Misplaced Pages

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118-694: Canadian provinces will have National Security Enforcement Sections (NSES) instead of an INSET in places that do not have a large city. INSET units are made up of personnel from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and police forces at the municipal and provincial levels. These units are tasked with investigating criminal national security matters domestically and internationally. INSET units are known to operate in and around Toronto , Vancouver , Ottawa , Montreal , and Edmonton . The mandate of INSET units

236-612: A fire hall in Onslow; Wortman was not there at the time. On December 17, SIRT finished their review of Wortman's death and concluded the officers' actions were justified. A Global News investigation of the Onslow incident found indications that the officers involved mistook a third RCMP officer and an Emergency Management Office employee stationed at the fire hall for Wortman, but the SIRT investigation remains ongoing. In an interview with As It Happens on April 25, Commissioner Lucki promised

354-453: A "disinformation campaign." Between January 2019 and March 2020, the RCMP spent $ 13 million policing and periodically enforcing injunctions against Indigenous protesters blocking the construction of a pipeline across what the protesters asserted was unceded Wet'suwet'en territory. Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs Na'moks and Woos complained about the armed RCMP presence, as the police moved down

472-529: A $ 100 million fund to compensate these victims. Over 20,000 current and past female employees who were employed after 1974 are eligible. On March 10, 2020, Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation was arrested by two RCMP officers in Fort McMurray , Alberta. After several minutes of Chief Adam yelling and posturing at officers, the officers tackled him and punched him in

590-460: A bedroom door and protecting her two sons. Wortman then attempted to set the house on fire, but the two sons escaped from the home. A third son of the victims said he believed Wortman targeted his father first during the attacks because he owned rifles and would have been able to stop him. At about 22:05, Wortman reportedly returned to his burning house where he killed a woman living across the street who had mistaken him for an RCMP officer responding to

708-608: A chronic petty thief who liked to manipulate the system to avoid paying money and that Wortman may have learned those habits from him. A cousin described Wortman as "almost a career criminal" who did "a lot of stuff but never got caught." A neighbour said Wortman was obsessed with his spouse and tended to be "jealous about things with her". Residents were suspicious that Wortman was stockpiling gasoline and propane tanks, and they reported hearing him brag about having lime and muriatic acid to dispose of bodies. Neighbours also said that Wortman struggled with alcohol use and his business

826-535: A cop". The tipster warned about Wortman's recent stress and mental health issues and said he always kept a handgun close by. The tip was transferred to the Nova Scotia RCMP for jurisdictional reasons, but it is unclear what action was taken by them. The tip was ultimately purged from their records as is standard protocol according to an RCMP spokesperson. A former neighbour in Portapique said he reported Wortman to

944-449: A dirt road along a blueberry field, which the officers did not block off. After escaping, he spent the night parked behind a welding shop in the Debert area, about 26 kilometres (16 mi) east of Portapique. There, he left behind police equipment and gun-related items in a ditch on the property of a resident he knew. At some point after, the RCMP's Emergency Response Team responded to

1062-467: A house whose residents he knew, located on Hunter Road in Wentworth , approximately 37 kilometres (23 mi) north of Portapique. He arrived at around 06:30 and shortly thereafter killed the two occupants and their two dogs. Wortman then remained at the house for about three hours; what he did during that time is unclear. At around that time, police located Wortman's spouse in Portapique; she had fled to

1180-467: A long time. Owning police vehicles or uniforms is not a crime in Canada, but impersonating a police officer is. CBC News reported that at least one RCMP officer had previously taken note of one of Wortman's replica vehicles and advised him not to drive it on the road. Officials later said Wortman had acquired the specific vehicle he used in the attacks, a 2017 Ford Taurus , at an auction in fall 2019. It

1298-429: A more detailed safety course and background check in order to legally own them. However, these firearms were illegally smuggled into the country. In addition, the briefing note said Wortman was in possession of high-capacity magazines, which are illegal in Canada. The pistols were also equipped with laser sights . Leather noted that Wortman's use of a police car and a police uniform allowed him to evade detection for

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1416-465: A nearby motorist who had stopped to help Stevenson and drove off in the victim's silver Ford Escape SUV . Police announced the vehicle change at 11:06. Shortly thereafter, Wortman killed a woman he knew at her Shubenacadie home, changed his clothes again, and stole her Mazda 3 . By 11:24, he was spotted continuing south along Highway 102 through Milford . Over thirteen hours after police began pursuing him, at 11:26, Wortman stopped to refuel at

1534-608: A neighbour's home to call 9-1-1 since Wortman had smashed her cellphone. She was barefoot and claimed to have been hiding outdoors for much of the night. She confirmed that he was impersonating a police officer and provided a photo of his replica police vehicle. A BOLO alert containing this updated information was issued to officers across the province at around 08:00, warning Wortman "could be anywhere" in Nova Scotia. The RCMP publicly announced that they were dealing with an active shooter situation in Portapique at 08:02. Wortman

1652-592: A new unit called Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2). The JTF2 inherited some equipment and the SERT's former training base near Ottawa . In 1995 the Personal Protection Group (PPG) of the RCMP was created at the behest of Jean Chrétien after the break-in by André Dallaire at the Prime Minister's official Ottawa residence, 24 Sussex Drive . The PPG is a 180-member group responsible for VIP security details, chiefly

1770-550: A number of these transactions as suspicious between March 22 and December 5, 2019. Wortman's spouse said that he purchased police gear in both Canada and the U.S. According to records from the Canada Border Services Agency, Wortman crossed the Canada–United States border through Woodstock, New Brunswick , fifteen times within the previous two years with his most recent return to Canada being on March 6. In

1888-534: A parking lot to exchange his jacket for a reflective vest . Sometime before 10:49, Wortman pulled alongside RCMP constable Chad Morrison's cruiser at the intersection of Route 2 and Route 224 in Shubenacadie , about 50 kilometres (30 mi) from Debert. Morrison had planned to meet fellow officer Heidi Stevenson at that location. Wortman shot into the car with a handgun, injuring Morrison, who fled down Route 2 and took shelter at an empty paramedic station. He

2006-446: A police uniform and role-play. On at least four occasions police were alerted to the gunman's behaviour. In 2001, he reportedly assaulted a 15-year-old boy. In June 2010, Wortman was investigated by Halifax Regional Police for threatening his parents, but no official action was taken due to a lack of evidence. In May 2011, Truro Police received a tip from an unnamed source via email about Wortman's stash of guns and his desire to "kill

2124-402: A police uniform. However, the occupants recognized him and refused to let him in, with an occupant arming himself with a 12-gauge shotgun to deter Wortman's entry. Wortman attempted to trick them into thinking he was an officer involved in the manhunt by calling out his own name and shouting, "Come out with your hands up," but the occupants called the police and he left. By 09:48, Wortman

2242-683: A possession and acquisition licence was required for someone to legally possess a Mini-14, the executor of an estate is allowed to temporarily own the estate's firearms. Conversely, the Colt was sourced to a gun store in California and the pistols to a gun store in Mattawamkeag, Maine . Wortman was said to have had acquaintances living in Maine; one confirmed to police that Wortman stole the Glock 23 from him and later said it

2360-724: A relatively positive relationship with the Indigenous peoples of Canada , buoyed by their role in restoring order to the Canadian west , which had been disrupted by immigrant settlement, and the stark contrast between Canadian policy and the ongoing American Indian Wars in the late 19th century. After the signing of the Numbered Treaties between 1871 and 1899, however, the service generally failed to provide Indigenous communities with police services equal to those provided to non-Indigenous communities. American historian Andrew Graybill argued

2478-695: A residence to provide protection for its two occupants. Wortman killed 22 people, including Constable Heidi Stevenson. The other officer he shot, Constable Chad Morrison, survived, as did the man he shot in Portapique who first reported his possible use of a police car. Wortman tied up and injured his spouse before she escaped at the start of the rampage. Thirteen of the dead were found in Portapique, four in Wentworth, two in Debert, and three in Shubenacadie. They are believed to have died from gunshot wounds. Eight of

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2596-594: A result of the RCMP's involvement in its installation. In 1995, the RCMP intervened in the Gustafsen Lake standoff between the armed Ts'peten Defenders, occupying what they claimed was unceded Indigenous land, and armed ranchers, who owned the land and had previously allowed Indigenous people to use part of it on the condition they not erect permanent structures. The RCMP's response included 400 tactical assault team members, five helicopters, two surveillance planes, and nine Bison armoured personnel carriers on loan from

2714-537: A sailboat the associate owned. In this context, the Nova Scotia Judge has ordered those certain amendments to the search warrant documents relating to the RCMP investigation into the events of April 18–19 remain unedited. The decision was made in response to an appeal to the court by the media coalition, which includes the Halifax Examiner. For its part, the RCMP issued a 1,600-word statement rebutting most of

2832-569: A senior RCMP officer in the Criminal Intelligence Service (CISC) was on the payroll of a Montreal-based organized crime group, and in 1992, aired an episode identifying Inspector Claude Savoie , then the assistant director of the CISC, as the leak, citing evidence that connected him to Allan Ronald Ross , an Irish-Canadian drug lord , and Sidney Leithman , a prominent lawyer associated with Montreal's organized crime network. Shortly after

2950-576: A third at his Halifax property, while Wortman initially drove the fourth during the attacks. One person called Wortman's home a "shrine" for the RCMP. He stored two of the vehicles behind his denture clinic. According to a businessman in Dieppe , Wortman inquired about buying a decommissioned RCMP cruiser from him in 2017 or 2018, claiming to be a retired officer who wanted to park the vehicle outside his house to deter thieves. For price reasons, he did not buy it. A witness claimed Wortman tended to dress up in

3068-574: A thorough review of the police response to the attacks, including the delay in informing the public about Wortman potentially impersonating a police officer. Following the attacks, many questions were raised about why Nova Scotia failed to use Alert Ready , Canada's mandatory emergency population warning system, to warn the public about the attacks but instead chose to use social media platforms Twitter and Facebook to provide updates. RCMP officials said they had been dealing with an unfolding situation and details were being updated frequently. However,

3186-625: A tip hotline to gather further information about the attacks. On May 11, the RCMP's Behavioral Analysis Unit launched a "psychological autopsy" on Wortman, which involved extensive interrogations with his friends, family members, and colleagues. It found that he was an "injustice collector", a criminology term for those who keep track of perceived slights and petty grievances that occur over many years. Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said that Wortman had no possession and acquisition licence and his weapons were illegally purchased. Superintendent Darren Campbell said five firearms were recovered from

3304-451: A total of 16 crime scenes, including five structure fires, spread over a distance of at least 50 kilometres (31 mi), along with 500 identified witnesses. The man from whom Wortman had previously considered buying a police car said that he was warned by police during the incident that he was considered a possible target. However, Wortman ultimately never attacked him during the rampage. The Nova Scotia RCMP Major Crime Unit launched

3422-695: Is an agency of the Government of Canada ; it also provides police services under contract to 11 provinces and territories , over 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. The RCMP is commonly known as the Mounties in English (and colloquially in French as la police montée ). The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was established in 1920 with the amalgamation of the Royal North-West Mounted Police and

3540-511: Is as follows: INSET units were established in 2002 after the September 11 attacks. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver NSES units were changed to be INSETs in response to the attacks. An INSET unit operating in Toronto played a major role in the capture of 17 terror suspects on June 2, 2006. In 2012, INSETs were tasked to secure Albertan energy infrastructure from all attacks. On May 6, 2022,

3658-658: Is statutorily independent of the RCMP. In the late 1970s, revelations surfaced that the RCMP Security Service had in the course of their intelligence duties engaged in crimes such as burning a barn and stealing documents from the separatist Parti Québécois . This led to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP , better known as the "McDonald Commission", named for the presiding judge, Justice David Cargill McDonald. The commission recommended that

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3776-556: The C8 rifle at their disposal, where in the past they had been limited to sidearms. One of the main conclusions from the fatality inquiry that led to this result was the fact that the officers who were involved in the events did not have the appropriate weapons to face someone with a semi-automatic rifle. In 2006, the United States Coast Guard 's Ninth District and the RCMP began a program called "Shiprider", in which 12 Mounties from

3894-554: The COVID-19 pandemic possibly growing out of control and leading to a widespread institutional and infrastructural collapse. However the RCMP Operations Manual authorizes them to lie to the public and government outside of a court to protect the identity of confidential informants and sources. They also said they found a fireproof safe containing hundreds of thousands of dollars at his Portapique property. A total of CA$ 705,000

4012-590: The Canada convoy protest . On September 19, 2022, the RCMP led the procession through London, England, following the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II due to the long-standing special relationship with the Queen. In 2023, the Mass Casualty Commission recommended that the RCMP replace its Depot-based training regime with a more intensive university-style program and that the federal public safety minister review

4130-563: The Canadian Army and sparked international controversy over the RCMP's use of unusually broad press exclusion zones. One of the members of the Ts'peten Defenders was later granted political asylum in the United States after an Oregon judge found that the RCMP's reporting of the incident—marked by an RCMP member's off-hand comment to media that "smear campaigns are [the RCMP's] specialty"—amounted to

4248-507: The Chinese community , which was targeted because of disproportionate links to opium dens . Historians estimate that Canada deported two per cent of its Chinese community between 1923 and 1932, largely under the provisions of the Opium and Narcotics Drugs Act . The first Mountie to go undercover was Frank Zaneth who under the code name Operative Number 1 infiltrated various "radical" groups along with

4366-656: The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission . In the wake of the 2007 Robert Dziekański taser incident at the Vancouver International Airport , two officers were found guilty of perjury to the Braidwood Inquiry and sentenced to jail for their actions. They appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada but were unsuccessful. In July 2007, two RCMP officers were shot and succumbed to their injuries in

4484-712: The Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar . In the aftermath of the Arar affair, the commission of inquiry recommended that the RCMP be subject to greater oversight from a review board with investigative and information-sharing capacities. Following the commission of inquiry's recommendations, the Harper government tabled amendments to the RCMP Act to create

4602-712: The Criminal Investigation Branch to the new Special Branch, formed in 1950. The branch changed names twice: in 1962, to the Directorate of Security and Intelligence; and in 1970 to the Security Service. On April 1, 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador joined in Confederation with Canada, and the Newfoundland Ranger Force amalgamated with the RCMP. In June 1953, the RCMP became a full member of

4720-583: The Dominion Police . Sworn members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a peace officer in all provinces and territories of Canada. Under its federal mandate, the RCMP is responsible for enforcing federal legislation; investigating inter-provincial and international crime; border integrity; overseeing Canadian peacekeeping missions involving police; managing the Canadian Firearms Program , which licenses and registers firearms and their owners; and

4838-681: The Germantown neighbourhood 's market square by kettling around 300 rally-goers, sparking the Regina Riot . One city police officer and one protester were killed. The trek, which had been organized to call attention to conditions in relief camps , consequently failed to reach Ottawa, but nevertheless had political reverberations. That same year, three RCMP members, acting under contract as provincial police officers, were killed in Saskatchewan and Alberta during an arrest and subsequent pursuit. During

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4956-505: The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). In 1969, the RCMP hired its first Black police officer, Hartley Gosline. On July 4, 1973, during a visit to Regina, Saskatchewan , Queen Elizabeth II approved a new badge for the RCMP. The force subsequently presented the sovereign with a tapestry rendering of the new design. In 1978, the RCMP formed 31 part-time emergency response teams across

5074-524: The Irving Big Stop service area in Enfield , 92 kilometres (57 mi) south of Portapique and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Halifax. Two RCMP officers arrived, one drawing his firearm as he exited the vehicle, immediately aiming at Wortman inside the car. Wortman raised Stevenson's sidearm to his head and fired, whereupon the officers fatally shot him. One officer discharged his rifle 11 times,

5192-738: The Mayerthorpe tragedy in Alberta in March 2005. It was the single largest multiple killing of RCMP officers since the killing of three officers in Kamloops, British Columbia, by a mentally ill assailant in June 1962. Before that, the RCMP had not incurred such a loss since the North-West Rebellion . One result was that on 21 October 2011 Commissioner William J. S. Elliott announced that RCMP officers would have

5310-629: The Moncton shooting . A review from retired assistant commissioner Alphonse MacNeil in May 2015 issued 64 recommendations, while the RCMP was charged with violating the Canada Labour Code (CLC) for the slow roll-out of the C8 carbine, which had been recommended by the 2011 Elliott inquiry. The RCMP issued the first carbines in 2013, and with 12,000 members across the country had, as of May 2015, only purchased 2,200. At

5428-622: The Spiritwood Incident near Mildred, Saskatchewan . By the end of 2007, the RCMP was named Newsmaker of the Year by The Canadian Press . The RCMP mounted the Queen's Life Guard in May 2012 during celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee . On June 3, 2013, the RCMP's A Division was renamed the "National Division" and tasked with handling corruption cases "at home and abroad". In June 2014, three RCMP officers were murdered during

5546-687: The Wortman killing spree that left 23 dead in Nova Scotia in April 2020. The political furor that followed engulfed Commissioner Brenda Lucki and her minister, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair . The RCMP was strongly criticized for its response to the attacks, the deadliest rampage in Canadian history, as well as their lack of transparency in the criminal investigation. CBC News ' television program The Fifth Estate and online newspaper Halifax Examiner analyzed

5664-594: The CLC trial the Crown argued that the then newly-retired head of the RCMP Bob Paulson had "played the odds" with officer safety and it proved fatal. One result of the CLC trial was the conviction of the organization that had been led by Paulson for close to seven years. In October 2016, the RCMP issued an apology for harassment, discrimination, and sexual abuse of female officers and civilian members. Additionally, they set aside

5782-538: The Canadian Police College, which provides police training to Canadian and international police services. Policing in Canada is considered to be a constitutional responsibility of provinces; however, the RCMP provides local police services under contract in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Quebec . Despite its name, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are no longer an actual mounted police service, and horses are used only at ceremonial events and certain other occasions. The Government of Canada considers

5900-439: The Canadian government in the wake of the attacks. The pistols were a .40-caliber Glock 23 and a 9mm Ruger P89 . Further information on the firearms and ammunition was released by court orders in December. The Mini-14 was the firearm Wortman acquired from his former associate's estate, having been imported into Canada and legally purchased in a Winnipeg gun store beforehand. A Canadian gun policy expert said that, while

6018-400: The Customs Preventive Service (CPS), a branch of the Department of National Revenue, was folded into the RCMP at the request of RCMP leadership. In 1935, the RCMP, acting as the provincial police service for Saskatchewan (but against the wishes of the Saskatchewan government) and in collaboration with the Regina Police Service , attempted to arrest organizers of the On-to-Ottawa Trek in

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6136-410: The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is reportedly investigating a shooting incident at Edmonton City Hall concerning a Canadian Corps of Commissionaires (CCC) employee named Bezhani Sarvar alongside an INSET unit. Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police ( RCMP ; French : Gendarmerie royale du Canada ; GRC ) is the national police service of Canada. The RCMP

6254-399: The Mafia. In 1932, RCMP members killed Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper of Rat River , after a shoot-out. Johnson had been the subject of a dispute with local Indigenous trappers—he had reportedly destroyed their traps, harassed them verbally, and on one occasion, pointed a firearm at them—and, when confronted with a search warrant, opened fire on RCMP officers, wounding one. Also in 1932,

6372-444: The Onslow-Belmont fire hall (set up as a shelter for victims from Portapique), two RCMP officers mistook an emergency management officer for Wortman and opened fire without warning. They missed their target and continued their manhunt without checking on the occupants of the fire hall. Wortman was recorded on surveillance video passing through Truro at around 10:20, and then Millbrook First Nation at 10:25, where he briefly stopped in

6490-571: The Portapique area to stay inside with their doors locked, as officers set up a search perimeter of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Overnight, there was still confusion over whether Wortman had been apprehended and if he was the driver of the apparent police car. At the time, the RCMP was unable to use a helicopter to assist in the manhunt because their only Atlantic-based helicopter was unavailable due to routine maintenance. The RCMP later determined that Wortman had left Portapique at around 22:45, 19 minutes after police first responded, by driving through

6608-447: The Portapique attacks. Before then, residents reported seeing little to no law enforcement presence in the area, despite seeing fires and making 9-1-1 calls to report gunshots. By 01:00, the RCMP had circulated internal bulletins to police agencies across Nova Scotia, identifying Wortman as a suspect who was "armed and dangerous" and associated with "an old white police car". At 05:43, Wortman left Debert and drove north on Highway 4 to

6726-467: The RCMP acknowledged that the three cooperated in the investigation and had "no prior knowledge" of Wortman's actions. Their arraignment was scheduled for January 27, 2021. On that day, the cases were adjourned until March 9, 2021. Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) announced it would conduct an investigation into the police shooting of Wortman, as well as another incident involving two RCMP officers who discharged their weapons inside

6844-451: The RCMP announced that an INSET unit arrested an unnamed individual with officers from the Ontario Provincial Police Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section (OPP PATS) and the Windsor Police Service for contributing to terrorist activity. In April 2022, several unnamed RCMP officers resigned from an INSET unit after they were ordered to arrest a suspect by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service without being told why. On January 24, 2024,

6962-400: The RCMP at the time. During the federal government's imposition of municipal-style elected councils on First Nations, the RCMP raided the government buildings of particularly resistant traditional hereditary chiefs' councils and oversaw the subsequent council elections – the Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council was originally referred to as the "Mounties Council" as

7080-408: The RCMP detachment at Windsor and 16 U.S. Coast Guard boarding officers from stations in Michigan ride in each other's vessels. The intent was to allow for seamless enforcement of the international border. On December 6, 2006, RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned after admitting that his earlier testimony about the Maher Arar case was inaccurate. The RCMP's actions were scrutinized by

7198-416: The RCMP historically resembled the Texas Rangers in many ways: each protected the established order by confining and removing Indigenous peoples; tightly controlling the mixed-blood peoples (the African Americans in Texas and the Métis in Canada); assisting the large-scale ranchers against the small-scale ranchers and farmers who fenced the land; and breaking the power of labour unions that tried to organize

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7316-406: The RCMP in the summer of 2013 for assaulting his spouse and having a cache of illegal firearms, but they declined to take firmer action due to not receiving a complaint from the partner. The former neighbour ended up leaving Portapique after Wortman became more aggressive and threatening to his spouse in response to the complaint. The RCMP confirmed they had received the neighbour's complaint but that

7434-404: The RCMP in their investigations. She helped establish the first RCMP forensic laboratory in 1937, and later was its director for several years. In addition to her forensic work, McGill also provided training to new RCMP and police recruits in forensic detection methods. Upon her retirement in 1946, McGill was appointed honorary surgeon to the RCMP and continued to act as a dedicated consultant for

7552-427: The RCMP infiltrated ethnic or political groups considered to be dangerous to Canada. These included the Communist Party of Canada (founded in 1921) and a variety of Indigenous, minority cultural, and nationalist groups. The service was also deeply involved in immigration matters, and was responsible for deporting suspected radicals. The RCMP paid particular attention to nationalist and socialist Ukrainian groups and

7670-417: The RCMP to be an unofficial national symbol, and in 2013, 87 per cent of Canadians interviewed by Statistics Canada said that the RCMP was important to their national identity. However, the service has faced criticism for its broad mandate, and its public perception in Canada has gradually soured since the 1990s, worn down by workplace culture lawsuits, several high-profile scandals, staffing shortages, and

7788-435: The RCMP was learning how to better manage transitions to local policing from contract policing. Similar transitions have been proposed, debated, or approved in some Alberta First Nations, rural Manitoba , and rural New Brunswick . As the federal police service, the RCMP has had an expansive and controversial role in colonization. One of the RCMP's two preceding agencies—the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP)—had enjoyed

7906-487: The RCMP's contract policing program. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino was mandated to conduct a review of RCMP contract policing when he took office in 2022. In June 2021, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien found that the RCMP had broken Canadian privacy law through hundreds of illegal searches using Clearview AI . In February 2022, four men were arrested near Coutts, Alberta , for their roles in an alleged conspiracy to kill RCMP officers during

8024-406: The RCMP's involvement in contract policing. Later that year, the force established a new direct-entry program for federal policing candidates. Those recruited for the program will be required to complete a shorter, more focussed 14-week training curriculum in Ottawa before being posted to a federal policing position. As of 2024, the implementation is suspended due to concerns raised by unions. In

8142-413: The areas affected had poor cellular Internet service and were mostly populated by seniors who might not have used social media. Relatives of the victims pointed out that the use of Alert Ready could have saved lives. Chief Superintendent Leather said an investigation would be conducted into the decision-making process on alerting the public. On April 22, Leather said officers in Dartmouth were asked by

8260-417: The attacks. The attacks originated in the rural beachside community of Portapique , 130 kilometres (81 mi) north of Halifax , when Wortman assaulted his partner at their cottage. During the assault, he poured gasoline throughout the cottage and set the residence on fire. Wortman then forced his partner to walk to their nearby warehouse and confined her in the back seat of his replica RCMP cruiser. She

8378-472: The country to respond to serious incidents requiring a tactical police response. In 1986, in the wake of the 1985 Turkish embassy attack in Ottawa and the bombing of Air India Flight 182 , the Canadian government directed the RCMP to form the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT), a full-time counter-terrorism unit. In the early 1990s, journalists at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 's The Fifth Estate opened an investigation into rumours that

8496-468: The deadliest shooting rampage in Canadian history, exceeding the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal , where fourteen women were killed. Police were criticized for not using Alert Ready to warn the public about the unfolding attacks, as well as not responding to reports of Wortman's previous behaviour and acts of violence. An investigation into law enforcement's response to the rampage, including

8614-520: The decision not to use Alert Ready, was launched. A public inquiry into the law enforcement response was declared on July 28, 2020, following escalating criticism of the investigation's lack of transparency. On May 1, 2020, in the wake of the attacks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , following through on a 2019 campaign promise, announced an immediate ban on some 1,500 makes and models of " military-grade assault-style " weapons, including two of

8732-449: The details, saying that evidence was obtained from only one of the hundreds of people interviewed in the case. On December 4, Wortman's spouse, her older brother, and a brother-in-law were charged with providing Wortman ammunition that he used in the attacks. The spouse was believed to have transferred .223 Remington and .40 Smith & Wesson cartridges, all of them purchased in Nova Scotia, between March 17 and April 18, 2020. However,

8850-473: The drug smuggling claims. Another witness claimed Wortman had two crates of grenades acquired in the U.S.; a lawyer representing the victims' families reported that one of his clients found, at a crime scene in Portapique, wooden ammunition cases that could have been used to store grenades. Additional witnesses told police that Wortman and an associate tended to travel to the U.S. and smuggle cigarettes, alcohol, and presumably other illegal items from there, using

8968-432: The early 2020s, the cities of Surrey, British Columbia , and Grande Prairie , Alberta, both established independent municipal police forces to replace the RCMP. In the wake of these decisions, and similar moves by the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan to establish supplementary provincial police services to support (and, according to some critics, eventually replace) the RCMP, Commissioner Mike Duheme indicated that

9086-470: The episode aired, and minutes before being interviewed by detectives with the RCMP's professional standards unit, Savoie committed suicide in his Ottawa office. One of Savoie's subordinates, Portuguese-Canadian constable Jorge Leite , was found guilty of corruption and breach of trust by a Portuguese court about his work with Savoie. In 1993, the SERT was transferred to the Canadian Forces , creating

9204-509: The federal government authorized the RCMP to enter into heavily subsidized contracts with provinces and municipalities, enabling the service to return to its roots in local policing. The federal government paid 60 per cent of the policing costs, while provinces and municipalities paid the remaining 40 per cent. By 1950, eight of the ten Canadian provinces had disbanded their provincial police services in favour of subsidized RCMP policing. As part of its national security and intelligence functions,

9322-574: The file had since been purged from their records. No motive has been established for the attacks. Over 25 different units of the RCMP were involved in the criminal investigation, along with the Halifax Regional Police and the Canada Border Services Agency . The Canadian Armed Forces were also dispatched on April 21 to assist the RCMP in their investigation by providing them with additional personnel and supplies. There were

9440-480: The fire. The woman's children took in the two sons of the first victims, and together they hid for several hours while on the phone with 9-1-1 waiting to be rescued. At 22:10, two of Wortman's neighbours drove to his house to investigate the fire while calling 9-1-1. Along the way, they passed by the house of a couple Wortman had shot and killed where they noticed what appeared to be a police car parked in front with its roof lights off. After confirming Wortman's house

9558-459: The five guns used in the attacks. The ban included the Ruger Mini-14, which Wortman obtained illegally within Canada, while the other four guns he used included a stolen pistol from an RCMP officer who he killed and three guns obtained illegally from the United States. On December 4, 2020, three people, including Wortman's partner, were charged with supplying him with ammunition later used in

9676-402: The flames or to help other victims. Some of the victims were not discovered until many hours later. One officer reported by radio that they could not locate the shooter and that "it's very bad, what's going on down here". The Fifth Estate reported that the first responding officers were "overwhelmed" and called for assistance in locating or engaging the shooter. First responders also found

9794-590: The head whilst struggling with him on the ground. Chief Adam was later charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer, but the charges were subsequently dropped. After watching the video of the arrest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "[w]e have all now seen the shocking video of Chief Adam's arrest and we must get to the bottom of this". Following the revelation of Chief Adam's arrest—as well as several other recent instances in which RCMP officers had assaulted or killed Indigenous people —RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki stated, after initially demurring on

9912-514: The hopes that they could be definitively refused entry to the service as "their colour would raise the question of policy." Both men ultimately passed the requisite tests, but neither was given an offer of employment. In the wake of the 1945 defection of Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko , who revealed that the Soviet Union was spying on Western nations, the RCMP separated its units responsible for domestic intelligence and counter-espionage from

10030-498: The interwar period, the RCMP employed special constables to assist with strikebreaking . For a brief period in the late 1930s, a volunteer militia group, the Legion of Frontiersmen , was affiliated with the RCMP. Many members of the RCMP belonged to this organization, which was prepared to serve as an auxiliary police service. In 1940, the RCMP schooner St. Roch facilitated the first effective patrol of Canada's Arctic territory. It

10148-415: The neighbours that Wortman shot at, who identified him by name, said he had gone towards the beach, and that there was another unmapped exit from the neighbourhood. They also informed the officers that Wortman was in a replica police vehicle, which was also previously reported by several 9-1-1 calls. At 23:32, the RCMP posted a tweet saying it was dealing with a "firearms complaint"; it asked residents of

10266-431: The other one discharged his pistol 12 times. The shooter was struck twice in the head, twice in the neck, seven times in the right arm, once in the left arm, and had 25 wounds to his torso. Wortman's death was confirmed by police at 11:40 a.m. According to a partially redacted document, Wortman's spouse said he had been on his way to Halifax before he was killed to "get" someone, and local authorities had to go to

10384-486: The others likely came from the United States. On June 25, 2022, the National Post reported on a briefing note sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau days after the shooting, which identified the four firearms owned by Wortman and used by him in the attacks. According to the note, the rifles were a Colt Law Enforcement Carbine and a Ruger Mini-14 , both of which were among the firearm models and variants banned by

10502-576: The prime minister and the governor general. The RCMP Security Service (RCMPSS) was a specialized political intelligence and counterintelligence branch with national security responsibilities following revelations of illegal covert operations relating to the Quebec separatist movement . As a result, the RCMPSS was replaced by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in 1984, and

10620-655: The property in Portapique that was subject to a dispute between Wortman and his uncle. The official list of victims can be found in the statement by Premier Tim Houston, read in the House of Assembly on April 14, 2022. The RCMP identified the perpetrator as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, a denturist who operated two clinics in Halifax and Dartmouth , and who owned real estate in Halifax , Dartmouth, and Portapique . His estate, which consisted of six properties and three corporations,

10738-461: The property. In 2015, Wortman's uncle lent him a house that he purchased in Portapique while selling his Edmonton condominium. Wortman refused to release the property back to him, claiming he was owed money, until the uncle eventually sold it; one of the buyers later became a victim in the killings. Witnesses described Wortman as paranoid, manipulative, and controlling. According to Wortman's uncle, Wortman and his mother were abused by his father,

10856-451: The question, that systemic racism exists in the RCMP: "I do know that systemic racism is part of every institution, the RCMP included", she said. One day earlier, Trudeau had also stated that "[s]ystemic racism is an issue right across the country, in all our institutions, including in all our police services, including in the RCMP." RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson was killed while responding to

10974-551: The rifle. After the attacks, the decorative signs on Wortman's denture clinic on Portland Street in Dartmouth, portraying a large smile and a set of dentures, were the subject of complaints from the public. In response, Halifax Regional Police removed the signs on April 22. The building was demolished in January 2022. Wortman had previously pleaded guilty to assault in 2002 and was sentenced to nine months of probation , in which he

11092-433: The road, kilometre-by-kilometre, over days, dismantling fortified checkpoints and making arrests. The RCMP's enforcement of a court injunction against the occupiers in 2020 sparked international controversy and protests and, as of 2022, sporadic occupations and protests—some violent—have continued at the site. In the 1920s, Saskatchewan provincial pathologist Frances Gertrude McGill began providing forensic assistance to

11210-454: The schools, sometimes by force, as per the Indian Act and as was common for truant non-Indigenous children through the same period. Marcel-Eugène LeBeuf stated in his report for the RCMP that records and oral histories indicate the force "was responding, in its most traditional police role, to a request to protect children" and that abuses within the school system were largely unreported to

11328-424: The service up until her deatj in 1959. 2020 Nova Scotia attacks On April 18 and 19, 2020, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman committed multiple shootings and set fires at sixteen locations in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia , killing twenty-two people and injuring three others before he was shot and killed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the community of Enfield . The attacks are

11446-456: The service's handling of incidents like the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks . The treatment of First Nations people by the RCMP has also been criticized. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was formed in 1920 by the amalgamation of two separate federal police services: the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP), which had been responsible for colonial policing in the Canadian West , but by 1920

11564-563: The service's intelligence duties be removed in favour of the creation of a separate intelligence agency, the CSIS. The RCMP and the CSIS nonetheless continue to share responsibility for some law enforcement activities in the contemporary era, particularly in the anti-terrorism context. Due to 9/11 , the RCMP Sky Marshals , which is charged with security on passenger aircraft, was inaugurated in 2002. Four RCMP officers were fatally shot during

11682-480: The stolen vehicle Wortman was driving in Enfield. Four of them belonged to Wortman: two semiautomatic handguns and two semiautomatic rifles, one of which was described as a "military-style assault rifle". The fifth was Stevenson's stolen service pistol, a 9mm Smith & Wesson . Police also said that while one of Wortman's firearms had originated in Canada, via the estate of a former associate who died in 2009, all of

11800-422: The timeline of events, and both observed a myriad of failures and shortcomings in the RCMP response. A criminologist criticized the RCMP's response as "a mess" and called for an overhaul in how the agency responds to active shooter situations, after they had failed to properly respond to other such incidents in the past. In the early 2020s, several governments, politicians, and scholars recommended terminating

11918-453: The victims were found in the remains of structure fires. Wortman also killed two dogs and injured two others. According to RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki , some of Wortman's first victims were closely connected to him, but over time, those he attacked were selected more at random. The Globe and Mail reported that one of the victims in Wentworth had previously gone hunting with Wortman, while CBC News reported that another victim owned

12036-491: The weeks before the attacks, Wortman liquidated his bank accounts and withdrew a large sum of money in cash. News magazine Maclean's reported that a CA$ 475,000 withdrawal from Brink's and other evidence pointed to Wortman having ties to organised crime and being a confidential informant for the RCMP. In response to the allegations, the RCMP denied having any prior association with Wortman, saying his recent behaviour and stockpiling activities were driven by paranoia about

12154-459: The workers of industrial corporations. From 1920 (1933, with respect to the Indian Act ) to 1996, RCMP officers served as truant officers for Indian residential schools , including through the transition of students from federal residential to provincial day schools after 1948, assisting principals, staff, Indian agents , relatives, and members of the communities in bringing truant children to

12272-468: Was "well-armed" in advance. According to his yearbook , Wortman aspired to become a police officer. However, his partner informed police after the attacks that Wortman disliked law enforcement and "thought he was better than them". He had a hobby of buying law enforcement memorabilia and refurbishing old police cruisers. At the time of the attacks, he was in possession of four such cruisers. Police found two of them on fire at his Portapique property and

12390-445: Was able to escape and then hid in the woods until early the next morning. Wortman then set the warehouse on fire. Beginning at 22:01, a number of Portapique residents called 9-1-1 to report gunshots and several fires. Investigative reporting by CBC News 's The Fifth Estate examining the timeline of the events found that the first call came from the wife of a victim. The woman was then shot and killed as well while barricading

12508-572: Was becoming "rapidly obsolete;" and the Dominion Police , which was responsible for federal law enforcement, intelligence, and parliamentary security. The new police service inherited the paramilitary , frontline policing-oriented culture that had governed the RNWMP, which had been modelled after the Royal Irish Constabulary , but much of the RCMP's local policing role had been superseded by provincial and municipal police services. In 1928,

12626-458: Was eventually found by paramedics and was transported to hospital. Wortman proceeded less than 500 metres (1,600 ft) south into the junction with Route 224 and collided head-on with Stevenson, who was driving north. Stevenson then engaged Wortman, resulting in him returning fire and killing her. Immediately after the engagement, he stole her sidearm and remaining ammunition before setting both cars on fire. Wortman then shot and killed

12744-491: Was for his own protection, while another confirmed he loaned the Ruger P89 to Wortman "sometime within the last two to five years." An acquaintance also told police that the Colt was obtained at a gun show in the U.S. by an individual who gave it to a friend of Wortman's, who then gave it to Wortman himself. The Colt and both pistols were previously classified as restricted in Canada, meaning Wortman would have needed to complete

12862-572: Was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic , which forced all non-essential denturist services in Nova Scotia to close. According to his spouse, Wortman, who took her across Nova Scotia in the hours before the attacks, had been "consumed" by the pandemic for weeks and believed he was going to die. He was also fearful that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would begin controlling money, which prompted him to make hefty bank withdrawals. Additionally, Wortman communicated with an acquaintance via email about how other people were not prepared for it and how he

12980-462: Was on fire, the two drove back and encountered the same police car fleeing the scene of another house fire. As they pulled alongside the police car, Wortman fired at them with a handgun, hitting the driver in the shoulder. The two fled in their vehicle. When the first three RCMP officers arrived on the scene at 22:26, they slowly entered the neighbourhood on foot, eventually finding some of the victims. Police said many had died while trying to escape

13098-513: Was predetermined. Wortman is believed to have worked on refurbishing the decommissioned police vehicle used in the attacks over the course of nine months. The RCMP determined the decals used for the vehicle came from a supplier, but that they were made without the business owner's permission. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada , a Canadian money-laundering watchdog agency, found that Wortman purchased police-themed vehicle accessories via PayPal , and that PayPal flagged

13216-401: Was prohibited from possessing weapons and ordered to undergo anger management counselling. Wortman was also involved in two civil lawsuits regarding property disputes according to interviews and public records. In 2004, he offered to help a friend who had financial difficulties and was about to lose his house. Wortman then discreetly took ownership of the house, evicted the man, and sold

13334-624: Was publicly identified as the suspect at 08:54. Wortman eventually set the house he was staying in on fire. As he left, he killed a neighbour who had been out for a walk who saw the fire and tried to help. Wortman then began driving back south on Highway 4 toward Portapique at 09:23, and at 09:35, he shot and killed another victim while she was walking on the side of the road in Wentworth Valley . At around 09:45, he went to another house in Glenholme whose residents he knew, while armed and dressed in

13452-407: Was recoloured white and stripped of its police accessories at the time of its purchase, a routine process for any recently decommissioned RCMP vehicle. Police confirmed Wortman had estranged relatives who were retired RCMP officers, but he had not obtained any police uniforms from them. The RCMP looked into the navigation logs of Wortman's vehicles to determine if the route he took during the attacks

13570-462: Was seen near a campground in Glenholme. Before 10:00, in Debert, Wortman performed two traffic stops on random cars, a few hundred metres apart, and killed their occupants. He was seen at 10:08 travelling through Debert and Onslow . In a tweet posted at 10:17, the RCMP for the first time warned the public that Wortman was impersonating a police officer and shared the photo of his vehicle. At

13688-633: Was seized from the remains of Wortman's cottage after the attacks. A financial audit has been conducted as part of the investigation. On July 27, court documents were unsealed, detailing police interviews with witnesses who claimed Wortman was a drug smuggler who provided people in Portapique and nearby unincorporated community of Economy with drugs from Maine . These witnesses alleged Wortman had stockpiles of guns and drugs, along with false walls and hidden compartments, in his properties. The RCMP confirmed three days later that Wortman had kept hidden compartments in buildings, but they were unable to corroborate

13806-534: Was the first vessel to navigate the Northwest Passage from west to east, taking two years, the first to navigate the passage in one season (from Halifax to Vancouver in 1944), the first to sail either way through the passage in one season, and the first to circumnavigate North America (1950). In 1941, two African-Canadian men from Nova Scotia applied to join the RCMP. The commissioner at the time, Stuart Wood , allegedly allowed them to sit for entrance tests in

13924-520: Was valued at CA$ 2.1   million. Wortman had been normally living above his Dartmouth clinic, but he owned a cottage in Portapique beginning in 2004. He had a close friendship and business association with a former Fredericton lawyer who died in November 2009 and left him all of his possessions, including one of the rifles used in the attacks. Wortman did not have a possession and acquisition licence , which would have been needed to legally possess

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