A proposed class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Indigenous people in North Canada alleging RCMP discrimination will reportedly be expanded.
The RCMP discrimination class action lawsuit currently alleges $600 million in damages. According to one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the case, about 50 potential Class Members have already been in contact.
Cabin Radio reportedly spoke with the plaintiffs’ lawyer, who said that all of the potential Class Members have described instances of excessive use of force and harassment by RCMP officers.
“You’ve got kids walking down the street in a small northern community being basically harassed, ultimately arrested for nothing other than doing what they’re legally entitled to do,” the lawyer told Cabin Radio reporters. “Can you imagine walking down the street, not doing anything wrong – maybe you’ve had a beer, maybe you haven’t, maybe you stumbled, maybe you didn’t – but just going about your business and then being harassed by the RCMP?”
The lead plaintiffs come from Hay River and Tuktoyaktuk, located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, as well as Gjoa Haven in Nunavut. The complaint alleges that Indigenous and Aboriginal people are subject to regular assaults by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The lead plaintiff, a teenaged boy, and his legal guardian live in Tuktoyaktuk, a small town located in the Northwest Territories. The plaintiff says that he was subject to assault and arrest by RCMP officers in 2017 at the age of 15.
According to the complaint, the boy was riding his snowmobile with friends when they were stopped by RCMP officers. The boy says he answered all of the officers’ questions, but, for no reason, they pushed him down, put him in a chokehold, and assaulted him, calling him a “Native punk kid” and other hateful names. The plaintiff says he was arrested and detained and, following his release, had to receive medical attention for injuries sustained during the arrest.
Additionally, subsequent to the arrest, the plaintiff and his legal guardian allege that RCMP officers would drive by their home, harassing them until they called to complain.
The proposed RCMP discrimination class action lawsuit says that the RCMP as an organization has known that alleged discrimination and events of assault take place regularly, but has taken no measures to stop or prevent them.
“This isn’t a claim saying every RCMP officer is bad or even the majority, but rather they’re operating in a system which is bad,” a lawyer representing the plaintiffs told Cabin Radio.
According to the RCMP discrimination class action lawsuit, the policing agency has exclusive jurisdiction in the territories of Canada, including the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon Territory, and is responsible for the alleged use of excessive force and harassment of the area’s residents, the majority of whom are Aboriginal people, by its officers. RCMP officers are bound to a Code of Conduct, points out the complaint, including a mandate to “not engage in discrimination or harassment.”
In addition, the RCMP must follow the Criminal Code, including a provision that officers refrain from use of force that is intended to or could cause harm only when necessary for self-preservation or the protection of others from death or grievous bodily harm.
“In practice, the RCMP regularly breaches its mandate to treat Aboriginal Persons in a non-discriminatory manner,” alleges the proposed RCMP discrimination class action lawsuit. “RCMP Officers and other agents of the RCMP regularly discriminate against Aboriginal Persons by employing excessive and unnecessary force, by arresting or detaining Aboriginal Persons for no reason and by using hateful speech and language in the course of policing in the Territories.”
The complaint contends that Aboriginal people in the territories are subject to detainment, arrest, assault, and use of excessive force at the hands of RCMP officers at much higher rates than non-Aboriginal people.
Further, the RCMP discrimination class action lawsuit says that leading officials knew of the RCMP’s discriminatory practices affecting Aboriginal people in the territories. Indeed, the RCMP has attempted to implement diversity training and other initiatives to address discrimination, but to no avail. The complaint points out that in 2015 the RCMP Commissioner acknowledged that it employed racist officers.
“It is well known in the territories that Aboriginal persons are improperly targeted by the RCMP on the basis of their race, ancestry and beliefs,” alleges the complaint. “None of these initiatives or reports have impacted RCMP practices in the Territories.”
This RCMP discrimination class action lawsuit comes at a time when Canadians are calling for increased scrutiny of the police force, including calls to defund the police. Advocates say that public funds could be better used by social services to help combat the community ills that result in police action and, sometimes, allegations of police brutality and excessive use of force.
Have you suffered excessive use of force or harassment by an RCMP officer because of your race? Tell us what happened in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Kirk M. Baert, James Sayce, and Janeta Zurakowski of Koskie Minsky, LLP and Steven Cooper of Cooper Regel.
The RCMP Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Nasogaluak v. Attorney General of Canada, Case No. T-2158-18, in the Federal Court of Canada.
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One thought on RCMP Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit Expected to Expand
me and two of girls six and seven at the time had a cop draw his gun on us