Evidence of meeting #9 for Justice and Human Rights in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was gang.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Kimberly Fussey  Director, Inland Enforcement, Prairie Region, Canada Border Services Agency
Robert Bonnefoy  Warden, Stony Mountain Institution, Correctional Service Canada
John Ferguson  Officer in Charge, Drugs and Integrated Organized Crime, D Division, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Robert Bazin  Officer in Charge, Border Integrity, D Division, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Clive Weighill  Chief of Police, Saskatoon Police Service
Jim Poole  Winnipeg Police Service
Tim Van der Hoek  Senior Project Manager, Preventive Security and Intelligence, National Headquarters, Correctional Service Canada
Nick Leone  Winnipeg Police Service

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Was the agency a legitimate agency originally, or was it set up to...?

3:05 p.m.

Insp John Ferguson

Yes, it was a legitimate agency that was receiving its funding through, I believe, a church here in Winnipeg.

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

You said it was government funded.

3:05 p.m.

Insp John Ferguson

That's correct. The funding was coming from the government.

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

But it was based in a church...?

3:05 p.m.

Insp John Ferguson

I don't know if Constable Leone might have a little bit more information, because I'm not exactly sure of its structure. It was an agency developed to help gang members. Their funding was received from the federal government through a local church. How they established themselves, I'm not quite sure.

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Do you have any idea how long they functioned before they were infiltrated?

3:05 p.m.

Insp John Ferguson

It was quite a while. I don't have the information with me, but it was a year, possibly, if not longer.

3:05 p.m.

Constable Nick Leone Winnipeg Police Service

I have to agree. I think the initial funding was coming through a legitimate organization, and then this group set up their own committee to handle the funds themselves. That's where there were issues.

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

How long did it go on before they were caught?

3:05 p.m.

Insp John Ferguson

At least a year, if not longer.

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Is there any evidence, or other investigations currently going on, of a similar type of attempted infiltration, or successful infiltration?

3:05 p.m.

Insp John Ferguson

Not to that scale, no, not that I'm aware of.

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Inspector Poole, you raised it as well in terms of corruption of criminal justice figures. We've heard both in Toronto and in Edmonton in these last two days of meetings that there are either investigations going on or suspicions that there may have been penetration into police forces or the criminal justice agencies and staff. Have there been any charges here of criminal justice people, or other investigations going on?

3:05 p.m.

Insp Jim Poole

I'm not sure I raised that.... Infiltration into the government?

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

I thought you did. Oh, maybe it was intimidation.

3:05 p.m.

Insp Jim Poole

Yes, it was intimidation.

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Has it been successful? Were there investigations that were compromised, or practices compromised, as a result of intimidation of those figures?

3:05 p.m.

Cst Nick Leone

I can say we've conducted investigations into members within the Winnipeg Police Service who we believe were corrupted by organized crime and were using their influence as police officers to further these organizations, yes.

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

What about on the intimidation side?

3:05 p.m.

Cst Nick Leone

That's always an issue for us. We have difficulty in getting our witnesses to come forward. That's always a problem.

3:10 p.m.

Insp Jim Poole

But against the judiciary, we've laid charges in some incidents where they've been intimidated.

3:10 p.m.

Cst Nick Leone

Absolutely.

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

All the way up to judges.

3:10 p.m.

Cst Nick Leone

We've had crown attorneys who've had home invasions and that sort of thing by gang members.