The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is struggling to recruit and retain indigenous members. It celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, but indigenous recruitment figures have declined from 8% a decade ago to 7% today. The force is attempting to address the issue by only training small groups of between 8-16 indigenous cadets at a time to prevent future generation gaps. Nadine Huggins, chief human resources officer at the RCMP, says the profession isn't popular due to the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. Furthermore, there are issues around reconciling with indigenous communities after over a century of colonial policing. Heather Bear, a vice-chief with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, argued that there are still major issues with how indigenous communities are policed in Canada, and that higher numbers of indigenous officers "would do a world of good" but the wider system also needed reform.
Canadian law dictates that all meteorites are considered Canadian cultural property, meaning that if a US museum tries to buy parts of a meteorite found in New Brunswick last month, complicated approval process will be required. Despite its open interest in purchasing the meteorite, the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum will have to navigate regulations, such as securing a permit to export it from Canada to the US and potentially waiting six months while Canadian institutions evaluate whether they want to purchase the meteorite for a fair market price.
Drug driving is more prevalent than drink driving, says the National Police Chiefs’ Council. Some 70% of more than 3,000 drivers tested now implicate drugs. Delays in obtaining blood test results mean that many potential drug drivers avoid prosecution, staffing shortages in laboratories being among the contributing factors. Blunders by National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service staff were these led by the discovery that alcohol breathalyser machines used in police stations across England and Wales are unreliable in cold weather. The machines measure levels of alcohol from samples of breath.
Canadian police are asking for anyone with residential or dash-camera video in the area of a targeted shooting in Coquitlam to come forward. A 37-year-old man was shot in a shopping plaza in Burke Mountain on 17 May, and the assailant fled the scene in a stolen car, which was later found on fire. Police are concerned that bystanders may have been injured in the incident.
Conservative Patrician lawyer C. Boyden Gray has died aged 80. Gray served as White House counsel to President George H.W. Bush and was an important strategist and fundraiser for Republican judicial and Justice Department nominees. The lawyer had a star-studded beginning, working as a clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren before becoming a top corporate antitrust lawyer. He was known for his meticulousness and workaholic tendencies, and his abilities saw him rise quickly in Washington circles. Gray was deeply involved in the deregulation of trade, energy, the environment and banking and was Republican Vice President George H.W. Bush’s counsel and deputy chief of staff. He was, however, not well-regarded by consumer advocates. Gray’s background was largely corporate and before working on the taskforce, he was seen as a critical skeptics.
Gray was an active member of numerous right-wing political organizations, including the FreedomWorks, which is devoted to the achievement of lower taxes and decreased regulation, along with the Federalist Society, a networking group for conservative lawyers. Another organization he helped start was the Committee for Justice, as a non-profit body engineering the screening of judicial and Justice Department nominees.
Gray was a central figure in the polarising appointments of judges to the US Supreme Court and other bodies. Following Gray’s recent death, commentators and critics have noted his focus and passion for the interests of big corporations and the Bush family.
An Arizona vigilante group has agreed to “publicly condemn intimidation of any kind in connection with the exercise of the right to vote” in a settlement with the League of Women Voters of Arizona. The group, Clean Elections USA, monitored state ballot boxes for irregularities during the 2022 midterm elections, following a summer of voter-audit conspiracy theories from supporters of ex-president Donald Trump. The boxes were an electoral issue in the sedition conspiracies surrounding the presidential election; discredited allegations include postal workers and Democrat state authorities filling them with false votes.
The League had alleged in its lawsuit that the actions of Clean Elections USA were themselves an illegal form of voter intimidation, and demanded that the group’s supporters stay clear of ballot boxes during voting. This led to a temporary restraining order being issued from federal judge Michael Liburdi. Opposition to the order was stated by Alexander Kolodin, an attorney for Clean Elections USA and its founder Melody Jennings, citing concerns over the necessary free speech protections for the group.
The vigilante authorities of clean Elections USA typically set up their own filming equipment outside the drop boxes, taking footage of any voting irregularities and appearing to question voters on their intentions when approaching the site. Voting rights campaigners worry that surveillance of this type could continue during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Former President Donald Trump is facing further legal troubles as the US National Archives has found records proving that he and his advisers knew they were breaking the rules by taking classified documents to Mar-a-Lago. Sixteen records have been sent to Special Counsel Jack Smith as part of the investigation into whether Trump illegally retained classified documents. Trump is also facing accusations of illegal retention and divulgence of classified information in Ukraine and China, as well as campaign finance violations. He currently faces an investigations by the New York attorney general over false valuations and the misallocation of charitable donations, and a tax fraud investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
The ex-president’s legal defence effort is now without one of its top attorneys, who has left and blamed Trump’s top aide Boris Epshteyn for being dishonest and unforthcoming in his work to assist Trump’s lawyers with the investigation into illegal retention of classified documents. A subpoena response from former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and Trump’s former close adviser Steve Bannon that was scheduled for May is expected to provide more details about the Mar-a-Lago situation. Trump described the events of 6 January, when a group of his supporters breached the Capitol building, as a “beautiful day” in a recent CNN town hall, and has suggested that he might run for president again in 2024.
The recent discovery of Trump’s knowledge of broken rules regarding classified documents and past accusations of fraud and campaign finance violations are putting the ex-president under increasing legal pressure. Trump has a range of investigations open against him and his associates, and the loss of one of his top attorneys to his legal defence effort undoubtedly presents a setback.
Regulators in the UK and US have been accused of covering up a state-led “rigging” of interest rates during the 2008 financial crisis. Banks are understood to have dropped their estimates of interest rates after being pressured by central banks and regulators, as part of a drive to artificially “restore calm”. The rate-rigging measures referred to benchmark rates including the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and Euribor. Evidence of these moves was reportedly kept from jurors in recent trials of smaller-scale rate-rigging. Regulators have declined to comment or, in one case, rebutted the claims.
The allegations emerged following the discovery of partial transcripts of a US Department of Justice interview with Barclays cash trader Peter Johnson in 2010. Johnson claimed he had been pressured by his bosses to submit artificially lower Libor rates, under instruction from the UK government and Bank of England. The transcript reportedly suggests that central banks across the western world were pressurising financial institutions to drop interest rate estimates, suggesting a much wider state-led effort to manipulate interest rates. Many banks have been fined for manipulations of Libor in recent years.
In response to the allegations, senior Conservative MP David Davis suggested that Parliament may have been “misled” over the rate-rigging scandal: “It’s a big and complex issue with hundreds of pages of evidence.”
The prevailing culture of subservience and powerlessness in British businesses benefits only shareholders according to doctoral student Daniel Chandler. Chandler claims that workplace democracy benefits both companies and employees at all levels and proposes that UK businesses allocate half their board seats to worker reps, something already established in Germany and France. Anti-establishment sentiments could be ameliorated by empowering workers, said Chandler. He recommends laws to limit the size of cooperative organisations to ensure worker investment remains and calls for a debate about power in UK companies. Chandler's ideas have been endorsed by figures such as economists Thomas Piketty, Amartya Sen, and Sir Angus Deaton.
Meta (formerly Facebook) has been given a €1.2bn ($1.34bn) from the Irish Data Protection Commission over violating its rules regarding the transfer of user data to the US. Five months was given to the company to eliminate any future transfer of personal data to the US, while six months was given for the processing of previously sent European citizens’ personal information in the US to cease. Meta President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, responded to the ruling by stating it was flawed, unjustified, and praised that it is a dangerous precedent for the various companies that transfer data between the EU and US.
Almost 9% of judge positions on federally appointed courts across Canada are sitting vacant, causing delays in prosecutions and increasing the risk of breaching criminal proceeding time limits, just as courts struggle to recover from the backlog caused by the pandemic. Of the 995 full-time spots for judges on federally appointed courts, 88 are vacant. The right to a timely trial is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but a 2016 Supreme Court of Canada case set a 30-month time limit for criminal proceedings, from charge to completion, in superior court.
The Canadian government will receive an initial report from special rapporteur David Johnson on whether to call for a public inquiry into claims of foreign interference. Chinese meddling allegations in the last two federal elections brought attention to the threat, with calls for an inquiry allowing for transparent conversation about the threat faced by Canada and allowing the government to illustrate what action it is taking. An inquiry would bring the conversation back to the details of the foreign interference threat and how the country can combat it, experts say. The signs of foreign interference were already visible before the controversy, however, the government has promised funding to combat foreign interference.
Ashcroft Terminal Ltd, a rail terminal operator in British Columbia, has denied allegations by the Bonaparte First Nation that it has not obtained proper consent to expand its facilities and inadvertently unearthed human remains on the group’s ancestral lands. In a response submitted to British Columbia Supreme Court, the company claimed it had “extensively engaged” with the group as it built out its facilities, though it did not provide details of these engagements.
Supporters of Julian Assange are open to a plea deal with US authorities in order to clear the way for his release from a British prison. Jennifer Robinson, Assange's lawyer, argued that her client had not committed any crime and been awarded journalism accolades for the very reports named in the charges against him. However, a plea deal could allow the WikiLeaks founder to avoid extradition to the US and face reduced charges, though Stephen Kenny, Assange's Australian lawyer, was doubtful that the US Department of Justice would be open to such a deal.
Meta hit with record fine by Irish regulator over U.S. data transfers
CBC
23-05-22 12:59
Facebook parent company Meta has been hit with a €1.2bn ($1.75bn) fine by the Irish data protection watchdog over its transfer of user data to the US and given five months to cease these transfers. The fine, which follows the company's breaching of a 2020 EU ruling on data transfer, is the largest European privacy penalty seen, and surpasses Amazon's previous record €746m fine. Facebook, which could be prevented from operating in Europe if it fails to cease data transfers, reiterated its desire to form a new agreement between the US and the EU before the five-month deadline is up.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) celebrated its 150th anniversary on May 23, marking 150 years since the establishment of the North-West Mounted Police in 1873. The anniversary comes amid ongoing controversy around the force’s conduct, including its handling of cases involving Indigenous people, and allegations of harassment and discrimination within its ranks. The RCMP’s mandate has evolved over the past century and a half, expanding to include provincial and national policing duties, forensic laboratories, marine and air services, and participation in international peacekeeping missions. The force has also faced various cultural shifts, including the integration of women, visible and religious minorities, and the adoption of more diverse and inclusive recruitment policies. However, many Indigenous people and other critics argue that the RCMP’s structural and legislative framework reflects a history of colonialism, systemic racism, and violence, which affects its ability to serve and protect all Canadians equally.
Calls for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to withdraw from small communities across Canada and focus on its national remit to tackle emerging threats such as cybercrime, human trafficking and fraud have been heard again, prompting discussions about the police force's future mandate and direction. This comes as questions have been raised following the force's handling of various crises, including the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia and concerns about rural crime. Suggestions have included the need for more fundamental changes to rid the force of its toxic culture and ensure that there is strong governance. There is an emerging consensus that for real change, policing will need to evolve to include professional service providers who can help individuals in crisis, with a prevention-first approach to safety. There have been calls to expand existing municipal police forces and that provinces follow the examples of Ontario and Quebec in setting up their own forces.
UK bereaved families have said they have "mixed feelings" about an enormous memorial tapestry that was unveiled to commemorate the coronavirus pandemic. The tapestry will be curated by Ekow Eshun, a writer who oversees the choice of sculptures for Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth. Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group, representing thousands of families who lost loved ones, has said that some families believe the inquiry into the pandemic must first listen to the experiences of bereaved people before commemorating their losses. Sir Bernard Jenkin, the Tory MP, has added that the inquiry should focus on finding answers about the country's handling of the pandemic.
The European parliament's top lawmakers have proposed a cut in payouts from the special voluntary pension scheme provided for MEPs, which would fall by half. The scheme, which is used by almost 1,000 former and current members, includes former UKIP leader Nigel Farage and Marine Le Pen, Leader of the National Party in France. The European parliament's special plan pays out about €20m a year, with the average pension worth more than €2k a month. MEP members will also be offered the chance to leave the pension scheme for a one-off payment if the proposal passes.
Montreal police are investigating an arson attack that destroyed a business in the Saint-Laurent borough. The attack occurred just two weeks after an unrelated arson incident at the same business. The police spokesperson, Const. Caroline Chèvrefils, said that more than one incendiary device was thrown inside, but one of these has been recovered by police. No one was hurt, and most of the damage was caused by the sprinkler system preventing the flames from spreading. Police believe that this attack is part of a broad wave of similar incidents connected to extortion attempts. This is the second arson attack in the borough in three days.
