Photo: RCMP unit on Wet’suwet’en territory, November 2021. Photo by Michael Toledano.
CBC News reports: “A years-long investigation into a special RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] unit that polices protests against resource extraction in British Columbia is finished but can’t be finalized because the RCMP’s oversight body has been without a chairperson for more than a year.”
The article further notes: “The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) … recently announced the completion of a systemic investigation into the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), which drew national attention in 2019 when the unit launched a large-scale enforcement action against Wet’suwet’en-led opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline.”
The article quotes Meghan McDermott, policy director for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, who says: “The longer it’s gone on, the more absurd it is. …To see month after month go by, and that there’s no announcements being made, is just devastating. It’s devastating from the perspective of police accountability, rule of law, just timely access to remedies.”
It also quotes Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), who said in an emailed statement: “The failure to finalize this investigation due to the absence of a federal appointment is reprehensible. …Delaying oversight only reinforces the need for decisive action, and Canada must act now to restore accountability and uphold its commitments to Indigenous Peoples.”
Peace Brigades International-Canada continue to follow this.
Further reading
–Watchdog’s report on controversial RCMP unit delayed due to lack of chairperson (CBC News, April 7, 2026)
–CRCC systemic investigation into the RCMP C-IRG now completed, but unreleased due to “absence of a decision-maker” (PBI-Canada article, March 19, 2026)
–PBI-Canada continues to monitor the pending FIDs for major projects, the implications for land and environmental defenders (PBI-Canada article, March 13, 2026).
