(Ottawa) The federal government continues to call on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to stop using two crowd control tools that are common in police arsenals across the country: rubber bullets and tear gas CS.
The office of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirms that it wants the use of these tools banned, although the RCMP refuses to say whether it intends to follow these instructions.
The National Police Federation – the union that represents RCMP officers – says the removal of these tools should raise concerns about the safety of the public and officers.
The RCMP recently came under fire for continuing to use a controversial neck hold. Minister Mendicino had ordered Commissioner Brenda Lucki to ban police from using this method in a mandate letter last year.
Activist El Jones believes that the RCMP’s refusal to comply with the Minister’s request demonstrates that there is a serious problem of accountability within the police.