90% of calls to RCMP terror tip line bunk
The federal Conservatives continued to insist this weekend a new snitch line for people to report “barbaric cultural practices” to police is needed, even as evidence emerged the RCMP’s existing tip line for reporting suspected terrorism acts yields mostly bunk calls.
From 2012 through 2014, more than 3,000 people called the RCMP’s National Security Tip Line, but the vast majority of calls — about 92 per cent— were classified as “nonsensical” or “unrelated” to public safety, according to a summary obtained by the National Post through access-toinformation legislation.
The tip line, which has been in place for many years, is intended for people with information “regarding terrorism, criminal extremism or suspicious activities which could pose a threat to national safety and security,” the RCMP website states.
But only 266 out of the 3,332 calls received by the Mounties from January 2012 through October 2014 concerned national security, the internal records show. RCMP officials were unable to say Friday how many of the tips led to investigations.
“The RCMP is not in a position to share what files, either ongoing or completed were linked to tips received from the public,” Staff Sgt. Julie Gagnon said in an email.
“What we can tell you is that we value tips from the public and encourage citizens to remain vigilant and to report any information on terrorism or related suspicious activities to the National Security Information Network at 1-800-4205805 or by contacting the police in their community.”
Calls to the terror tip line steadily ramped up from about 700 in 2012 to about 1,600 in 2014. There was a spike in October 2014, the month that saw fatal attacks on Canadian soldiers in Ottawa and Quebec. (Records prior to 2012 were not available).
On Friday, Conservative candidates Chris Alexander and Kellie Leitch promised a re-elected Tory government would create a new RC MP tip line, this time dedicated to reporting people suspected of engaging in “barbaric cultural practices,” such as sexual slavery, against women and girls.
It is expected the tip line would cost $1.5 million per year.
“Although polygamy, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation are illegal in Canada, we know these crimes take place here,” Conservative Party spokesman Stephen Lecce said in an email this weekend.
“Prime Minister Harper is not afraid to defend Canadian values, to be clear that these practices have no place in Canadian society, and to protect women from these heinous crimes.”
The Conservatives have also pledged to create RC MP integrated units in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal to enforce the new Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, which bars those who practice polygamy from immigrating to Canada and establishes a new “absolute minimum age” of 16 for marriage.
They also announced that a re-elected Conservative government would spend $12 million over four years to create a program to prevent child and forced marriages in the world’s conflict zones.
Cultural identity and values have become a prominent feature of the campaign with the Tories standing firm on their controversial policy forbidding Muslim women from covering their faces while taking the oath of citizenship, even though courts have twice ruled against the ban.
The Liberals and NDP have accused the Tories of playing divisive politics and pushing an agenda of fear.
“The Conservatives are doubling down on an ageold strategy of animating the base by appealing to base instinct and tribalism. In this case, they happen to enjoy the added advantage of broad popular appeal. It might just work,” David Moscrop, a PhD candidate in political science at UBC, said in an email.
“But this comes at the expense of selling out a religious minority and generating a culture of fear and suspicion. We aren’t getting a national discussion on the niqab here. Or about Islam. Or about minority rights. What we’re getting is a witch hunt.”
Added advantage of broad popular appeal. It might just work