BCCLA sues RCMP to force disclosure of watchdog report on spying claims

OTTAWA – The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is taking the RCMP to court in an effort to compel the force to release a watchdog report into alleged spying on environmental and Indigenous groups.

The BCCLA says Canada’s police force has been sitting on the report for more than three years. The group is now asking the Federal Court to order its disclosure.

“Over three years later, the RCMP Commissioner still has not provided her response,” a release from the BCCLA reads. “The RCMP Act requires the RCMP Commissioner to respond to CRCC interim reports as soon as feasible. In 2019, the RCMP specifically committed to responding to CRCC reports in a 6 month timeline.”

The move to involve the Federal Court comes after the Mounties missed a Nov. 7 deadline set by RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki to finalize the national police force’s input into the document, which would allow the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP to release it.

The association’s lawyer Paul Champ says the RCMP public-complaints system is completely broken.

The BCCLA’s court filing seeks an order declaring the “extensive and unconscionable delay” of the report has interfered with the association’s ability to speak about important public matters, breaching its charter right of free expression.

It also asks the court to order Lucki to respond to the interim report within 14 days.

In a February 2014 complaint, civil liberties’ association claims the RCMP “illegally spied on the democratic activities of organizations and Indigenous nations opposed to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project.” The BCCLA’s complaint further claimed the RCMP “improperly shared” that information with oil companies and the National Energy Board.

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