RCMP reconsidering silence over whether it's investigated N.W.T. officers for use of force
CBC
The RCMP will reconsider its decision to keep silent on whether it's investigating two of its officers in the N.W.T. for excessive use of force, a recent report shows.
Two Yellowknife RCMP officers were charged with assault after a 2020 incident involving a Tłı̨chǫ woman at the local detachment. Those charges were later stayed, but one group of lawyers that advocates for improvements in policing wants to know if the RCMP has conducted its own internal investigation in the matter.
The RCMP is considering whether it will say.
Tom Engel, chair of the Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association's policing committee, initially asked about the internal investigation in 2022 and former RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki responded at the time that it was a private matter and that the RCMP was prohibited from disclosing personal information of its employees.
Engel, however, argues that it's a matter of public interest.
"Whenever a police officer uses force, that's a matter of public interest — and I would think that would be obvious to most Canadians," he said.
He took the complaint to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC), an independent agency. The commission agreed with Engel that the investigation is a matter of public interest.
The CRCC found that the former RCMP commissioner did not reasonably consider the issue and recommended the RCMP reconsider the matter and disclose whether there's been an investigation into the officers, unless there is a justified reason to withhold that information.
In a report from December 2024, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme agreed to reconsider. He said there should have been more justification of the decision not to disclose whether there's been an investigation.
Duheme also wrote that a section of the Privacy Act — the legislation Lucki cited in choosing not to disclose the information — is discretionary. He said that means that the RCMP can choose whether to disclose the information or not.
Engel said he doesn't think any of the possible reasons for withholding that information would apply.
"I'm not saying that we're looking for a particular outcome of an investigation. We just want to know, was there an investigation?" Engel said.
The 2020 incident that lead to the officers being charged involved Tracella Romie, who was then 25.
Romie was arrested at the Yellowknife liquor store for allegedly assaulting staff and refusing to leave. After the arresting officers brought her to the detachment, Const. Francessca Bechard and Cpl. Jason Archer removed Romie's handcuffs to search her.
Artists in London, Ont., are denouncing a local community theatre for not casting Black actors in the roles of a singer trio of Black women in its adaptation of a 1980s horror-comedy musical film.
Marc-André Galbrand says the ice is not what it used to be on the Saguenay River in eastern Quebec.
Advisers from one of the world's largest investment banks, J.P. Morgan, have delivered a glowing review of the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding, saying it offers the necessary guardrails and financial returns to ensure the mistakes of past energy deals in Newfoundland and Labrador are not repeated.
Educators in Sudbury are once again raising alarm about violence in schools, arguing chronic underfunding is leading to unwieldy class sizes and reduced staffing that create frustrated students who lash out.
The flow of people moving to Nova Scotia from other Canadian provinces has slowed down over the last two years, meaning the province's population growth is now primarily made up of international migration.
The rush of people moving to New Brunswick from other provinces has slowed down to a trickle, with international immigration continuing to lead as a source of population growth.
Canada Soccer's Olympic espionage debacle has lifted the veil on years of turmoil inside the organization racked by internal and financial problems, and which has been criticized for a lack of transparency.
The new CEO of Winnipeg's downtown development agency has been asked to create more affordable housing in Manitoba's capital, and come up with a new vision for Graham Avenue after Winnipeg Transit routes move north to Portage Avenue later this year.
This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it.
Young Regina athletes have their sights set on a gold medal at the World Dodgeball Federation's first ever World Youth Open.
Operating hours for the Red Deer, Alta., supervised consumption site are now cut in half, as the facility moves to shut down by March.