The Union of BC Indian Chiefs wants to see an industry-focused RCMP unit disbanded.
In a letter to federal and provincial politicians this week, the organization says the RCMP’s Community-Industry Response Group should be shut down. It was created in 2017 amid anti-pipeline protests to “provide strategic oversight addressing energy industry incidents and related public order, national security, and crime issues.”
The unit was used to deal with protests against old-growth logging in Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island last year. It’s currently under investigation by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP.
The UBCIC says the RCMP’s slow response to the investigation perpetuates “the cycle of brutal violence inflicted upon those who are at the frontlines defending [their] land and livelihoods.”
