OTTAWA — The RCMP wants one more Black Hawk helicopter to help it patrol the Canada-U.S. border — but the federal government’s own regulations are preventing one of its suppliers from bringing another one into the country.
Canada’s federal police force is currently chartering three Black Hawks and has said it wants a fourth, according to court filings and parliamentary testimony reviewed by the Star.
The RCMP is describing Chinese law enforcement as a policing “partner” on par with agencies like the FBI, while refusing to disclose details of a cooperation agreement with Beijing, saying the terms cannot be shared without Chinese permission.
Blacklock’s Reporter says Senior Deputy Commissioner Bryan Larkin made the comments during testimony before the Senate national finance committee, where he defended the arrangement as a standard tool for international policing collaboration despite growing political scrutiny.
RCMP say six of their vehicles that were left at the Potlotek First Nation Thursday after officers left the scene on foot suffered damage that includes broken windows, flat tires, “urine-soaked interior surfaces” and dents.
In a news release issued Friday, RCMP said seven vehicles, including the six damaged ones, were removed from the Cape Breton community this morning. Some vehicles even had their tires removed, police said.
The RCMP is clarifying previous comments from Commissioner Mike Duheme, saying the police organization is aware of incidents of intimidation and harassment by foreign states, but is unable to identify current criminal links.
“What we can say is that the RCMP is aware of complaints of intimidation and harassment against certain communities across Canada. The RCMP, and the broader Government of Canada, is also aware that foreign states are engaging in such activities in Canada,” the RCMP told CTV News in a statement on Wednesday.
This guy works for Carney and his foreign pals not for us.
Newly released RCMP Security Service files reveal that it amassed more than 900 pages of intelligence on the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) over more than a decade.
The files are among those obtained by CBC Indigenous through multiple Access to Information requests. They reveal how Canada’s Cold War-era domestic intelligence agency kept close tabs on hundreds of individuals and 30 Indigenous political organizations, under an umbrella concern about “Native extremism” through the late ’60s to early ’80s.
The Mounties called it the “Native extremism program.” Today, it sounds like a spy novel.
Intelligence dossiers stuffed with documents. Wiretaps. Paid informants. Covert operatives with code numbers like “A-828.” A Red Power dissident photo album. Surreptitious surveillance at homes, offices, airports and bars.
But it wasn’t fiction.
The RCMP has not recruited enough new officers or effectively assigned its members to meet its operational needs, according to a new report from the auditor general — raising concerns about public safety across the country.
“As a result of chronic shortages of front-line police officers, the RCMP faces a higher risk of police officer absences and burnout, which could make it more challenging for the force to prevent and investigate crime, maintain peace and order and contribute to national security,” Auditor General Karen Hogan wrote in a report tabled Monday.
After months of uncertainty hanging over the RCMP, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the government is committed to keeping Mounties in the business of day-to-day policing across the country — while signalling that improving the federal crimes wing is his priority.
“Bottom line is, we could do both,” said Anandasangaree in an interview on Tuesday about the future of the storied — but troubled — national police force. The interview was conducted before news broke of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., where the RCMP are the lead investigators.
The ability of the RCMP to do both local and federal policing has been called into question in recent years.
More than 400 members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were accused of misconduct in 2024, leading to at least 20 dismissals and resignations.
According to the RCMP, it logged 443 cases of alleged misconduct in 2024 involving 408 employees. Nearly one quarter of these cases resulted in “serious” disciplinary measures, such as being declared ineligible for promotion or being forced to forfeit more than 80 hours of pay. Ten RCMP employees were also demoted to a lower rank or level, which was more than double the number of demotions made over the previous two years.
Federal records show a founder of a Palestinian activist organization is currently working inside the RCMP’s federal policing branch, prompting fresh scrutiny over political advocacy within Canada’s national police force.
Blacklock’s Reporter says Access To Information documents reveal the founder of the Muslim Federal Employees Network uses an RCMP email address, though the force redacted the individual’s name.
(Incognito)
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is limiting the use of its 973 Chinese-made drones to non-sensitive operations, stating the devices present “high security risks, primarily due to their country of origin.”
Chinese drones make up about 80 per cent of the federal police force’s fleet of 1,230 remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), which are used to monitor the Canada-U.S. border and in various police operations.
When a clip from our recent interview with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre went viral, the coverage said more about Canada’s media culture than about the exchange itself. It revealed how quickly political discussions can be stripped of context and turned into outrage fodder, a symptom of a news cycle that rewards speed over substance, and also focuses on polarizing content over nuanced dialogue.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his accusations of political interference by the RCMP during former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure were directed at the national police service’s former commissioner, not the institution itself.
“I stand shoulder to shoulder with the brave men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve,” Poilievre wrote in a statement on Monday. “Today and every day, I thank them for their service.”
Hit pieces galore in the media ostensibly about the RCMP “scandal”.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at the RCMP’s independence in a recent interview, calling the national police force’s leadership “despicable” and accused the national police force of covering up for the Liberal government and former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
“If the RCMP had been doing its job and not covering up for him, then he would have been criminally charged,” the Opposition leader said in an interview posted to YouTube on Wednesday.
Speaking to the YouTube channel Northern Perspective, Poilievre said Trudeau broke the law when he took a free vacation, a reference to the 2016 Aga Khan scandal.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre says bluntly that the RCMP covered up all the Justin Trudeau scandals, which in some cases should have concluded with jail time.@NorthrnPrspectv pic.twitter.com/qZiXGVuSSA
— Beautifulcanada1 (@BeautifulCana1) October 15, 2025
RCMP Commish Duheme to Poilievre "So I think we've talked about SNC Lavalin quite a lot under the previous government, and I think it was clear that there's no interference."
"And as far as his comment with regards to senior management, I would invite Mr. Poilievre to meet with… pic.twitter.com/GPOgaBiZ6w
— cbcwatcher (@cbcwatcher) October 16, 2025
