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.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
