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VANCOUVER – The Pivot Legal Society and the BC Civil Liberties Association say they’ve launched three complaints against the Vancouver Police Department alleging illegal surveillance and police brutality against pro-Palestine protesters.

The association and the society say the complaints stem from the “violent dispersal” of protesters who demonstrated at a Vancouver rail crossing in May.

In a statement, the groups say the two “service and policy” complaints to the Vancouver Police Board involve police actions against “pro-Palestine demonstrators,” where they were allegedly met with “extensive forms of policing violence” and unlawful surveillance tactics through the use of police drones and officer smartphones.

They say another complaint to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner involves VPD Const. Dimitri Sheinerman, who is facing a Police Act investigation after he was photographed with an Israeli flag patch on his uniform with a “punisher” skull.

The groups say the police force has “allowed anti-Palestinian racism to persist within its ranks,” and actions against demonstrators have violated their Charter rights to freedom of expression.

Meghan McDermott, BC Civil Liberties Association policy director, says there have been “systemic rights violations” against people demonstrating for Palestinian human rights due to police bias and “undemocratic practices.”

The Vancouver Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaints.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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OTTAWA – A Conservative MP who was targeted by Beijing told a federal inquiry today that Canada has become “a playground” for foreign interference.

Michael Chong, the Tory foreign affairs critic, said the federal government should shed its culture of secrecy and release more information about threats to better inform the public.

Chong said while the vast majority of intelligence must remain secret, keeping too much information under wraps results in leaks that undermine institutions.

In May 2023, the federal government confirmed a media report that Canada’s spy service had information in 2021 that the Chinese government was looking at ways to intimidate Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.

Global Affairs Canada said in August 2023 it believed that Chong had been the victim of a foreign smear campaign, which the department suspected was conducted by Beijing.

The department said a co-ordinated network of news accounts on the social-media app WeChat posted a large volume of false or misleading narratives about Chong from May 4 to 13 of that year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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MONTREAL – One expert says entry-level pay under the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement.

Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage increase starting in year five.

The Air Line Pilots Association had been pushing to scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision entirely.

But according to a copy of the contract summary obtained by The Canadian Press, the proposed deal announced Sunday would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years.

John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says as many as 2,000 of Air Canada’s roughly 5,200 active pilots may earn entry-level wages following a recent hiring surge.

After the airline averted a strike this week, Gradek says the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal, which is up for a vote next month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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