Photo: RCMP C-IRG raid on Wet’suwet’en territory, January 2019. Photo by Michael Toledano.
The long-awaited report on the systemic investigation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) is expected to be released before October 15, 2026.
A spokesperson for the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) has previously told PBI-Canada: “The Interim Chairperson [Brent Cotter] is expected to make a decision on the report and provide it to the Minister of Public Safety and the RCMP Commissioner.”
Cotter was appointed on April 15, 2026, for a six-month term that would end by October 15, 2026, less than eight weeks from now.
Peace Brigades International-Canada has been following the CRCC systemic investigation of the C-IRG, now renamed the Critical Response Unit-British Columbia/ CRU-BC, since it was launched on March 9, 2023.
The CRCC systemic investigation promised a detailed examination of RCMP procedures, a review to see C-IRG guidelines are consistent the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, if C-IRG operations are carried out in accordance with legal standards, and, where appropriate, if C-IRG actions are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The systemic investigation was to specifically examine C-IRG operations in three sites, including its actions on Wet’suwet’en territory in response to Indigenous land defenders resisting the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
The report outlining the investigative findings by the CRCC was completed by March 18, 2026, just over five months ago, but could not be released due to the vacancy in the position of CRCC chairperson.
It remains to be seen if the report will have any impact on C-IRG/CRU-BC operations in the coming months. Land defenders are expected to peacefully resist the construction of the proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline on Gitanyow and Gitxsan territories in northern British Columbia.
On August 12, 2026, CBC News reported: “A positive final investment decision would see construction start on the facility and pipeline in early 2027.”
We continue to follow this.
