Carney says apology needed for Indigenous spying program

The prime minister said there should be a public apology for a spying operation targeting hundreds of Indigenous people that had the support of the federal government.

"Yes, there should be an apology," Mark Carney said during a news conference in Halifax on Thursday. "It’s a reprehensible practice. Never should’ve happened."

Carney was responding to reporting from CBC Indigenous, which revealed extensive RCMP surveillance activities dating back to the late 1960s against Indigenous leaders and organizations.

The RCMP called its operation the "Native extremism program." 

CBC Indigenous obtained nearly 6,000 newly declassified documents that show the Mounties infiltrated legitimate political Indigenous organizations engaged in legal and democratic advocacy, and sought to disrupt their activities.

The files corroborate for the first time that the Liberal government in the mid-'70s approved RCMP wiretaps to monitor the telephones of the National Indian Brotherhood, known today as the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), in Ottawa. 

AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says a public apology is not only warranted from the RCMP but also from the federal public safety minister and the prime minister.

She’s also demanding an investigation, as part of a national inquiry into systemic racism in policing.

"We are not the enemy within," Woodhouse Nepinak said. "We are First Nations and we are the first partners in this land called Canada."

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme issued a statement of regret a day after the CBC Indigenous investigation broke, and pledged to meet with Indigenous leaders and elders. 

"I express sincere regret, and while we cannot change the past, we can and must acknowledge that these actions and their impact continue to be felt today," Duheme wrote in a statement published on Wednesday.

Carney was specifically asked if the RCMP commissioner should issue a public apology.

"I didn't see the full comment that he made," Carney said. "I believe that was the intent of what he said."

Duheme's statement follows calls from Indigenous leaders and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree for the Mounties to ensure redress for surveilled Indigenous people.