Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 26, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba August 19s1 civil rights advocate slams Mcdonald report by of Iii Cote the Mcdonald report on ramp wrongdoing received favourable response from a total Law enforcement official yesterday Bat Drew harsh cism from a civil rights the made Public masted the ramp for a series of illegal operations but recommended that cer Tain Laws be changed which could similar activities to continue in the what started out As a breath of fresh air has ended in a report with ominous lawyer Grant Mit a member of the Manitoba association for rights and civil liberties Laid summing up his feelings on the it looks As though they Are trying to Security revisions proposed Ottawa up Many canadians and foreigners would have a Chance for the first time to Challenge ramp find Ings that they Are a Security risk to the country under proposals made yester Day by the Royal commission on the the commission recommends Crea Tion of a a Security appeals tribunal to hear cases of per sons barred from Public service jobs or denied status As a Canadian immigrant or refugee for Security Rea tens of thousands of Public service Job applicants Are subject to ramp Security investigations each year and those who Are rejected for Security reasons often Are not let alone Given the right to immigrants denied citizenship status for Security reasons have no existing Appeal they simply have to wait two years and try the commissions the individuals reputation can be seriously damaged and the delay May be interim review cases the min court would absorb some of the Appeal procedures allowed now under immigration and refugee while it could overturn cases for Indi it also could review cases where the government rejected an ramp recommendation to Deport someone or deny them the right to permanent residence in the commission generally recommends Security clearance be denied to foreign terrorists and so called revolutionary subvert it recommends references to fascists and separatists per be be removed from Laws and in the Case of citizenship the Threeman commission split two Toone on the question of whether immigrants who Are consid ered revolutionary subversives should be denied citizenship for Security Mcdonald alone commissioners Rickerd and Guy both said so called revolutionary subversives should be denied citizenship but com Mission chairman Justice David Mcdonald of the Alberta supreme court said he is not so i am not convinced that it is Neces sary or in order to protect the Security of to refuse to Grant a person Canadian citizenship solely on the basis that he preaches violent overthrow of the government and May then proselytize others to his Point of Mcdonald said in a minority the commission recommends some changes in Security clearance affecting it says Security profiles should be prepared on countries where refugee crises Are Likely to Cana Dian Security rules Are relaxed or waived during mass humanitarian movements of while such flexibility is there is a danger that in the turbulent atmosphere of an International decisions might be made to reduce screening without an adequate consideration of the implications for the Secu Rity of the report ramp report legitimise what we Onet a instead of or meeting those who broke the Law they want to change the Law to conform with their he i would liked to have seen the commission come out in favor of the existing restrictions Oft violations of but from what in looks to me like there n going to be a far greater infringement of civil liberties dents could be avoided in the if what there doing is recommend ing that what was against the Law should now be lawful then its wone than doing nothing at he Manitoba attorney general Gerry Mercier waa unavailable for possible than Here was he said there was a feeling the Mcdonald commission would catalogue ramp wrongdoing and then make recommendations on How similar Inci Deputy Gordon contacted by Telephone in White horse where he to attending a Law reserved comment on the report Ray head of Manitoba ramp Security refused to cuss the report in detail but agreed that it was strange of the commission to criticize the ramp and then suggest that the Laws be changed to give the new Security Force More you asked the question but i disagree with he but John head of the provinces criminal prosecutions said he want surprised the commission re commended certain Laws be changed to broaden police what they Are laying is maybe there will have to be changes in the he maybe they ramp officers should have been doing it certain illegal Villei but at the time they were doing it the actions were against the Law Guy the criticism i have seen in the past is that of a Law enforcement body breaking the he now whether the Law was too restrictive to meet present l that is what the Mcdonald commission is say Titchell said he was generally pointed with the tone of the referring to a which would allow surreptitious entry into private premises during investigations into political Mitchell said it sounds As though wed be living in a police what be construed As political violence i he noted it was important to study specific details of the recommendations and How they Are Mitchell noted the recommendations could be interpreted to tighten up he Powers White still allowing the Force enough room to act in matters of National then 1 dont think its regressive for he said legislation that if a v Vitus h be 4 1 three blues White documents constitute the second and third the first part was made Public in the documents parts of the Mcdonald commission report released Are to be made available for Sale through politicians not immune to spying Ottawa up the ramp Security service spied on political parties up until about including the lib eral government of former Quebec Premier Robert the parti quebecois and even the Trudeau government the Mcdonald Royal commission said the headed by jus Tice David Mcdonald of the Alberta supreme described surveillance activities of these parties and the Waffle Wing of the new democratic party in the Early As beyond the mandate of the Force but not it said the mounties had at least one paid source close to the Bourassa government Between 1970 and 1976 who had Access to sensitive information about that governments policies and its the main concern of the Security service apparently was to keep an Eye on potential separatists in the Quebec government and certain diplomatic personnel and to determine the influence of separatists on the Quebec governments relations with other French speaking it is Clear that the source reported and was expected to report not on Public servants but on elected Mem Bers of that far beyond any interest in foreign interference in Canadian affairs or foreign intelligence the commission the unnamed mountie handler of the source in the Bourassa government said in one report that there were no separatists at High Levels of Quebec ministries although at lower Levels there Are a number of individuals who Harbor separatist he also reported that the Quebec Liberal party had infiltrated the parti probe of Northstar inn incident condemned As inept and Ottawa up an ramp invest gation into allegations it had bugged Edmonton City police officers Andone of its own officers was inept and the Mcdonald commission investigating the Federal Force the commissions released said the sloppiness of the ramp investigation damaged relations Between the Force and the actor Ney general of Alberta and affected proceedings of a provincial inquiry into such although the Mcdonald commission did not recommend further action on what it called the Northstar inn Inci it did say the ramp handling of the incident misled then solicitor Gen eral Francis Fox and the la Craft an Alberta Royal the incident took place in at the Northstar inn in Winni three members of the Edmonton police Force and one member of the ramp were at the hotel conducting an investigation into Royal american a carnival which annually toured Western Canadian the officers became suspicious of another ramp Security ser vice not connected to their investigation but who was also at the their suspicions were reinforced by their observations of mauks room and mauks position with the Security the allegations were investigated by the la Craft set up in april 1977 by the attorney general of Alberta and headed by Justice the inquiry concluded there was no bugging or any attempt to Bug the four officers la crafts inquiry was Hin dered among other things by Fox blocking its Access to internal purity service the Mcdonald commission concluded that Many of the problems which arose out of the incident could have been quebecois at a very High the ramp had gathered information on the parti quebecois for a number years and even stole computer tapes containing membership lists in an escapade already Well publicized and which led to charges against several but Mcdonald reported that even after the Trudeau government issued a policy memo telling the ramp not to spy on legitimate political parties in the pm was then the official opposition in Quebec and formed the government in 1976 mounties continued to collect information on the As for its spying on Federal Mcdonald said the mounties had an unpaid source in a position that Ena bled him to receive rather confidential Liberal strategy and elected the source provided information about the marital problems of two suspicions entertained by some ministers that the ramp was directing a plot against the government and the proceedings of the secret caucus meetings of Liberal maps and the spying on the left Wing Waffle movement of the nip in the Early 1970s was conducted because the Security service believed and communists were joining it in order to take control of the nip nationally and pro the commission said the Security service did not spy on the nip As a party but Only on some members of the Waffle within the Mcdonald fails to find smoking gun no hard evidence of government coverup after fou year search of files Ottawa up in the words of the watergate there was no smoking the Mcdonald Royal after a stroll through thousands of ramp and government files and questioning of dozens of including prime minister Trudeau turned up no hard evidence of political knowledge of specific illegal acts committed by the it appears there will be no serious political problems for the Trudeau gov the closest Mcdonald came to smok ing guns was evidence Trudeau was Tola at a Cabinet committee meeting in j970 the Force had been doing illegal for 20 but there was no evidence that the normally curious Trudeau Ever asked for More details on what kind of illegal the matter was referred by Trudeau to a later meeting of the Cabinet com analysis Mittee on Security and of which he was a paper was prepared by the ramp and Federal Security officials for the meeting on the prepared during the Fly kidnapping was entitled ramp strategy for dealing with the Fly and similar h sought specific answers As to what would happen to mountie infiltrators of the Fly who committed serious crimes to prove they were although Trudeau had invoked the War measures act to help police Deal with the Flo kidnappers and the government had been concerned about poor mountie performance during the october the committee never discussed the strategy it was deferred to a later but never in the absence of any tight political controls on the actions of the in particular the Security it went out of mounties broke into private premises to Plant bugs and look stole opened made illegal use of tax department and unemployment insurance files and spied on Politi Cal and when asked about some of these senior mounties lied to their civilian Only one solicit now George Mcilraith was fingered by the com Mission As having been tour by the Force in 1970 that it was committing illegal acts in the National but Mcilraith denied it and the Evi Dence was the result was a split in the commis Sion with the commissioners Guy Gilbert and Donald say ing Mcilraith was the David offered a minority opinion that he was proof that Trudeau knew of illegal acts by the ramp would have sunk Trudeau just As it did Richard it would have meant his consistent Deni als that he knew about lawbreaking were a but it seems that if he made an it was one of omission in not seeking More he told the commission in secret testimony last year he had no recollection of being told of illegal but he sai4 he would not have thought it was a reference to rather to such things As enter ing premises to Plant a Bug or use of phony even the Mcdonald commission was not Able to find a satisfactory explanation As to Why the paper on ramp strategy paper for Dea of with the Fly was not map onto win tear fun would allow Telephone taps under circumstances and authorisation could be acceptable if it Wai ornately done and it depends on what the provisions Are and what the safeguards he Laid adding that he found the current safeguards for Telephone taps totally but he also noted that if the commis Sion did intend such it want made Clear in the tie also noted that past evidence indicates the Federal government wont interpret the recommendations to tighten police 1 think the track record of the Federal government on matters of civil rights is not they Are More Likely to broaden police Powers than to restrict he War act Powers backed Ottawa up in times of Emer whether it be War or i Surrec the government must consider civil rights As it takes drastic measures to protect National the Mcdonald commission into the ramp the commissions released says the government needs emergency Powers to make fast a among other but it adds that it cannot entirely forget the Bill of rights As it invokes the report says that the highly controversial War measures act should remain in existence in modified form to allow the government to take instant but there must be provision to limit the sweeping Powers of the act which saw 467 persons arrested during the crisis in Quebec and the prosecution of Only it says that in time of War the government must have the right to intern potentially dangerous invoked in 1970 but that should not mean a repeat of the sweeping up of a people the japanese during the second world it the War measures act has been the subject of controversy since it was invoked by the government of prime minister Trudeau in 1970 following the kidnapping by Quebec terrorists of a British Diplomat a Quebec Cabi net following parliamentary approval of the governments police in que Bec swept up members and alleged members of the outlawed front de liberation do the act gave police extended Powers of seizure and a person suspected of doing a variety of illegal such As belonging to the could be held for seven Days without there have been Many Calls to get rid of the act and replace it with Milder passed in 1914 in the passed by Pagliai ment in allows the government to act in the Case of invasion or in real or under the government can make orders and regulations for the Securi order and welfare of the latter can allow a appropriation and forfeiture of and other the commission says that even in an the fundamental rights to a fair to instruct lawyers with out to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and to have an interpreter must be the commission had this message for the government which has been at tempting to put a charter of rights into a new Constitution if fundamental rights and freedoms Are to be introduced in the extremely careful consideration should be As to which rights and free Doms ought not to be abrogated even in time of National Justice turns to old duties Edmonton up the four year task of the Mcdonald Royal com Mission on ramp activities behind Justice David Mcdonald will resume hearing cases in Alberta court of Queens Bench on l Mcdonald said yesterday he plans to stay there until the age of the 48yearold judge was at the court offices downtown Edmonton yesterday deluged with Telephone Calls from across although he was taking the Calls and talking with reporters who came to see he firmly refused to say anything about the commissions three volume report or the Federal governments response to Mcdonald and Bis two fellow com missioners have agreed they should not comment on their report any More than a judge should comment on a Jed of ;