The Liberal government has been facing mounting criticism over the solidarity protests taking place over Wet’suwet’en territory in British Columbia, but more recent debate has been centred around police action.
This came to a head on Wedesday, when a hereditary chief representing one of 13 Wet’suwet’en house groups said they won’t meet with Carolyn Bennett and her B.C. counterpart Scott Fraser until an RCMP detachment is removed.
The federal opposition is calling on the government to send in police, but is there anything the government can do?
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A protester carries a sign at a rail blockade on the 10th day of demonstration in Tyendinaga, near Belleville, Ont., Feb. 15, 2020.
Lars Hagberg / The Canadian Press
Conflicting political statements
The demonstrations, which have been ongoing since Dec. 31, are in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose a $6.6-billion Coastal Gaslink pipeline that is set to be built through their unceded territory.
Widespread protests began after the B.C. Supreme Court granted an expanded injunction that established an exclusion zone against protesters interfering with its construction.
While Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer denounced the Canadian government’s response to the blockades as the “weakest response to a national crisis” on Tuesday, Trudeau urged restraint.
“Patience may be in short supply and that makes it more valuable than ever,” Trudeau said.
During an emergency meeting debate at the House of Commons Tuesday evening, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett also responded to government criticism of the unrest by saying the Government of Canada “cannot direct the RCMP.”
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“It is very important to remember that the government does not have the authority to dictate the processes to the RCMP,” said Bennett.
“It is not the role of parliamentarians to tell the police how to do their job.”
But Public Safety Critic Glen Motz disagreed. He referred to the RCMP Act, which states the minister of public safety has the authority to direct the RCMP, as long as their requests did not interfere with “lawful duties” or have any interference in the “law enforcement function.”
1:02 Singh calls on RCMP to ‘stand down’ in an effort to end Wet’suwet’en solidarity blockades
Singh calls on RCMP to ‘stand down’ in an effort to end Wet’suwet’en solidarity blockades
“Given that information, of course the minister of public safety can provide direction to the RCMP,” he said on Wednesday. “The functionality of how they carry out that is up to the RCMP.
“What happens when you have a court injunction? Is law enforcement expected to ignore that?”
What’s the truth?
The RCMP Act states the minister of public safety has the power to issue directions to the RCMP as long as it abides by three general principles: (1) directions cannot, in effect, require the RCMP to disregard any of its lawful duties; (2) directions cannot infringe on the independence of the RCMP regarding their law enforcement functions; and (3) directions cannot be so broad in nature as to reach beyond federal jurisdiction.
However, none of these could meet the criteria for the situation in Wet’suwet’en territory.
Sara Mainville, a partner at OKT Law, stressed the importance of the independence of the police to keep the authoritative body a peacekeeper, rather than an “arm of the state.”
When asked whether the Canadian government could send police to arrest protesters, Mainville responded with a swift “no.”
“There’s a very fundamental relationship between the solicitor general and the police force but the police force in its operations is independent,” she said.
6:01 Trudeau calls rail blockades ‘unacceptable’, won’t say when government will put end to blockades
Trudeau calls rail blockades ‘unacceptable’, won’t say when government will put end to blockades
“The operational decision-making is done solely by the police force.”
She added that the same rule would apply provincially, as well — for example, the B.C. government would not be able to legally direct the RCMP, and neither would Ontario.
Local police forces are also not in federal jurisdiction, including actions taken by the RCMP when they are operating as local police in contract with provinces, municipalities or territories.
In a statement to Global News, the Ministry of Public Safety said the RCMP was independent from the governing body.
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“Police independence is crucial to public trust in our institutions. The Minister may not attempt to influence in any way an investigation, or direct the conduct of specific police operations,” they said.
“Our government is committed to protecting the constitutional right to lawful peaceful protest, keeping Canadians safe, and upholding the rule of law.”
The RCMP did not respond to multiple requests for information.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
