By Canadian Press

Scheer says no to calls to defund RCMP, but its needs to better on racism

Jun 8, 2020 | 8:27 AM

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says removing funding from the RCMP because of allegations of racism and brutality won’t make Canadians any safer.

He says the RCMP and other police forces need to do more to stamp out systemic racism, but that doesn’t mean taking away funding.

Scheer was speaking today in response to several incidents across the country, including allegations of police brutality against a First Nations chief in Alberta and the fatal police shooting of a 26-year-old Indigenous woman from British Columbia in Edmundston, N.B.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, who is a former Toronto police chief, says in a tweet that the government is “deeply concerned” by the allegations, which were made Saturday by Athabasca Chipewyan Chief Allan Adam.

But Scheer calls the government hypocritical because Blair was the Toronto police chief when the controversial practice of carding was in effect. 

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2020.

The Canadian Press