Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 26, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Augusta 1981 a staff the Mcdonald commissions report on ramp wrongdoing Reeves a favourable response from local Law enforcement officials yesterday but Drew harsh criticism from a civil rights the made Public blasted the ramp Tor a series of illegal but recommended changes in Laws which could allow similar cities to continue in the what started out a a breath of fresh air has ended in a report with ominous said lawyer Grant a member of the Manitoba association for rights and civil it looks As though they Are trying to legitimize what was once a instead of prosecuting those who broke 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 min court 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 m a Ujj l has ominous says lawyer ramp import the they want to change the Law to conform with their Mitchell said Many had expected the Mcdonald commission to catalogue ramp wrongdoing and then make recommendations on How similar Inci dents could be avoided in the if what there doing is recommend ing that what was against the Law should now be then Ita worse than doing nothing at he although provincial government spokesmen across the country were ing to the Manitoba general Gerry Mercier was Able for Deputy general Gordon contacted by Telephone in Whitehorse where he is attending a Law conference also served comment on the Ray held of Manitoba ramp Security refused to Dot cuss the rep ii in but agreed that it was strange Tor the commission to the ramp and then suggest that taws be changed to give a proposed civilian Security font More you asked the but t disagree with he John head of the provinces criminal prosecutions said he want surprised thai the commission recommended certain Laws be changed to broaden police the criticism 1 have seen in the past is that of a Law enforcement body breaking the he now whether the a was too to meet present maybe that is what the Mcdonald commission is the pm million study contained 250 ing d creation of a Security service divorced from the ramp d establishment of strict controls on collection of information by the new service q changes in Federal and provincial Laws to allow physical surveillance of individuals by members of the vice d strict guidelines on undercover operations forbidding such things As illegal acts and outlining acceptable forms of deceit d allowing controlled surreptitious entry of premises to obtain information about espionage or foreign interference or political violence and terrorism d allowing mail opening for the same p allowing release of government in formation on individuals to Security forces under certain in two former ramp commissioners swathed by the commission for giving hazy pictures of illegal tactics in National Security operations say they did nothing wrong while leading the Federal police Maurice Nadon and Higgy both disputed charges in the commis Sions report on the activities of the ramp that they did not Tell their government Bosses about a succession of illegal actions during the that their now president of the Canada safety 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 Only 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 careless Ottawa up an ramp investigation into allegations it had bugged Edmonton City police officers and one 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 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 Security 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 of 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 1975 pm was then the official opposition in Quebec and formed the government in 1976 the 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 trotskyism 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 told at a Cabinet committee meeting in 1970 the Force had teen doing illegal things 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 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 it 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 Fly 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 u 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 politician former solicit now George Mcilraith was fingered by the com Mission As having been told 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 told 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 said he would not have thought it was a reference to rawer 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 dealing with the Fly was not Mcdonald will Tew mid yesterday of the the report mid Higgitt my John a Fortney of the ramps Security covered up an operation in which mounties broke into the Montreal office of left Wing news Agency in the report said who succeeded Hignut is head of the Force from did not intentionally Misin form then solicitor general Francis Fox about the but was derelict in his duty by assuring the govern ment that it was a unique Case of ramp 1 dont believe i Ever acted wrong retired and living in Otta said after the reports if i thought t 1 would have resigned 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 wholesale 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 Irish Diplomat and a Quebec Cabi following parliamentary approval of the governments action police in que Bec swept up members and alleged members of the outlawed front de liberation do the act gave police extended Powers seizure and a person suspected of doing a variety of illegal such As belonging to the coid be held for seven Days without there have been Many Calls to get rid of the act and replace it passed in 1914 in the passed by Parlia 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 Given 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 i Mcdonald said yesterday he plans to stay there until the age of the 49yearold judge was at the court offices in downtown Edmonton with Telephone Calls from across although he was taking the Calls am 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 judg ;