Release report into RCMP conduct during Rexton protests, says anti-shale gas group

Vehicles were burned at the scene of a shale gas protest in Rexton six years. Anti-shale activists want the report into RCMP conduct during the violent clashes made public. (Courtesy of Gilles Boudreau)

RCMP vehicles burned, dozens arrested in October 2013 protests in Kent County

Anti-shale gas activists are calling for the release of an independent investigation into RCMP action during violent protests in Rexton six years ago.

Dozens were arrested during months of protests near Elsipogtog First Nation that saw a blockade erected on Route 134 to stop gas exploration in the area.

In October 2013, RCMP officers used force to disperse protesters and six RCMP vehicles were burned during the clashes.

The independent Civilian Review and Complaints Commission investigated complaints about police conduct during the protests. Commissioners held public meetings in the Kent County area in 2015.

The New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance says it has heard nothing from the commission since that time, and it’s tired of waiting. It’s calling on RCMP and government officials to release the commission’s findings.

Alliance spokesperson Denise Melanson says it’s important to know the truth.

Denise Melanson, a spokesperson for the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance, said the group is becoming impatient and wants to see the report. (Radio-Canada)

“What happened was so anti-democratic and, you know, when governments use force and the secret state to impose things on the public, we’re not talking about a democracy anymore,” Melanson said.

“This is really, really important. And it’s not just that I need to prove that I was right about what happened. It’s more that we really need to know that our government isn’t behaving like this.”

Report delivered to RCMP

In an email, a spokesperson for the commission confirmed the Rexton riot report was delivered to the RCMP last March.

When the RCMP commissioner’s office reacts, the commission will prepare its final report, the spokesperson said.

The report contains testimony from 130 witnesses, 50,000 records and thousands of video files.

The evidence gathered is voluminous: 130 civilian witnesses were heard, 50,000 records and thousands of video files collected, which may explain why the investigation lasted so long.

The Council of Canadians is circulating a petition to ask Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to release the report.

CBC News also contacted Public Safety Canada. The department referred the query back to the complaints commission.

With files from Radio-Canada

CBC News · Posted: Sep 18, 2019 

[SOURCE]

 

Public meeting held for investigation into RCMP response to Rexton protests

By Brion Robinson | Global News | February 7, 2015

FORD’S MILLS N.B.- New Brunswick residents are learning more about an investigation into RCMP conduct during the 2013 shale gas protests through a serious of public meetings.

The meetings are being hosted by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, which is heading the investigation into the federal police force.

Rosemary Morgan is an analyst with the commission and says the meetings are designed to help people understand the investigative process.

“We’re hoping we can answer questions from the public so they understand what it is we’re doing,” she said. “We are a separate entity from the RCMP and we are investigating the RCMP because there were public complaints.”

The allegations against the police include the use of aggressive force and improper arrests and detention.

More than a dozen complaints were filed against the RCMP. In addition, a public group complaint in the form of a petition with 245 names was also filed.

The commission’s chair has since launched his own complaint to investigate all aspects of the of the RCMP response.

Pamela Ross, one of the protesters who opposed shale gas exploration in Kent County, said people need answers.

“There were just so many questions and so many bad situations and instances that really didn’t need to happen and it really damaged the relationship between the RCMP and the local communities,” she said.

Ross said people want to know why a generally peaceful protest in Rexton got violent very quickly on Oct. 17, 2013.

Protesters had been blocking shale gas exploration trucks from leaving a secure site and had been in place for weeks until police moved in on Oct. 17 to break up the blockade.

The action resulted in a riot where police cars were destroyed, weapons were seized and many people were arrested.

“We need to find out exactly what happened during the whole protest movement with the RCMP and their actions and the way things turned out in Rexton in October,” Ross said.

Denise Melanson also attended Sunday’s public meeting. She said people need to know these complaints are taken seriously.

“I think it would be really useful for people and myself to know how seriously these kinds of complaints are taken,” she said.

Shale gas protester admits assaulting RCMP officer in Rexton

The protest on Route 134 near Rexton on Oct. 17, 2013, turned violent when police moved in to enforce a court injunction that prohibited protesters from interfering with the seismic exploration work. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

Oct 22, 2014

A 20-year-old man from Elsipogtog First Nation has pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer during a violent anti-shale gas protest in Rexton last fall.

Robert Michael Augustine admitted in Moncton provincial court that he threw rocks at RCMP officers who were part of a police line keeping people away from the protest area on Oct. 17, 2013.

Augustine was given a 24-month conditional discharge.

He was also ordered not to attend any shale gas protests, to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, and to complete 50 hours of community service work.

The protest on Route 134 near Rexton turned violent when police moved in to enforce a court injunction that prohibited protesters from interfering with the seismic exploration work of SWN Resources Canada.

About 40 people were arrested that day and six RCMP vehicles were destroyed by fire.

Cpl. Yann Audoux has described the violent clash between RCMP and anti-shale gas protesters as one of the most volatile situations he has ever faced.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/shale-gas-protester-admits-assaulting-rcmp-officer-in-rexton-1.2809098

 

Emails show federal officials worried about second Idle No More movement

Negotiations between protesters and police in Rexton, N.B., as police began enforcing an injunction to end an ongoing demonstration against shale gas exploration in eastern New Brunswick on Thursday, Oct.17, 2013. (Andrew Vaughan/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Benjamin Shingler | The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — Federal officials closely tracked the fallout of an RCMP raid on a First Nations protest against shale-gas exploration in New Brunswick, at one point raising concerns it could spawn another countrywide movement like Idle No More.

Documents obtained under access-to-information legislation reveal a lengthy email chain last fall monitoring events related to a blockade near Rexton, N.B., about 70 kilometres north of Moncton.

Members of the Elsipogtog First Nation, who were concerned about the environmental impact of shale-gas development, didn’t want energy company SWN Resources to do testing work on their traditional territory.

Police officers enforced an injunction on Oct. 17 to end the blockade of a compound where the company stored exploration equipment.
The early-morning raid led to violent clashes between officers and protesters. By the end of the day, six police cars had been torched and 40 people arrested.

As the situation unfolded, a government official sent an email reporting “growing support of protesters by first nation (sic) communities and other groups across the country.”

“An ‘Idle No More’ like movement of protests is reportedly being planned starting tomorrow,” wrote Alain Paquet, director of operations for Public Safety Canada.

“We will keep you informed through our Situation Reports…”
Those in the email chain included staff within the Privy Council Office, the central bureaucracy which serves the prime minister and cabinet.

The Government Operations Centre, an arm of Public Safety Canada, emailed out daily reports detailing planned protests across the country.

On its website, the centre says it provides an “all-hazards integrated federal emergency response to events.”

A notice emailed later on Oct. 17 gave a rundown of planned protests and whether they posed a threat of violence.

“Other than the events at Rexton, N.B., so far calls are for peaceful action,” the notice said.

“Most of the protest activity to date under the Idle No More banner or related environmental or First Nations issues activities have been peaceful.”

The daily updates were compiled using media reports and information from the RCMP. But much of the information was derived by monitoring social media postings from the protesters themselves.

One update noted that the “creators of Idle No More in Lethbridge, AB, said via Twitter that they wasted no time in getting a group together to march down the city’s main drag Thursday afternoon.”

It also noted reports of “small demonstrations in New York City and Washington, D.C. outside the Canadian missions,” as well as in Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton.

Another document outlined the “key messages” for the RCMP when fielding questions about its handling of the New Brunswick blockade, which protesters argued had been heavy-handed.

“Our members demonstrated incredible professionalism as they worked to resolve the situation,” one bullet point in the document said.

“Some in the crowd threw rocks and bottles at them and sprayed them with bear spray. Setting police cars on fire created a dangerous situation for all present and at that point our members were forced to physically confront some in the crowd who refused to obey the law.”

By Sunday, Oct. 20, three days after the arrests, a government update said “the number of protests continues to decline.”

“Less than five are planned for today according to the Idle No More website with one protest planned for Saint John, New Brunswick on Monday,” the email said.

Susan Levi-Peters, one of the protesters and a former chief, said the emails reflect how Ottawa is more focused on trying to control aboriginal people rather come up with solutions.

“Canada has to have a better relationship with First Nations people,” said Levi-Peters, who ran for the NDP in 2011.

“I think Ottawa is misunderstanding First Nations people. And they’re getting more educated. I think Ottawa is in a shock because they don’t know how to treat them anymore.”

The shale-gas protests died down after Texas-based SWN Resources wrapped up its exploration work and left the province in December.

Last month, two men involved in the events of Oct. 17 were sentenced to 15 months in jail.

Germain Breau, a 21-year-old of the Elsipogtog First Nation, was found guilty of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and four counts of pointing a firearm.

Aaron Francis, a 20-year-old of the Eskasoni First Nation, was convicted of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Both men were also given two years probation following their jail time.

An email to Public Safety Canada asking whether it is standard procedure to closely track social media, media and RCMP reports drew the following response: “The GOC provides strategic-level coordination on behalf of the Government of Canada in response to an emerging or occurring event affecting the national interest.”