District of Squamish Council asks local RCMP detachment to appear before council to address concerns about the C-IRG

Published by Brent Patterson on October 10, 2024October 10, 2024

Video of presentation and debate (starting at 8:04).

The Squamish Reporter reports: “Spencer Fitschen and Maryam Adrangi of the Rising Tide Squamish appeared before the council [on September 24] to present a motion to the Squamish council, calling for a formal rejection of the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police/RCMP] Critical Response Unit-British Columbia (CRU-BC), formerly known as the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG).”

The article continues: “The motion presented to the council calls for the District of Squamish to communicate to the RCMP that the CRU’s presence would not be recognized as contributing to public safety. It also requests that taxpayer funding for the unit be withdrawn and that a public accountability forum be established to ensure transparency regarding the RCMP’s response to public protests.”

Adrangi says: “This is a highly militarized arm of the RCMP, and its playbook was developed by a former U.S. military strategist in Iraq and Afghanistan. There have been over 500 formal complaints against the unit, which is currently under systemic investigation by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC).”

As the CBC journalist Brett Forester has previously reported: “More than 100 grievances accepted for investigation contain allegations of excessive force, illegal tactics, unprofessional behaviour, racism, discrimination and charter violations by the force’s Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG).”

Adrangi adds: “The BC Civil Liberties Association and over 70 other groups have raised serious concerns about the CRU’s conduct. We don’t need this type of militarized policing here in Squamish. Their actions have been documented, including holding Indigenous women at gunpoint and engaging in acts of violence. This is not what keeps our community safe.”

The text of the motion.

Photo: District of Squamish Council (l-r): John French, Andrew Hamilton, Eric Andersen, Armand Hurford, Lauren Greenlaw, Jenna Stoner, Chris Pettingill.

The news report notes that Councillors Chris Pettingill and Lauren Greenlaw expressed some nuanced concerns about the C-IRG, while Councillor Andrew Hamilton cautioned against local government overreach.

The article concludes: “The council passed a motion asking the local Squamish RCMP detachment to appear before the council and speak on the issue.”

Excerpt from Minutes of September 24, 2024, meeting.

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