Canada’s Police Chiefs Ask for Government Help to Deal With Rising Protests

Flags adorn the stage during the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Summit at the Halifax Convention Centre, in Halifax on Aug. 13, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Kelly Clark)

Canada’s police chiefs are calling on all levels of government to provide more funding and manpower to deal with the growing number of protests across the country.

The request was part of a resolution at the 119th annual summit of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) in Halifax Aug. 11–13. The gathering looked at the impact that global conflicts are having on Canadian communities from a policing perspective.

“During the Summit, delegates attended sessions on strategic intelligence, public order management, crisis management, artificial intelligence, as well as the importance of officer safety in public safety,” said Chief Don MacLean of the Halifax Regional Police.

National issues and global conflicts have led to a rise in protests and demonstrations across Canada, according to an Aug. 13 CACP news release, creating “unsustainable demand” for police services and operations.

The chiefs said protests are quickly escalating from peaceful demonstrations to “more high-risk situations,” posing a bigger threat to police officers and public safety.

As a result, police-public interactions at demonstrations are involving more verbal and physical assaults, swarming, and threatening behaviour toward police, the chiefs said.

Negative interactions between police and the public elsewhere in the world and across Canada are also affecting how police are treated in their own communities, they said.

Protests have become an opportunity for activists to cause disruptions, which have been escalating and becoming more high-risk situations.

In July, CACP adopted Resolution 2024-03, asking for government help managing the protests.

“The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) calls on all levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal) to provide police services with additional and sufficient human and financial resources, as well as the training and equipment required, to manage the increased volume and risks of protests and demonstrations,” the resolution says.

Immigration has also been playing a role in the violence at protests, the chiefs said.

“In certain countries, the use of violence is an accepted vehicle for social change,“ says the resolution. Through immigration, ”thousands of people who may have an orientation towards violence as a means of expression or activism continue to arrive in Canada each year.”

Increase in Doxing Police Online

The police chiefs said negative behaviour toward police is showing up online as well, with protesters  targeting or doxing police officers by posting private information such as addresses and phone numbers.

The published information can negatively affect the reputation of an officer or police service, the chiefs said.

The resolution calls on the federal Department of Justice to include a provision in Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, making it illegal to dox police.

“To meet the increased demand for service created by increased protests and demonstrations, while ensuring officer and public safety, will require the moral and financial support of all levels of government to acquire the necessary human resources, equipment and training and to enact required legislation to make it illegal to dox the police,” said Commissioner Thomas Carrique, president of the CACP.