Alberta Police Have Been Bought And Paid For
Trudeau acknowledged the difficulties the blockades have caused for travellers and businesses, but he made it clear Friday the federal government had no plans to make the RCMP dismantle them.
"We are not the kind of country where politicians get to tell the police what to do in operational matters," Trudeau said in Munich, Germany, where he was attending a global security conference.
Big Oil is financing police foundations in Canada to the tune of at least $7.9 million, the bulk of which appears to be directed to police foundations in Alberta. According to Martin Lukacs and Tim Groves writing for the Tyee, some of these corporate funds have been funnelled to purchase militarized equipment for police forces. These initial findings highlight the need for far more public scrutiny of this practice.
The ability of corporations to influence police action, trampling our rights to protest and dissent is troubling. Even more troubling is the financial link we have uncovered between police agencies and these powerful corporations.
Group cites 'unconscionable delay' by RCMP in court bid for watchdog report
The association lodged a complaint in February 2014 with the complaints commission. It alleged the RCMP improperly collected and shared information about people and groups who peacefully opposed the planned Northern Gateway pipeline project and attended National Energy Board meetings.
The association said monitoring, surveillance and information-sharing with other government agencies and the private sector created a chilling effect for those who might wish to take part in hearings or other public discussions on petroleum issues.
The commission launched a public interest investigation and completed an interim report into the matter in June 2017, forwarding it to the RCMP for comment on the conclusions and recommendations.
The commission cannot prepare a final report until the RCMP commissioner responds, which also means the findings can't be disclosed to the civil liberties association or the public. [Read more]
Facial Recognition Software Has Been Used by 48 Agencies in Canada
Update February 4, 2021
Controversial facial recognition firm Clearview AI broke Canadian laws and had at least 48 accounts in agencies across the country, most of them police forces, federal and provincial privacy commissioners said today.
And legislation — including proposed reforms — will not be adequate to deter similar privacy-harming software in the future, they said in a telephone press conference to discuss the release of their report.
The 48 agencies using the software were not named in the report or the media conference held this morning. However, police forces across the country have publicly admitted to using the software. They made the admission after hackers obtained Clearview AI’s client list and leaked it to BuzzFeed News. [Read more]
What Clearview AI Did Was Illegal, But Don't Play Down The RCMP's Role In It
Update February 11, 2021
The Clearview scandal revealed last year that dozens of Canadian police departments — most notably the RCMP — have used the company’s software to identify suspects. While Therrien’s recent condemnation of Clearview is a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough. To date, the government’s response has narrowly focused on holding the company accountable for its unlawful data collection practices.
While an investigation into the RCMP’s use of the technology is underway, the public response from officials has sought to pin blame onto Clearview AI in a way that effectively absolves agencies like the RCMP from responsibility. Although there is a class action lawsuit currently being considered against the RCMP, the government must also take more stronger action to rein in the RCMP’s use of mass surveillance.