Providing contract police services in most provinces and the northern territories, as well as being the lead on federal law enforcement files, the RCMP continues to fall short of baseline staffing across the country. Commissioner Mike Duheme says the force is a “crossroads” as he prioritizes recruitment. [node:read-more:link]
Thousands of residents of south-central British Columbia were advised to evacuate August 18 and even more were on standby due to proliferating wildfires. The provincial government also announced that it prepared to make evacuation compulsory if necessary. [node:read-more:link]
Thousands of residents of Yellowknife and nearby communities threatened by an encroaching wildfire continued to leave the Northwest Territories capital today after a noon evacuation target. Officials said roads would remain open and flights would continue as long as it is safe. Meanwhile, Mayor Rebecca Alta sought to reassure the evacuees that their properties would be protected by the RCMP. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Trudeau has received a confidential report from the National Security & Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians about the RCMP’s federal policing mandate. A declassified and likely redacted version will be presented to Parliament within 30 days of its next sitting, which is scheduled to begin September 18. [node:read-more:link]
RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme says some of his personnel are deployed into dangerous situations with expired hard body armour. Some manufacturers say ceramic or steel plates can degrade and be less effective after several years but others argue that they remain “stable and resistant to degradation” beyond the designed 10-year lifecycle. [node:read-more:link]
Khaled Hussein, 28, of Edmonton, was charged today under British terrorism legislation along with Anjem Choudary, 56, whom Crown prosecutors is a radical preacher previously convicted of aiding the Islamic State. Arrested last week on arrival at Heathrow Airport, Hussein is charged with membership in a proscribed organization. [node:read-more:link]
At the RCMP’s request, two RCAF CH-149 Cormorant air-sea rescue helicopters were called in July 22 to assist in evacuating Nova Scotians stranded by widespread flooding in the aftermath of record rainfall. The AgustaWestland aircraft were deployed from 413 Transport & Rescue Squadron at 14 Wing Greenwood and 103 Search & Rescue Squadron at 9 Wing Gander. [node:read-more:link]
B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth has ordered the province’s second-largest city to continue transitioning to a community police service despite Surrey city council’s plan to maintain services with the RCMP. He said today that the council’s decision caused a “crisis” because the city failed to prevent an exodus of officers and had not shown the RCMP detachment could be staffed without pulling officers from other communities. [node:read-more:link]
National Police Federation President Brian Sauvé said July 18 that the federal government needs to be clearer about its plans for the 20,000 members of the RCMP. The force provides services in eight provinces and three territories, including direct contracts with 150 municipalities which expire in 2032. “Speculation and vague language […] is demoralizing to our members whose careers, lives and even families have been built around service to their communities,” he said. [node:read-more:link]
Patrick Gordon Macdonald, 26, of Ottawa is the first in Canada to be charged with terrorism and hate propaganda offences for advocating violent neo-Nazi ideology. RCMP announced today that they had arrested him because he had helped to develop material for the U.S.-based but international Atomwaffen Division. [node:read-more:link]
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is being asked to lift a ban on the sale of decommissioned RCMP vehicles and parts, except for patrol cars, because it is costing the force $13 million in lost revenues annually. The RCMP has been unable to sell surplus equipment after a Nova Scotia gunman created a bogus cruiser as part of a killing spree and another man used a similar vehicle to try to pull drivers over. [node:read-more:link]
If recommendations in a report prepared for an upcoming City of Ottawa committee meeting are heeded, police officers who respond to mental health and substance use-related calls could be replaced by professionals and outreach workers. It would be part of a three-year pilot project which likely will be watched across the country. [node:read-more:link]
Acting Commissioner Mike Duheme told a parliamentary committee today that the RCMP is investigating whether three Members of Parliament have been targeted by China. The investigation into alleged interference with Conservative MP Michael Chong is a criminal inquiry but Duhame would not say if that was the case in investigations involving former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole or New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. [node:read-more:link]
A Quebec company, Ultra Electronics Forensic Technology, has agreed to pay some $10.5 million in a case involving attempted bribery of Philippines officials as it sought police contracts. This is according to a statement of facts about a court-approved deal with prosecutors to avoid prosecution in Canada, only the second deferred prosecution deal since the Criminal Code was amended in 2018 to address corporate malfeasance. Charges against four executives have been conditionally stayed. [node:read-more:link]
Having officially assumed command of the RCMP after serving in an acting capacity since March, the new Commissioner, Michael Duheme, said May 25 that “change and growth” are his priorities for the beleaguered federal force, which has approximately 19,000 uniformed officers and 11,000 civilian staff. “My first priority […] is recruitment,” he said, addressing a concern raised by an oversight board earlier several weeks ago. [node:read-more:link]
