Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express grave concern about published reports in today's paper concerning revelations over the RCMP's spying activities on black civil rights leaders in the province of Nova Scotia during the 1960s and 1970s.
The documents were released only after an access to information request by a Nova Scotia newspaper. Although highly censored they still contain unacceptable racial stereotypical references to blacks such as portraying black women as prolific child bearers and black men as layabouts and thieves.
This whole episode would be disturbing enough if these reports were written by any RCMP surveillance officer. However some of the most racially insensitive comments were in reports by Mr. William Higgitt who went on to become the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
I ask the Solicitor General today to personally undertake a review of all of the uncensored documentation relating to this issue in an effort to search out and if found, stamp out any institutionalized racism in Canada's federal forces, the RCMP and CSIS.