RCMP Commissioner Took 3 Yrs To Respond To Police Spying Complaint So She Lost The Lawsuit
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki violated her legal obligations when she took three years to respond to a complaint alleging Mounties spied on Indigenous and climate activists, a precedent-setting lawsuit found Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed by the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) in 2020, marks the first time a court has ruled RCMP must be held accountable for providing a timely answer to complaints filed with the force's civilian watchdog. The BCCLA was also awarded $30,000 as part of the ruling.
The news comes almost a decade after the original complaint was sparked by an investigation by the Vancouver Observer, predecessor to Canada’s National Observer, which revealed police infiltrated groups and spied on citizens opposing Enbridge’s now defunct Northern Gateway pipeline proposal. “That surveillance included monitoring people’s social media, making profiles of activists, infiltrating a meeting in a church basement in Kelowna … very scary,” said Jessica Magonet, legal counsel for the BCCLA.
The story begins in 2013 when the Vancouver Observer investigation detailed evidence of RCMP spying on opponents of the pipeline project. According to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, RCMP shared the information it gathered with private oil companies and the National Energy Board, which regulated pipeline construction and operation spanning provincial or international borders until it was replaced in 2018.
As a result of the investigation, the BCCLA filed a complaint in 2014 with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) alleging the spying violated numerous constitutional rights. The CRCC acts as a civilian watchdog for the RCMP and is tasked with reviewing civilian complaints against the force.
EDIT
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/01/12/news/rcmp-commissioner-loses-lawsuit-3-years-respond-spying-complaint
