons possession and interfering with a police investigation which saw the RCMP locate an electronic bomb-firing device as well as a Cuban code book. From Havana, an angered Cuban President, Fidel Castro, charged the police with “brutal and fascist methods” in their handling of the affair. The FBI concluded that the electronic firing device was "quite similar" to that which the US Coast Guard recovered from the attempted bombing of the British deep sea freighter Lancastrian Prince three hundred miles east of Miami, Florida in 1968.

The October Crisis

Higgitt also directed RCMP operations during the FLQ Crisis in Quebec in 1970, which was the last time the War Measures Act would be invoked until Justin Trudeau declared a public order emergency in 2022. Higgitt opposed the use of the War Measures Act by the Government of Pierre Elliot Trudeau, which gave the police and military special powers to crack down on the FLQ. According to journalist Peter C. Newman, " like most police officers faced by persistent politicians, Higgitt proved to be very tough, very precise, and equally persistent." On October 13, 1970, Trudeau famously told CBC reporter Tim Ralfe, "Well, just watch me", after Ralfe questioned Trudeau on how far he would go in the suspension of civil liberties to maintain order. A day later, in a confidential Ottawa meeting with Trudeau, Deputy Minister of Justice Don Maxwell, and Lieutenant General Michael Dare, Higgitt argued against the Act's use; telling Trudeau it would be a heavy-handed overstep. Higgitt warned that a broad sweep and preventative detention of suspects in Quebec was not likely to lead to the abductors of the Deputy Premier, Pierre Laporte, and the British Trade Commissioner, James Cross, and that " hese eventsought not to be allowed to over-rule calmer reaction at the federal level." Only Maxwell agreed with Higgitt. According to security and intelligence scholar, Reg Whitaker, Trudeau and his cabinet deliberately exaggerated the crisis to obtain emergency powers to intimidate Quebec separatists. Trudeau cabinet minister, Don Jamieson, recalled that Higgitt confirmed that the War Measures Act had produced nothing of any consequence to the RCMP's investigations.

Higgitt called the two kidnappings and murder "probably the most vicious and complicated crimes ever committed in Canada". Many Members of Parliament came to agree, and questions were asked as to both the excessiveness of the War Measures Act and the failures in intelligence gathering that allowed such events to transpire. Simultaneously, critique was also turned toward the Mounties' increasing use of electronic surveillance in the name of 'public safety'. The conflicting interests, then, against the backdrop of ongoing socio-cultural change in Canada, demanded close analysis. The October Crisis and the use of the War Measures Act led to an official critical review of the security and intelligence situation in Canada called the Royal Commission on Security, chaired by Maxwell Mackenzie. Higgitt was questioned, in 1971, by Mackenzie and a House of Commons committee regarding what he knew about the RCMP's law-bending or law-violating methods in intelligence gathering. Higgitt denied having any knowledge of RCMP officers' wiretapping and unlawful break-ins, and the Royal Commission inquiry ultimately produced no evidence that he did know. Globe and Mail journalist Jeff Sallot drew this conclusion: "A trim man even in his fifties, he Higgitt)looked every inch the policeman who had risen to the top because of his intelligence, dedication, and honest hard work. His sharp facial features betrayed no hint that he knew about skeletons in the closet. But in thirty-six years with the force he had learned a lot, especially about how to keep secrets".

Upon completing its report, the Commission recommended that a new civilian non-police agency be established to perform the functions of a security service in Canada instead of the RCMP. This eventually led, in 1984, to the establishment of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service ( CSIS), effectively creating a separation of domestic policing and foreign intelligence in Canada similar to the distinction between the FBI and the CIA in the United States. In an address to the Security Panel (a senior interdepartmental committee of officials), Higgitt termed the recommendation for a separate civilian intelligence service "a travesty of justice," and added that "the Soviet Intelligence would be jubilant. They could never hope to duplicate the accomplishment".

Kainai Chieftainship

Higgitt was responsible for organizing the RCMP Centennial Celebrations in 1973. In early July of that year, in formal ceremonies marking the Centenary, Higgitt along with Queen Elizabeth met Chief David Ahenakew, leader of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, and later with Cree activist Harold Cardinal, Indian Association of Alberta. As many Canadian news media outlets of the time reported, Ahenakew went off program after presenting the Queen with a peace-pipe and affirming the Indigenous Peoples of Saskatchewan's ongoing faithfulness to her and the treaties made between Indians and the Canadian Government: Ahenakew told the Queen and Higgitt that Indigenous Peoples "have been prisoners under the yoke of dependency imposed by the Government", and that "over the years some of your representatives have not respected their commitments".

In late July 1973, in Standoff, Alberta, Higgitt was honored with a Kainai Chieftainship by the Blood Indian Band. Higgitt was given the Blackfoot name "Great Chief" and was presented with a head-dress and peace pipe by Joe Chief Body, Bob Black Plume, and Blood Reserve war veteran Pat Eaglechild. In turn, Higgitt and Sgt. B. Thorstad, NCO in charge of the RCMP's Cardston Detachment, presented Chief Jim Shot Both Sides with an honorary RCMP Centenary Winchester Rifle in appreciation of the one hundred years of peaceful association between the Blood Tribe and the RCMP; pledging that the RCMP would continue to work in the service of the Kainai and the Blackfoot Confederacy. Centennial neck medallions were also given to other present-day Chiefs of the tribes involved in the signing of Treaty 7: Chief Leo Pretty Young Man of the Blackfoot Band, Chief Gordon Crowchild of the Sarcee Band, Chief John Snow of the Wesley Band, and Chief Frank Kaquitts of the Chiniquay Band. In her address to Higgitt and the assembled Chiefs, Alberta Indian Princess Jenny Fox said: "I'm very happy to see so many people down here to honor the RCMP and new members of the Kainai Chieftainship. In spite of all the criticism and unfairness that some people give to the RCMP, we have to admit one thing, and that is that they have given us one of the most important things in our society today, that which is law and order". During his career, Higgitt was also appointed Commander of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem ( Order of St. John) in 1973, and was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal and the RCMP Long Service Medal.

President of Interpol

While serving in London, England as the RCMP Liaison Officer for the United Kingdom and Western Europe, Higgitt travelled widely and acquired valuable experience as a member of the Canadian Delegation to the General Assemblies of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in 1961, in Copenhagen, and 1962, in Madrid. As RCMP Commissioner he also led the Canadian Delegation to Mexico City in 1969. In 1971, while Higgitt was RCMP Commissioner, Canada and the RCMP hosted the 40th General Assembly of Interpol in Ottawa, which featured fifty delegations representing national policing organizations across the world. In 1972, at Interpol's 41st Plenary Meeting in Frankfurt, Higgitt was elected President of Interpol. This marked the first time a president from outside Europe was elected. Higgitt's first year as President of Interpol coincided with his final year as RCMP Commissioner.

Higgitt set currency counterfeiting and the growing global narcotics trade as Interpol's top priorities. He also sought to keep politics out of Interpol, telling the 45th Annual General Assembly of Interpol in Accra, Ghana, that Interpol operated under no racial discrimination nor political influence. Likewise, Higgitt told the London Sunday Times in 1974 that if Interpol became a political body like the United Nations, debating definitions of terrorism, it would find itself increasingly unsuccessful in its intelligence-gathering operations and eventually break apart. This statement came in the wake of the Lod Airport massacre in Israel, planned and carried out in 1972 by the Japanese Red Army, a Marxist group that had grown out of the student protest movement at Japanese universities and by the 1970s had expanded its field of operations across the globe. 1972 was also the year Canadian Justice Minister, John Turner, and the Commons Justice and Legal Affairs Committee became interested in the intelligence-gathering methods of the RCMP's Security Service and Criminal Investigations Branch; in particular whether any of their methods were unlawful. Higgitt appeared before the Committee on May 29, 1973 to testify. He denied that the RCMP engaged in wiretapping surveillance practices, even though suspicion about the RCMP had prompted Turner to propose Criminal Code amendments which would outlaw all forms of electronic eavesdropping, except by police, who would be required to obtain a search warrant either from a judge in criminal cases or the solicitor-general in national security cases. There was no indication that Higgitt knew at the time of his testifying that the RCMP's Criminal Investigations Branch had used or was using wiretapping.

Retirement

Commissioner Higgitt retired from Interpol in 1976; going on to serve for several years as president of Canada's Safety Council. In 1980, two years after the Canadian Government expelled thirteen suspected Soviet spies from Ottawa, the largest diplomatic expulsion in Canadian history, Higgitt was called before the Commission of Inquiry Concerning Certain Activities of the RCMP. Higgitt testified that he, in his capacity as RCMP Commissioner, along with Director General of the RCMP's Security Service, John Kennett Starnes, had discussed with Cabinet Ministers, including Turner and other senior Canadian Government officials, the possibility of surveilling foreign agents via electronic eavesdropping, and of similar intelligence-gathering methods in the wake of the bombings during the FLQ crisis. Higgitt maintained that his "political masters" in Ottawa had given their implied consent to the use of wiretapping and other forms of electronic surveillance.

Higgitt died in Ottawa on April 2, 1989, and was buried in the RCMP cemetery in Regina, Saskatchewan. He told the Winnipeg Free Press in 1972, "If I had it to do over again, I would exactly the same thing I have done. And I wouldn't be the slightest bit concerned whether I ended up as Commissioner or not."

References

External links

RCMP Museum -- ''Friendly Notes'' Vol.14, No.1, Winter 2004Policing in Today's "Sophisticated" Society: An Address by Commissioner W. L. Higgitt, RCMPInterpol History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgitt, William Leonard
1917 births
1989 deaths
Canadian civil servants
Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioners