Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says his province will not allow RCMP to begin collecting firearms under the federal buy-back program. “Alberta taxpayers pay over $750 million per year for the RCMP and we will not tolerate taking officers off the streets in order to confiscate the property of law-abiding firearms owners,” he said September 26 in response to a request from Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino. [node:read-more:link]
An apparent Molotov cocktail attack on Russia’s embassy in Ottawa, which caused no damage to the building, has resulted in Canada’s ambassador in Moscow being called in to address claims that there has been no response and that police also are ignoring “aggressive demonstrators” outside its consular section. In Ottawa, an aide to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said “relevant authorities are looking into this matter” even though “there is no report to police that we are aware of.” [node:read-more:link]
A man who lives across the street from Russia’s consulate in Montreal has been protesting since mid-March against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including playing the Ukrainian national anthem. Police say he is free to protest on a public street and he plans to continue doing so despite a threatening confrontation with a consulate employee. [node:read-more:link]
Four members of the iconic RCMP Musical Ride led part of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral procession today as it left Westminster Abbey. Their horses had been given to the Queen as part of an ongoing tradition and the four riders’ main challenges was to familiarize themselves with the horses, notably how they would behave during an extended slow walk along a densly-crowded procession route. [node:read-more:link]
A multinational police operation has resulted in the arrest of five persons who used private jets to smuggle migrants into Europe. The suspects and two others still at large are accused of giving the migrants fake diplomatic papers from Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean but flew them from Turkey to a European airport where declared their true identity and claimed asylum. Two jets worth €426,000 have been seized. [node:read-more:link]
Parole Board of Canada records show that the gunman accused of a double murder in Ontario earlier this week — one of them a Toronto police officer “ambushed” at point-blank range — had a lengthy criminal record, including robbery and illegal firearms possession. [node:read-more:link]
A Toronto Police constable, Andrew Hong, was shot to death at point-blank range while lunching with colleagues after a training exercise September 12 in what a senior officer described as an “ambush.” His assailant eventually was apprehended and shot in Hamilton after he had killed a businessman in a community between the cities. [node:read-more:link]
A six-month police investigation has led to the arrest of two Ottawa residents on multiple weapons-related charges after a recent traffic stop on Highway 401 in eastern Ontario netted 46 pistols, long guns and magazines. One of the accused also was charged with possession of cocaine. [node:read-more:link]
An Arizona law which would have limited how the public and news media could film police – an increasingly common element in alleged police brutality cases – has been blocked in U.S. District Court. Judge John Tuchi agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union and media organisations that the law, which the state’s Republican governor signed in July and was to take effect September 24, was unconstitutional. [node:read-more:link]
A recent Canada-U.S. maritime border control exercise in the waters between British Columbia and Washington state turned into the real thing. Coordinated by the RCMP Border Integrity as part of a regular series of are usually routine operations, the interception and boarding of several vessels in the August exercise yielded several individuals associated with transnational organized crime [node:read-more:link]
Two female RCMP officers working undercover were key to the arrests of four Alberta men now facing charges of plotting to murder members of the national police force during last winter’s blockade of a border crossing in southern Alberta. Details of the operation have been disclosed in search warrant applications which were unsealed by a provincial court September 7. [node:read-more:link]
The accused in a weekend stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan that left 10 victims dead and 19 wounded, died September 7 after being arrested. RCMP said Myles Sanderson, 30, went into “medical distress” when taken into custody after a car chase and that he was transported by ambulance to a Saskatoon hospital where he was pronounced dead. [node:read-more:link]
An RCMP threat advisory last February indicated that some members of the federal force sympathized with last winter’s disruptive “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa. “The potential exists for serious insider threats,” it stated. “Those who have not lost their jobs but are sympathetic to the movement and their former colleagues may be in a position to share law enforcement or military information to the convoy protests.” [node:read-more:link]
Information gleaned from a Toronto Police Service social media account indicates that most seized crime-related firearms are imported, most likely from the U.S. So far this year, 84 of 116 seized weapons were prohibited, 20 were restricted and 11 were non [node:read-more:link]
One of two brothers sought in the stabbing deaths of 11 persons and the wounding of 19 others in central Saskatchewan’s Smith Cree Nation and the nearby village of Weldon was found dead Sept. 5. RCMP said that Damien Sanderson had visible injuries … not believed to be self-inflicted. A province-wide manhunt for Myles Sanderson continues. [node:read-more:link]
