Protecting Prince Harry cost Canadians more than $334,000 - CBC News | Canada News Media
Connect with us

News

Protecting Prince Harry cost Canadians more than $334,000 – CBC News

Published

 on


Protecting Prince Harry and his family during visits to Canada cost Canadian taxpayers more than $334,000 over a period of less than four years, CBC News has learned.

Records obtained by CBC News from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the Access to Information Act show that security related to Harry’s visits between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018 cost taxpayers $182,430. That sum covered things like overtime and travel costs but not the salaries of police officers.

In January 2020 — as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly contemplated living in Canada part of the year — the RCMP estimated that protecting them and their son while in this country could cost taxpayers nearly $33,000 a month.

According to the Court Circular, which outlines the public activities of members of the Royal Family, Prince Harry had one public visit to Canada during 2017 and 2018 — a week-long trip to attend events in Toronto. The events included the Invictus Games — which Harry founded — a WE Day celebration and a reception for young people who received Duke of Edinburgh gold awards.

Prince Harry spoke at a We Day Toronto event in September 2017 during a week-long visit to Canada to attend the Invictus Games. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Prince Harry’s appearance at the Invictus Games drew widespread media attention because it was one of the first times he was seen in public with Meghan Markle, an American actress living in Toronto.

The pair, who met in July 2016 in London, were engaged in November 2017 and married in May 2018, when Prince Harry was granted the title of Duke of Sussex.

That wasn’t Prince Harry’s only visit to Toronto during that period. In April 2017, paparazzi photographers waiting outside Markle’s home in Toronto’s Seaton Village neighbourhood captured images of Prince Harry arriving at her home during a private, unannounced trip.

People watch the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on Saturday, May 19, 2018. (Marta Iwanek/Canadian Press)

It’s not known how many times Prince Harry came to Canada to visit Markle. The RCMP refused to provide a breakdown to explain how it spent $182,430 to protect him during 2017 and 2018. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s office referred questions to the RCMP.

Spokespeople for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell organization did not respond to questions and interview requests from CBC News.

Pursued by the press

Alastair MacPherson, a photographer who has done freelance work for Splash News, said photographers started hanging out around Markle’s house when news came out in the fall of 2016 that she and Harry were dating.

“Before everyone knew that they were seeing each other, he was here for some time around Halloween and they went to some Halloween party,” he said. “After that happened, people found out that they might be seeing each other and that’s when the reporters and photographers would have been trying to find him.”

When Prince Harry visited Markle, six black SUVs with members of Prince Harry’s British security detail could be seen on the residential street, said MacPherson.

Pierre-Yves Borduas, a former deputy commissioner of the RCMP who is now president of PY Safety, said RCMP officers would have accompanied the British security officers.

Prince Harry made a private trip to Toronto in December 2016, detouring to visit Markle on his way home from an official visit of seven Caribbean countries. He also travelled to Toronto on a public trip earlier that year in May — two months before he met Markle — to announce that the 2017 Invictus Games would be held there.

The additional costs to the RCMP for Prince Harry’s security during that period totalled $52,978.

The RCMP incurred $5,726 in costs to protect the Duke and Duchess of Sussex between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019 and no costs at all from Jan. 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016.

Canada’s image is on the line: security expert

When someone like Prince Harry travels to Canada for official duties or a private visit, the RCMP has to assess the potential threats to their safety and provide them with protection, said Borduas.

“They still have responsibility, because what if something would happen to that very important person in our country?” he said. “The ripple effect … could have a negative reflection on our country and how [seriously] we are taking the security of these types of individuals that are enjoying the hospitality of our country.”

While Borduas said he couldn’t explain how the RCMP spent $182,430 in a single year to protect Prince Harry, he said protecting him during the highly publicized, well-attended Invictus Games would cost more than security for a low-profile, private visit.

Once Harry stepped back from royal duties, the RCMP’s obligation to provide protection during his trips to Canada would have ended and responsibility for his security would have transitioned to other providers, said Borduas.

In the United Kingdom, a committee decides who warrants taxpayer-funded security, and being a member of the Royal Family does not guarantee round-the-clock protection. In March 2021, the Daily Mail reported that while royals like the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William get 24/7 publicly funded security, others like Princess Anne and Prince Edward only get taxpayer-paid security when performing official duties or engagements. Still others, like Prince Harry’s cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who have fewer official duties, have to pay for their own security.

‘This has the potential to cost us huge’

In the heavily redacted e-mails obtained by CBC News, the prospect of providing security for a member of the Royal Family living part of the year in Canada loomed large for people like Assistant Commissioner Bernadine Chapman, who headed the national division that provides protection for VIPs.

“Media is on this like a hot potato … so lots of coverage of the potential of the royals to spend half their time in Canada now, as an independent couple,” she wrote on Jan. 10, 2020. “Media spin is about the cost to Canadians … (Redacted) … We are having a greater conversation next week on the go forward on this. This has the potential to cost us huge!”

In the end, protecting the Sussexes during their Christmas in Canada until Feb. 27, 2020 cost the RCMP more than $93,000 — part of the $334,000 total.

In a briefing note to then-minister of public safety Bill Blair to explain its decision to tell the Metropolitan Police in early January of 2020 that it was going to end protective policing services for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the RCMP made a distinction between private and official visits by the couple.

“The Sussex family’s stay in Canada is of a private nature and, to date, there have been no official outings wherein the Duke and Duchess are representing the Queen,” the force wrote. “There is no indication of either the Duke or Duchess participating in any official capacity for the Crown in Canada in the next two months. Should this change, however, the RCMP will assess and provide security accordingly.”

Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft over Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. (Matt Dunham/The Associated Press)

The couple’s decision later that month to step back from their roles as senior members of the Royal Family also played a role in the RCMP’s assessment, according to the briefing note.

“Family members on private visits to Canada are eligible to receive RCMP protective policing services in alignment with the RCMP’s assessment of threat/risk, but this is a reflection of their official status within the Royal Family,” said the note. “As per the statement from Buckingham Palace on January 18, 2020, the Duke and Duchess ‘will no longer use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.'”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation — which first revealed the cost of RCMP security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Christmas in Canada — says it wants to see more transparency about where taxpayers’ money went.

“This isn’t just a few dollars and cents,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazanno. “This is thousands and thousands of dollars that are being billed to taxpayers. So certainly we deserve an explanation and certainly we deserve full transparency.”

Elizabeth Thompson can be reached at elizabeth.thompson@cbc.ca

Adblock test (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Mitchell throws two TD passes as Ticats earn important 37-21 home win over Redblacks

Published

 on

HAMILTON – It remains faint but Bo Levi Mitchell and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats still have a playoff pulse.

Mitchell threw two touchdown passes as Hamilton defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 37-21 in the CFL’s annual Hall of Fame game Saturday afternoon. The Ticats (4-9) earned a second straight win to move to within six points of the third-place Toronto Argonauts (7-6) in the East Division.

Hamilton visits Toronto on Friday night.

“Obviously they’re (wins) huge now,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t do ourselves any favours by getting into this position and not being able to really control our own destiny.

“But right now, we need certain people to win at certain times. Our job is to go out there and try to win the next five, then the next three after that.”

Mitchell finished 20-of-27 passing for 299 yards and an interception. He entered weekend action leading the CFL in passing yards (3,383) and TD strikes (21).

Greg Bell’s 15-yard TD run at 11:30 of the fourth and two-point convert put Hamilton up 36-21 after backup Jeremiah Masoli led Ottawa on two scoring drives. Following a 13-yard TD strike to Andre Miller at 2:53, Masoli found Dominique Rhymes on a 10-yard touchdown pass at 7:43 before Khalan Laborn’s two-point convert cut Hamilton’s lead to 29-21.

“When you’re scoring from (15) yards out on a run play, that makes offence easy,” Mitchell said. “It’s one of those things when you get down there as a quarterback, it takes you sometimes five, eight, 10 plays and now it’s ‘OK, now we have to create some stuff and find something.’

“When you hand the ball off and you’re scoring from (15) yards, it makes the offence really easy.”

Ottawa (8-4-1) would have clinched a playoff spot with a victory.

Ottawa committed six turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles, once on downs) before an announced Tim Hortons Field gathering of 22,119. Lawrence Woods III also returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown at 11:51 of the first quarter that put Hamilton ahead 10-3.

“You’ve got to bring your best every single week and this wasn’t our best, all of us, from coaches to the players,” said Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce. “If you don’t play great for four quarters, I don’t care who you’re playing you’re not going to have a successful day.

“We should’ve made the tackle (on Woods), we had him wrapped up it’s that simple. Even though we didn’t make the play on that, there should’ve been extra bodies there to clean it up when he did break the tackle.”

Hamilton also tied the season series with Ottawa 1-1. The teams meet again at TD Place on Oct. 25.

“If we didn’t turn it over today I would’ve said we played really well offensively and that to me is what the biggest difference is,” said Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich. “Even the turnovers today (interception, fumble), at least they were in their end and we weren’t giving them a short field.

“The biggest play of the game was Woodsie’s return. It got us jump-started, gave us the lead and we were kind of off after that.”

Ottawa starter Dru Brown was 17-of-27 passing for 164 yards and an interception. Masoli entered late in the third and finished 13-of-19 passing for 183 yards with two TDs and two interceptions, but Dyce said Brown will start next weekend against Montreal (10-2-1), which earned a 19-19 tie Saturday night with Calgary (4-8-1).

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s ’24 class of S.J. Green, Chad Owens, Weston Dressler, Vince Goldsmith and Vince Coleman, along with builders Ray Jauch and Ed Laverty (posthumously), was honoured at halftime. All were enshrined Friday night.

Steven Dunbar Jr. and Ante Litre had Hamilton’s other touchdowns. Marc Liegghio kicked two field goals, three converts and two singles.

Ottawa’s Lewis Ward booted two field goals and a convert.

Mitchell culminated a five-play, 96-yard march with a 20-yard TD pass to Litre at 13:34 of the third. It followed Jonathan Moxey’s interception.

Liegghio’s single at 7:05 of the third put Hamilton up 22-6.

Mitchell’s 54-yard TD strike to Dunbar at 14:18 of the second staked Hamilton to its 21-6 halftime lead. The advantage was well-deserved as the Ticats had more first downs (12-six), net offensive yards (260-144) and scored on both offence and special teams.

Mitchell was 14-of-20 passing for 210 yards and a TD, but his interception cost Hamilton at least a field-goal attempt. Dunbar had five receptions for 113 yards and the touchdown.

Brown completed 13-of-21 passes for 127 yards.

Liegghio’s missed 47-yard attempt went for the single at 12:45 to put Hamilton ahead 14-6. It followed a Kiondre Smith catch that was ruled incomplete and at the very least cost the Ticats a first down that would’ve kept the drive alive.

Ward’s 30-yard kick at 9:15 had pulled Ottawa to within 13-6.

Liegghio’s 19-yard field goal at 5:13 pushed Hamilton’s lead to 13-3. It followed the defence stopping Ottawa’s Dustin Crum on third-and-one, giving the Ticats possession at the Redblacks 40.

Liegghio’s 47-yard field goal opened the scoring at 2:42 before Ward tied in with a 24-yard boot at 8:44.

UP NEXT

Redblacks: Host the Montreal Alouettes (10-2-1) next Saturday, Sept. 21.

Tiger-Cats: Visit the Toronto Argonauts (7-6) on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Toronto FC downs Austin FC to pick up three much-needed points in MLS playoff push

Published

 on

TORONTO – Needing three points to keep their playoff push alive, Toronto FC’s Jonathan Osorio and Deandre Kerr stepped up with first-half goals against Austin FC on Saturday with goalkeeper Sean Johnson doing his bit at the other end.

A 76th-minute goal by Austin’s Owen Wolff made for a nervy ending but TFC hung on for a 2-1 win.

While Toronto (11-15-3) remains on the Major League Soccer playoff bubble in eighth place in the Eastern Conference (the eighth- and ninth-place teams in each conference square off in a wild-card playoff with the winner facing the top seed in the conference), other results went their way.

Seventh-place Charlotte, 10th-place Atlanta and 11th-place Philadelphia all lost while ninth-place D.C. United tied.

Toronto midfielder Alonso Coello called it “a game we had to win.”

“It’s a big win … To see that fight tonight was important,” added coach John Herdman.

Austin (9-12-7) came into the game in 11th place in the West, two points below ninth-place Minnesota. The Texas side has won just one of its last six league games (1-4-1).

Austin outshot Toronto 7-6 (6-2 edge in shots on target) in the first half but found itself trailing 2-0 at the break as Toronto took advantage of its chances and the visitors didn’t in their first-ever visit to BMO Field, before an announced crowd of 25,538.

Toronto had a dream start, catching Austin on the counterattack in the seventh minute. A sliding Austin player dispossessed an onrushing Kerr, who had been set free by a long ball from Coello, but the ball bounced to Osorio, who beat goalkeeper Brad Stuver with a rising shot.

It was the Toronto captain’s second goal of the season in league play and his 65th for TFC in all competitions. Only Sebastian Giovinco (83) and Jozy Altidore (79) scored more in Toronto colours.

TFC went ahead on another counterattack in the 30th minute after an Austin giveaway. Osorio found Richie Laryea outpacing his marker and the wingback unselfishly sent a perfect low cross across goal for Kerr to knock home for his third of the season.

Wolff, the son of Austin head coach Josh Wolff, made it interesting with his late strike. The 19-year-old U.S. youth international, controlling a long ball, beat defender Raoul Petretta and then waited out Johnson before slotting it home for his first of the season.

Toronto survived a nervy six minutes of stoppage time as Austin pressed for the equalizer. Austin outshot Toronto 14-9 (8-3 in shots on target) and had 52.5 per cent possession.

The win evened Toronto’s home record at 7-7-0, while Austin slipped to 3-8-3 on the road.

It was a costly evening for Austin with defender Brendan Hines-Ike, midfielder Jhojan Valencia and star attacker Sebastian Driussi allpicking up cautions to miss Wednesday’s game with Los Angeles FC due to yellow-card accumulation.

Toronto defender Shane O’Neill will miss Wednesday’s game against visiting Columbus for the same reason. Toronto could be short mid-week, too. The hope is veteran centre back Kevin Long, who missed Saturday’s game after tweaking his hamstring in training, will be good to go.

Toronto has five games remaining, including three more at home as it looks to return to the post-season for the first time since 2020 when it lost to Nashville after extra time at the first hurdle.

It is a challenging road.

TFC hosts Columbus, the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami while playing away at the Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire. All but Chicago are in playoff positions.

The only previous meeting between Toronto and Austin was in May 2023, when Zardes scored a 91st-minute winner to give Austin a 1-0 win over visiting Toronto, which was then mired at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. That loss prompted a post-game outburst from Italian star Federico Bernardeschi about TFC’s drab play.

Then-coach Bob Bradley benched Bernardeschi for the next game.

Current coach John Herdman made four changes to his starting 11 with Bernardeschi and Osorio returning from suspension and Coello and Kerr also slotting in. Coello, who had missed the last eight league games with a hamstring injury, was impressive in his 59-minute return.

Both Toronto and Austin suffered home losses last time out going into the international break. Toronto was beaten 3-1 by D.C. United while Austin lost 1-0 to Vancouver.

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

CF Montreal finds its groove with 2-1 win over Charlotte

Published

 on

MONTREAL – CF Montreal is back in the win column after securing a 2-1 Major League Soccer win over Charlotte FC on Saturday night at Stade Saputo.

Montreal’s form had suffered of late, with just one win in MLS since July, but Laurent Courtois’ squad showed a level of poise and control over the tempo of the game that had not been seen since the beginning of the season.

“What we’ve changed in the last few weeks or months in terms of our methodology or coaching, is nothing. We did the exact thing, We had the exact same words, and we expressed them the exact same way,” said Courtois. “Today, everything just clicked.”

Caden Clark scored for the first time as a Montreal (7-12-9) player in the 23rd minute, in addition to Bryce Duke’s goal three minutes later that ended up being the winner, while Tim Ream found the back of the net for Charlotte (10-10-8).

Montreal had the first major scoring chance of the match after 15 minutes of play. With a free kick roughly 25 metres away from goal, Gabriele Corbo sent a near-perfect shot smashing off the crossbar.

Montreal would continue to dictate the tempo in the opening phase, finding first blood just seven minutes later.

Following a phenomenal triple-save from Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, the ball fell to Clark who volleyed the ball into the wide-open net, picking up his first goal for the club.

“I think you don’t lose the feeling (of scoring), everything happens for a reason, you just can’t lose yourself in the chaos,” said Clark, who had missed a full season due to injury and was briefly without a club, but was grateful for Courtois’ confidence in him.

“(To have a coach’s confidence) is huge and is something I’ve had both ends of so you just can’t take advantage of that in the wrong way. I’m going to keep my discipline with the game plan and keep my head right.”

With momentum completely on their side, the home side doubled the lead just three minutes later. Montreal continued to build up play on the left flank and found a streaking Raheem Edwards in behind the defence who cut the ball back to Duke, sending the Stade Saputo crowd into a frenzy.

Just after the half-hour mark, Charlotte pulled one back through a set piece — something Montreal has struggled defending all season — as Ream rose above everyone at the back post to score his first with his new club.

The second half began in a similar fashion to the end of the first, with Charlotte pressing high up the pitch and forcing several turnovers in dangerous areas. After surviving the pressure, Montreal began to regain control of the game near the hour mark, enjoying the lion’s share of the possession while Charlotte looked to hit back on the counterattack.

“I think when we conceded that goal we were like ‘here we go again.’ 2-1 is a tough lead before halftime … and at the beginning of the half we kind of shot ourselves in the foot and they pressed a bit more, they moved a bit more forward and that opened some gaps,” said captain Samuel Piette.

“I was happy with that, it shows character. At the end of the day, we just wanted the three points and that’s what we got.”

As the game progressed, Charlotte pushed harder to find an equalizer but to no avail. With only one shot on target conceded, the second-worst defence in the league put up an impressive front and confidently rebuffed every single Charlotte attack.

“I’m a big fan of the back five’s performance in their discipline, competitiveness, and synchronization with balls in behind,” said Courtois.

“We can’t explain sometimes in a game it’s not there, they’re capable and today they showed it. Let’s see tomorrow.”

UP NEXT

Both teams are back in action on Sept. 18 away from home as Montreal will look to avenge a 5-0 rout against the New England Revolution while Charlotte visits Orlando City SC.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version