The RCMP is investigating Chinese “police stations” in Canada after a human rights group reported that three in the Greater Toronto Area were among more than 50 worldwide supposed set up to help expatriates with issues in Canada but which also have convinced some to repatriate. “It's completely illegal under international law,” a Safeguard Defenders official said. “It's a severe violation of territorial sovereignty.” [node:read-more:link]
One of two Canadian women repatriated from a Syrian detention camp for families of Islamic State was charged with terrorism-related offences shortly after arriving earlier this week in Montreal. RCMP said Oumaima Chouay, 27, had been the focus of an international investigation into terrorist activities. A lawyer representing the second woman, Kimberly Polman, 50, said authorities are seeking a peace bond for her. [node:read-more:link]
Social media posts ahead of last February’s “freedom convoy” which paralyzed the capital for a month were a major concern for the Ottawa Police service, Inspector Russell Lucas has told the commission of inquiry into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act. The fact that some posts mentioned to the January attack on Capitol hill in Washington prompted fears that the Ottawa protest could be a platform for “anti-government elements.” [node:read-more:link]
Alberta’s Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the RCMP’s handling of an autistic teenager in the Edmonton satellite community of St. Albert. The 16-year-old was in playing in a park behind his grandparents’ house when officers responded to a complaint. Even though the RCMP had been advised of the teen’s condition, they took him into custody before moving him to hospital from a holding cell. RCMP have also launched an internal investigation. [node:read-more:link]
The New Democratic Party is reserving judgment on the propriety of the Liberal minority government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act earlier this year. Leader Jagmeet Singh said October 23 that the NDP will await the findings of a commission of inquiry into the government’s decision but “simply because it was the wrong decision wouldn’t be enough for us . . . to force the country into an election” by withdrawing its support in Parliament. [node:read-more:link]
It has been confirmed that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki reprimanded personnel in Nova Scotia for their communications after last April’s mass shootings in the province. Lucki has said she was not directed by the government to disclose details of the weapons involved but did express frustration with her officers who suspected political interference. [node:read-more:link]
An Ontario Provincial Police operations commander has testified at the hearing into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act in response to the “freedom convoy” in Ottawa last February that dysfunction within the Ottawa Police Service. “We couldn't read their minds as to what their plan was because there was no plan,” Superintendent Craig Adams said. [node:read-more:link]
A 37-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in the October 18 stabbing death of an RCMP officer in Burnaby, B.C. Constable Shaelyn Yang, a member of the force’s mental health and homeless outreach team, was stabbed by a man while helping a city employee to ask the man to remove his tent from a park. [node:read-more:link]
Less than a week into hearings examining the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act in response to the “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa and jammed border crossings, hundreds of documents have been made public. They shed some light on, among other things, the discussions between various levels of government and warnings about potential security threats. [node:read-more:link]
Continued issues with the Nexus “trusted traveller” program are “deeply troubling” for Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Howder. The U.S has not reopened 13 enrolment centres in Canada where its Customs and Border Protection agents are not afforded the same legal protections as they have at ports of entry such as at airports and border crossings [node:read-more:link]
Two South Simcoe Police Service officer in Ontario are dead today after responding to a domestic call in the town of Innisfil north of Toronto. Taken to separate hospitals after exchanging fire with a civilian, who evidently died at the scene, one officer died late October 11 and the other was confirmed dead early today. [node:read-more:link]
More than 10,000 members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps will be permanently barred from entering Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today as he announced other immigration measures against the Iranian regime. He also promised $76 million to bolster the ability of Global Affairs Canada and the RCMP to implement sanctions. [node:read-more:link]
Thirty-two persons, including 23 children at a daycare centre in northeastern Thailand, were killed today by a former police officer. After his knife and gun rampage at the daycare, he is reported to have gone home to shoot his family before committing suicide. Dismissed from the force last year, he was facing trial on drug charges. [node:read-more:link]
Seven women are suing the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, alleging they were sexually assaulted by “various” officers between 2001 and 2017. Their statement of claim filed last month in the province’s high court said the force “knew or ought to have known” its officers were targeting women in the St. John's area and that the government is vicariously liable because it “had a duty to warn the public of this danger and failed to do so.” [node:read-more:link]
Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro is indulging in “political brinkmanship” over plans to have the RCMP manage a firearms buy-back program in the province. Shandro has said he won’t permit it but Mendicino points out that “matters relating to the control management and administration of the RCMP are within exclusive federal jurisdiction.” [node:read-more:link]
