Yes, thank you.
Good morning. I'm very pleased to be able to participate in this discussion about the changes. I will keep my remarks short and provide you with a view of this bill through the eyes of an experienced police officer.
I have just over 31 years in the RCMP. Most recently, I served as a media relations officer for K Division—that's the province of Alberta. I retired as a sergeant about two months ago. But I just want to stress to you today that I speak as an individual with policing experience and not as a representative of the RCMP.
During my service, in addition to general policing, I've been involved in several major events: the 1984 visit of the Pope to Alberta, the Calgary Olympics in 1988, two royal visits, several VIP visits, the G-20 finance ministers meeting in Ottawa in 2001, and two G-8s—the 2002 in Kananaskis and the 2010 in Ontario. I want to outline those experiences, because they have provided me with a pretty close look at the evolution of public protests with policing.
My greatest experience in major events came during the Kananaskis G-8. I was in charge of the RCMP public affairs communications team. Our focus was to provide the public with as much information as possible about all security aspects of the event, bearing in mind the need to ensure the safety of the venues and of the internationally protected persons who were attending.
As you will recall, the release of the Hughes report on the 1997 APEC summit and the 9/11 tragedy in New York both occurred during the planning for that G-8. Those two events caused our planning team to take great consideration of the public's right to protest versus the need for tight and intense security.
It became very apparent that our security planning had to include the greatest possible ability for public protest to occur, but also we had to be ready to react if and when criminal acts occurred. I'm pleased to remind this committee that the G-8 was considered very successful, as there was significant public protest but a minimum level of criminal acts and arrests. I think that came because of a high level of communication between legitimate protesters and the security personnel.
Research has found that at a major event there are essentially four groups of protesters. The first are citizens who would never consider committing, or even abiding by, a criminal act but are simply there to make their views known. The second is the largest group of citizens. They also want to express their views but simply would not interfere if a criminal incident were to take place in front of them. The third group essentially is also there to protest, but more seriously, and would likely encourage or perhaps even participate in some criminal activity.
I believe this legislation is focused on those who are members of the fourth group—those who have really little or no interest in making a point of view known but simply come to an event just so they can commit criminal acts, with little chance of retribution. These people come equipped with weapons, disguises, changes of clothing, masks, communication devices, but most importantly, an intent to get away with acts that on a normal day would result in detection, arrest, and a charge.
Recently it's become very apparent that the fourth group has become aware that they could be identified through closed-circuit TV and images captured by people on digital cameras or cellphones. This awareness has been noted through surveillance of those people. They arrive on the scene dressed in normal street clothing, change into other clothing—usually black—and then put on a mask to commit assaults and property damage. They then change back into street clothing, remove the mask, and blend into the crowd.
If these people know enough to recognize how important it is to put a mask on for success as a criminal, then I believe this legislation is just as important, as it will recognize their use of a disguise and hopefully impede their ability to conceal their identity.
I believe the right of free speech is a critical component of being a citizen of Canada. But I likewise believe that this right has been hijacked on occasion by a very small number of people who distract the public's attention from important points of view because of their criminal actions.
From a law enforcement point of view, the ability to make an arrest of a masked individual during a declared riot or unlawful assembly is very important, since that action, itself, is illegal. Enforcement, then, would not have to wait until they commit a further criminal act and only then try to identify the suspect.
The vast majority of protesters, in my experience, do not want to create or participate in a riot, but their wishes are lost when violence occurs.
The majority of people attending a protest do not wear masks, as they have no need or desire to do so. They are there to get their voices heard. It is generally only those with an intent to do a criminal act who come equipped with some form of disguise.
For a peace officer to use this proposed law, there must be specific circumstances occurring. Number one, obviously there has to be a declared riot or unlawful assembly. Number two, there has to be an individual wearing a mask or a disguise. And number three, there has to be no apparent lawful excuse for that person to be wearing that mask.
If a peace officer makes the decision to make an arrest, then their actions are certainly open to review by the justice system, and, if deemed unreasonable, there would be a dismissal of charges. Law enforcement personnel are very aware that the courts review their actions. I am confident that any unreasonable use of this proposed law would result in not guilty findings.
In conclusion, I believe these changes to the Criminal Code would be providing a tool to peace officers trying to quell riot situations and to identify and arrest those who are doing criminal acts. In addition, most importantly, it would also strengthen the ability of the majority of protesters to have their voices heard through the arrest of those who distract and interfere with peaceful protest.
Thank you for your attention. I'll do my best to answer your questions.