RCMP Warned of Parliament Attack

A CHRONICLE OF NEWS FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY | OCTOBER 23, 2015 – Vol. 20 No. 43 RCMP warned of Parliament attack Oct 16 2015 OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed British Columbia’s tough drunk-driving law, which imposes heavy fines, penalties and immediate roadside suspensions. Page 2 Oct 18 2015 VANCOUVER - Vancouver police say they are finally seeing a plateau in the number of mental- health related arrests following years of rising numbers. Page 3 Oct 20 2015 FREDERICTON - The New Brun- swick Police Commission is call- ing for changes to the province’s Police Act and is holding two days of meetings in Fredericton to dis- Oct 21 2015 page dossier obtained by CBC News under cuss proposed amendments. OTTAWA - Mounties received at least the Access to Information Act, following an three warnings of potential terrorist 11-month delay in its release. Page 6 attacks on uniformed officers before The file reveals an Oct. 18, 2014, “security reminder” from the force’s Criminal In- Oct 20 2015 last year’s shootings on Parliament Hill, yet the RCMP wound down ex- telligence Integrated Unit, widely distributed FREDERICTON - Former Freder- tra patrols around the parliamentary the weekend before the shootings. icton police chief Barry MacK- precinct just days before the tragedy, The one-page warning said ISIS “is ac- night has been appointed by the tively encouraging jihadists in the West and New Brunswick Police Commis- newly disclosed documents show. sion to investigate a complaint The RCMP unit that patrols Parliament encouraging newly sworn militants to launch made against Saint John Deputy Hill, which shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, attacks against members of law enforcement Police Chief Glen McCloskey by 32, successfully stormed, was understaffed by from countries fighting its troops.” the chief of the Saint John Police at least 29 positions at the time of the attack. “ISIS threats against law enforcement in Department. An inside glimpse of the RCMP’s securi- the West are real ... Canada is not immune to Page 7 ty posture on Oct. 22 is contained in a 1,000- such threats,” read the document, which called Oct 21 2015 QUEBEC - The new federal government’s promise to legalize marijuana is raising concerns among Quebec’s political class. Page 8 on Mounties to take precautions, especially in On Oct. 15, two men in a 2011 Ford on the issue - stating it’s a private, contractual their personal postings on social media. Escape tried to force open the iron gates at matter - it has applied an application for a ju- A day earlier, on Oct. 17, the Integrated Rideau Hall at 3:15 a.m. The next day, a man dicial review of the issue. Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC) warned attempted to force his way into the Italian It’s unclear when the court will make a that a “violent act of terrorism could occur.” ambassador’s limousine on Slater Street in decision on the application but in the mean- The centre increased the terror threat level downtown Ottawa. time, the police services board has been or- that day to medium from low, where it had Investigations later showed the first two dered to settle up with Chief Rodd and Depu- remained for four years. men were drunk and harmless, and the lat- ty Chief Farquharson. The RCMP dossier shows the ITAC ter was “mentally disturbed” and not a gen- Justice Corkery didn’t rule on whether warning was widely distributed among Par- uine threat. Even so, the RCMP launched the Board is responsible to pay the Chief and liament Hill officers, who were specially told “enhanced patrols” after the incidents - but Deputy Chief’s legal costs but says if the two “to remain alert and vigilant.” stopped them on Oct. 20, two days before sides can’t come to an agreement he’ll accept A third warning to RCMP officers was is- Zehaf-Bibeau’s attack. He was shot dead af- brief written submissions on the issue in the sued the day before the Ottawa shooting “out- ter opening fire inside Centre Block on Par- next two weeks. lining security/prevention measures for police liament Hill. (Peterborough This Week) officers with regard to recent threats made by The heavily censored public version of the Islamic State group towards law enforce- the OPP report from March 2015 does not re- ment.” Details of the third warning, from the fer to the terror warnings or increased patrols, FRIDAY RCMP’s National Intelligence Co-ordination but is highly critical of the minimal resources OCTOBER 16, 2015 Centre and which followed an Oct. 20 terror- given to the RCMP. linked attack in Quebec, were censored in the “The approach to the security and protec- package released to CBC News. tion of Parliament Hill is highly inadequate,” Oct 16 2015 The Harper government’s 2012 deficit- it concluded. “The RCMP posture on Parlia- HALIFAX - Nova Scotia’s education fighting budget cuts had already seriously ment Hill has been challenging due to the minister says there will be a review eroded staffing levels for the RCMP’s par- limited amount of resources available, which of how school boards deal with po- liamentary force. An October 2014 human are reflective of budget cuts in 2012.” lice investigations following concerns resources report shows at least 29 vacant The main solution, said the OPP report, raised in a report on the Rehtaeh Par- positions, and as many as 51 empty posts de- was to unify the House of Commons and Sen- sons case. pending on the accounting method. ate security forces under the RCMP to pro- Karen Casey says each school board has There were a total of 177 positions author- vide seamless rather than balkanized security its own protocol when it comes to dealing ized for the unit, but only 126 “members avail- on the Hill. The government announced that with police investigations on school property. able,” Supt. Luc Lemire reported to his bosses. very measure on Feb. 4 this year and the pro- Casey says a review will determine wheth- An Ontario Provincial Police investiga- cess of integration continues. er any of the protocols need improvement or tion into the Oct. 22 shootings also cited the RCMP officials did not immediately re- whether a provincewide policy is required. resource-starved RCMP unit, although the spond to CBC News requests for comment Parsons was 17 when she was taken off life- exact staffing shortfall numbers were blacked on the security lapses. support in April 2013 after attempting suicide. out in the public version of the final report. (CBC News) Her case attracted national attention The RCMP dossier shows that despite when her family alleged she had been sexu- chronic staffing issues, the RCMP managed ally assaulted in November 2011 at the age to increase its patrols in the parliamentary THURSDAY of 15 and then bullied after a digital photo precinct and on Sussex Drive, near the resi- OCTOBER 15, 2015 of the alleged assault was passed around dences of the prime minister and the Gover- her school. nor General, after two security incidents in Oct 15 2015 Last week, an independent report into mid-October. how police and prosecutors handled the case PETERBOROUGH - A Peterborough found school board officials prevented a po- judge has ruled in favour the city’s lice investigator from talking to students at police chief and deputy chief in their Parsons’ school. attempt to collect on a combined Casey says school board officials did the $460,000 in severance payments. right thing despite the perception they were Earlier this year an arbitrator ruled Chief thwarting an investigation. Murray Rodd and Deputy Chief Tim Farquhar- son were entitled to severance when the Peter- Oct 16 2015 ISSN 1704-3913 borough-Lakefield Community Police Service Copyright 2015 OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Can- Blue Line Magazine Inc. & The Canadian Press disbanded at the end of 2014 - and Justice J. Permission to reprint may be obtained in advance from ada has affirmed British Columbia’s Access Copyright C. Corkery is enforcing that decision. After ad- dressing the issue in Superior court in Septem- tough drunk-driving law, which im- Phone 1-800-893-5777 [email protected] poses heavy fines, penalties and im- Published weekly by Blue Line Magazine, Inc. as an executive news ber, Justice Corkery filed a written decision on briefing service to Canada’s top level law enforcement personnel. the matter on Wednesday (Oct. 14). mediate roadside suspensions. The high court handed down a pair of Most information supplied in this publication is from newswire That document lays out two simple rea- services. As such Blue Line Magazine does not accept responsibility judgments Friday, a 6-1 decision and a unani- sons for enforcing the arbitrator’s ruling - the for the accuracy of articles as supplied. mous 7-0 ruling, that uphold key portions of first being that both the chief and deputy chief All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, the law. stored in an electronic database or transmitted in any form or by any were, in fact, employed by the former police means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without It ruled the province had the jurisdiction the prior permission of the publishers. One Year Subscriptions are service and the second being that arbitration $10500 (GST Included). Paid subscribers may make up to four (4) to enact the law in 2010 and that it did not awards have already issued in their favour. copies of this publication for distribution within their organization. violate the charter protection of the presump- The Peterborough Police Services Board tion of innocence.

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