Public Interest Investigation into RCMP Member Conduct related to the 2010 G8 and G20 Summits

Terms of Reference

General Scope

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) will conduct a public interest investigation pursuant to subsection 45.43(1) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act (RCMP Act) into a complaint lodged by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) regarding the recent G8 and G20 Summits (Summits). The complaint makes a number of allegations about the conduct of unidentified RCMP members to the extent they were involved in the following matters:

1. G8 and G20 Summits security planning (including the location of the security fences);
2. Infiltration and surveillance (if any) of individuals or groups before and during the Summits;
3. Use of force, detentions and arrests during the Summits in particular with respect to the following:
   1. The dispersal of protestors at Queen's Park on June 26, 2010;
   2. Detentions and arrests at the "Esplanade" on June 26, 2010;
   3. Detentions and arrests at Queen Street W. and Spadina Avenue on
      June 27, 2010;
   4. Arrests and police conduct outside of the Eastern Avenue Detention Centre on June 27, 2010;
   5. Arrests at the University of Toronto's Graduate Students' Union building on June 27, 2010; and
4. Conditions of Eastern Avenue detention facilities in Toronto.

In conducting its public interest investigation, in order to assess the degree of involvement of members of the RCMP, the CPC will consider to what extent members of the RCMP participated in, were consulted as part of, or communicated information that led to, actions taken by other law enforcement agencies during the Summits related to this complaint.

Standards Against Which Conduct is to be Assessed

1. Whether in carrying out any of the activities listed above the involved RCMP members complied with appropriate statutory requirements, policies, practices and procedures relevant to such events;
2. Whether the conduct of these same RCMP members adhered to the standards set out in section 37 of the RCMP Act and respected the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter); and
3. Whether existing RCMP policies, practices and procedures related to major events such as the Summits are adequate, accord with established police practices, and respect the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter.