Category: RCMP

‘We Need to Be More Transparent’: RCMP Commissioner Lucki Says Police Must Modernize

Canada’s top Mountie has told a public inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting that the RCMP must become a more transparent organization. Commissioner Brenda Lucki is before the inquiry today to testify about how a gunman driving a replica police car carried out 22 murders over 13 hours on April 18-19, 2020. The…


Nova Scotia RCMP ‘Dysfunctions,’ Labour Shortages Predated 2020 Mass Shootings

Most of Nova Scotia’s senior RCMP staff believed there were “dysfunctions” at their division prior to the 2020 mass shootings and felt abandoned by their superiors in the aftermath, according to a consultant’s report prepared last year. The Sept. 30, 2021, summary of a “wellness assessment” of the staff was released publicly on Monday at…


NS Shooting Inquiry: Senior RCMP Member Learned of Killer’s Replica Car in the News

The former RCMP commanding officer in Nova Scotia has told the inquiry into the April 2020 mass shooting that she first saw the killer’s replica police cruiser in a news report before she went to work on the second day of the rampage. In a transcript of Lee Bergerman’s Aug. 2 interview with inquiry lawyers,…


‘Commissioner Made Me Feel As if I Was Stupid’: Senior RCMP Officer Tells MPs of Alleged Pressure to Release Info on NS Tragedy Firearms

A senior Mountie involved in the response to the 2020 mass killings in Nova Scotia says RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki didn’t seem to recognize “the importance of maintaining the integrity of an investigation” as he says she pressed him about releasing information about the firearms used in the killings, which could support the federal government’s…


Richard Fadden: Canadian Policing: Time for Change

Commentary Since its creation, the RCMP has been an icon—sometimes shining, sometimes tarnished. But the objective here is not to review the force’s past but rather to look to its future role and mandate by asking if the way policing is currently set up in Canada is in the national interest. So, in looking at…


Privacy Experts Disagree With RCMP That Spyware Is Similar to Wiretapping

Privacy experts say police and government use of “extremely intrusive” spyware needs to be tightly controlled, and the technology should be outlawed for the general Canadian public. Former privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien told the committee he was not aware the RCMP has been using what it calls “on-device investigative tools” for more than a decade….


Public Safety Minister Provides Committee With Few Details on RCMP’s Spyware Use

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino provided few details when questioned on Aug. 8 about his knowledge of the RCMP’s use of spyware technology capable of remote installation and surveillance on Canadians’ personal devices. Appearing before the House of Commons Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Mendicino was hesitant to give direct answers to questions…


Privacy Commissioner Says RCMP Didn’t Inform Him on Use of Spyware

Canada’s privacy commissioner said the RCMP did not inform his office of its use of spyware technology that could be remotely installed on devices and used to monitor unsuspecting individuals. While appearing before the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics Committee on Aug. 8, Philippe Dufresne said he first learned about the…


Parliamentary Committee to Begin Study of RCMP’s Use of Cellphone Spyware

A parliamentary committee will begin exploring the RCMP’s use of spyware on Monday, diving deeper into an issue that’s sounded alarms for privacy and civil liberties groups across the country. The House of Commons ethics and privacy committee called for a summer study after the RCMP revealed its use of tools that covertly obtain data…


RCMP Investigate Video of BC Beer-Hockey Brawl With Possible Skate Kick to the Face

A video apparently showing a brawling recreational league hockey player using a skate blade to kick a second player in the face has attracted the attention of RCMP in Burnaby, B.C. A statement from police says the alleged assault happened during an Adult Safe Hockey League game at a rink in Burnaby on July 29…