Officers not wearing 'riot gear,' used 15 pepper balls at U of C protest: Calgary police chief
CBC
Members of a Calgary police unit were wearing approved equipment, including protective armour, helmets and round shields — but it wasn't "riot gear," and deploying that gear at a recent pro-Palestinian protest wasn't outside the norm, says Calgary's police chief.
That was one of multiple points Chief Mark Neufeld wrote in a letter sent to the Calgary Police Commission in advance of a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, focused on reviewing police action tied to the protest.
Earlier this month, pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment at the University of Calgary campus, with a stated goal of pressuring the university to disclose and divest its financial ties with Israel. It followed similar demonstrations at other Canadian and U.S. campuses.
But the response to the U of C encampment was notable given the speed with which officers forcibly cleared it, removing members of the protest on the same day it began.
Other such protests have stretched on for much longer — for instance, an encampment at the University of Toronto has been in place since May 2.
The response from police led to an ASIRT investigation of police actions. The province's public safety minister said the government was aware "that allegations have been made by campus protest participants related to potential injuries sustained while police were enforcing trespass laws."
The action also prompted an open letter signed by more than a dozen professors in the U of C faculty of law, who said the actions of the university and police likely contravened protesters' rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The University of Calgary released a statement on May 9, the day of the protest, writing that the university's position was that students are free to protest but not free to set up encampments.
The U of C students' union, on the other hand, wrote in a statement the same day that students were exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly guaranteed by the Charter.
In his letter, Neufeld stated that police were in regular communication with protesters from the start of the protest. He wrote that tents were set up at approximately 5:30 a.m. near MacEwan Hall.
"Protesters were advised by university staff that they were permitted to protest but not to camp. They were also verbally advised that the camp was a trespass on university property," Neufeld wrote.
More tents were set up throughout the day and communication continued, according to Neufeld.
Near 11 p.m., Neufeld said police moved in to clear the camp, claiming bottles were thrown at police by protesters.
"Protesters continued to link arms, pushed towards police and refused to leave. Protesters grabbed officers' shields and attempted to aggressively push them to the ground. It appeared to the CPS that a group of protesters were deliberately attempting to make physical contact with police," the letter states.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.