Protests that have shut down most of Canada’s rail system have opened a debate about the intersection of politics and policing — with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisting government must remain hands-off and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer insisting it’s time for the PM to direct the RCMP to end the blockades.
On Friday, Scheer held a news conference in Ottawa and called on Trudeau to direct the national police force to “enforce the law” and end the “illegal” tactics.
“Democracy and the rule of law are fundamental pillars of our country, and it’s time they are enforced,” he said.
“If they are not, the Trudeau Liberal government will set a dangerous precedent that a small few can have a devastating impact on countless Canadians.”
Trudeau rejected Scheer’s demand. “We are not a kind of country where politicians get to tell the police what to do in operational matters,” he said today following a security conference in Germany.
A statement from the office of Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, who oversees the RCMP, said “police independence is crucial to public trust in our institutions.”
“The minister of public safety does not direct police operations. The minister may not attempt to influence in any way an investigation, or direct the conduct of specific police operations,” says the statement provided to CBC News.
“Our government is committed to protecting the constitutional right to lawful peaceful protest, keeping Canadians safe, and upholding the rule of law.”
‘Weasel words’
But some policing experts say an elected government does have the authority to direct police to act in the public interest.
Rick Parent is a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University who spent nearly 30 years as a municipal police officer. He said there’s a difference between interfering in a criminal investigation and responding to a politically-motivated demonstration. Governments represent the public but sometimes try to “pass the buck” to police in controversial situations like this, he said.
“I think it’s an easy way out to say that the police are independent. I think those are like weasel words in the sense that we’re trying to pass the buck on to the police and hold them accountable for this, when in fact … it is a political thing,” Parent said.
“It’s not a crime against an individual that’s occurring.”
Parent said court orders must clearly state what powers the police are permitted to exercise in a specific situation, and any government direction must be in line with that court order.
According to the RCMP Act, officers are to “enforce all Acts of Parliament and regulations and render assistance to departments of the government of Canada as the Minister directs.”
A ‘political issue’
Christian Leuprecht, a Royal Military College professor who has written about the RCMP’s structure, said that while police must be independent when it comes to criminal investigations, government intervention in this case would not amount to political interference in an investigation.
“The federal government does have options, contrary to what it is claiming,” he said. “But it has chosen not to exercise those, likely for political reasons. Because this is, of course, the government that has staked much of its political fate on reconciliation …
“I think the uniforms, whether it’s federal or provincial, feel it shouldn’t be their responsibility to resolve what is ultimately a political issue.”
Watch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is ‘not the kind of country where politicians get to tell the police what to do in operational matters’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to reporters in Munich before returning home to Ottawa on Friday 3:15
Memories of Ipperwash
Governments may be reluctant to get involved in such protests, given that memories of 1995’s deadly confrontation in Ontario’s Ipperwash Provincial Park are still fresh. After members of the Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied the park to assert their claim to nearby land, then-premier Mike Harris told the Ontario Provincial Police he wanted the protesters evicted. During the subsequent confrontation, protester Dudley George was killed by a police officer.
Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said Friday it’s up to the federal government to show leadership and reach out to the protesters to bring about a swift resolution. But she agreed with Trudeau that the government should not interfere with police operations.
“It would be inappropriate for a government to direct a police force,” she said, pointing out that the court has issued an injunction against the Mohawk protesters behind an illegal blockade near Belleville, Ont. that is snarling rail traffic.
Ontario Transport Minister Caroline Mulroney spoke to reporters in Toronto after a Federal-Provincial meeting 1:09
Police discretion
OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson said police use their discretion as “a valid, appropriate approach to de-escalating situations such as this” — and that should not be confused with a lack of enforcement.
“The OPP calls on those involved to abide by the court injunction and to not put public peace or anyone’s safety in jeopardy. The OPP respects the right of everyone to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, but we also recognize the rights of the general public, local residents and businesses to a safe environment,” he said.
People stand near a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ont. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press)
That document outlines the approach to be taken by various levels of government to resolve critical incidents that may erupt over land claims, self-determination or treaty rights.
“A range of possibilities exists as to how the critical incident may evolve — from a passive demonstration to one where the public is significantly affected, (such as) blockage of transportation route,” the document reads.
“It is imperative for police to ensure all parties to the critical incident have the opportunity to contribute to strategies for resolution. Employees will rely on established relationships for effective communication between themselves and persons involved in the critical incident as well as the other members of the community.”
Mohawk activists who have set up camps on key rail lines in eastern Ontario have said they won’t end their demonstration until the RCMP leaves the traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en in northern B.C.
Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders had been blocking road access to a construction site for the Coastal GasLink pipeline, a key part of a $40-billion LNG Canada liquefied natural gas export project.
While much of the police action near that road ended Tuesday with multiple arrests, the RCMP still has officers stationed near the pipeline construction site.
Scheer said the blockades are being staged by anti-energy activists who are “ideologically motivated” and that they must not be allowed to “run roughshod over the rule of law.”
“Radical activists, many of whom have no connection to the Wet’suwet’en people, are holding our country’s economy hostage. Meanwhile, the prime minister has been out of the country on a vanity project to win a vote at the UN, neglecting his duties here at home,” he said.
Scheer said it’s time that Trudeau “pick up the phone” and tell Blair to “put an end to the situation.”
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should call on the RCMP to clear protests that are crippling Canada’s rail network. 0:45
While every person has the right to freedom of speech and protest, Scheer said, they don’t have the right to block people from getting to work or to prevent businesses and farmers from getting their goods to market.
“These blockades are illegal. So far, the prime minister has refused to come out and call them that himself,” he said.
Asked if police intervention could escalate an already tense situation, Scheer insisted the risk of escalation is greater if nothing is done.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
