TALE OF TWO RCMP AGENTS Provocations, buggings — ‘normal’ Mountie operation By TOM MORRIS There seems to be no end to the worms coming out of the wood- work. After months of illegal and messy details about how the RCMP operates, its disregard for any law but its own, we’re now hearing more from Warren Hart, informer and agent provocateur. RCMP activities are nothing especially new. Articlés and books have been written about the Force’s history of treachery and repression. Harassment of persons-and groups is nothing new nor is the use of informers, infiltrators and assorted stool- pigeons. Electronic eavesdrop- ping, mail opening, “‘interviews”’ are all part of the RCMP arsenal to protect the status quo. Rigging Events As dangerous as these methods are, the emerging picture of another dimension in Mountie work is even more alarming. This is the expanded role of the RCMP as policy-maker and creator of situations against which they can take action. The RCMP has increased its efforts to rig events, plant false material, use agents provocateurs and create “‘crisis situations”’ to bring about a political reaction. They planted a fake “‘FLQ Communique’ to help create a situation of danger and hysteria as part of their effort to push Ottawa and the public against Quebec. We had what was termed “‘an ap- prehended insurrection” against which the might of the state, in- cluding the RCMP, could be used. Picture of a Stoolie Evidence given by FBI-RCMP informer Hart indicates the RCMP thought the then solicitor-general Warren Allmand to be a ‘“‘pinko’’, a “‘commie’’. The Force, says Hart, thought Trudeau was a leftie, a “‘draft dodger and soft on draft dodgers”. Hart taped a conversation be- tween Allmand and Rosie Doug- las, he taped MP John Rodrigues, he infiltrated legal organizations, he reported to the FBI and British he a During her speaking en FBI informer Warren Hartt Pocketing $900 a month for his Intelligence, he wandered around the Caribbean spying on groups for the RCMP (whose jurisdiction seems to have grown), he got in- volved in the Black movement and the Native People’s move- ment. The RCMP gave the stoolie $900 a month, flashy cars equip- ped with bugging devices in the roof. They provided him with body tape packs, money to “‘buy arms’’. Then, when his useful- ness was done, they deported him to U.S. It’s this last ungrateful act that prompted the informer to inform on his employer. “‘I want some semblance of justice’, he cries. *‘I think I earned the chance to live in Canada — and I cer- tainly believe I would be a good citizen.’’ Probably as good as a Mountie. Tried to Set up Angela Davis There are undoubtedly many details Hart has so far left out of his story. One example is his ef- forts during the visit of Angela _ Davis to Toronto in Nov. 1974 when she spoke to a packed Con- vocation Hall audience. Hart by ‘this time had wormed his way into the broad coalition who spon- sored Angela’s visit and who were looking after the many ar- rangements for the trip. He, it turns out, was to be re- sponsible for driving the recently-released personality to and from the airport in the huge, black Mercury Marquis. with Vermont plates and microphones in the roof-lining. In a prior plan- ning meeting, Hart surprised: everyone by proposing he would carry weapons in the car “for her protection’. It was only the com- bined insistence by others that stopped him from doing so. What a great idea! Here we had a Mountie-FBI stool-pigeon de- veloping his role into agent provocateur. What a fine chance to ‘‘catch’’ Angela and her Cana- dian hosts and smear “‘terrorists”’ across the front pages. It would be interesting to hear the tapes of that discussion from Hart’s body pack. <3 pga to Toronto in Nov. 1974, the RCMP- d to set up Angela Davis and her sponsors. services, Hart suggested carrying weapons in the car used to transport the speaker from the airport. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 10, 1978—Page 8 RCMP Mentality Hart’s role, from accounts so far, was far from simple spying and reporting. His activities were geared to entrapping, setting up and discrediting persons and or- ganizations considered by the RCMP to be “‘security risks’’. He spied on Oxfam, a well-known ‘“‘dangerous group’’. He travelled © the country and spied on Black, Native, immigrant. and labor groups. The clear direction of Hart’s work shows the direction of RCMP thinking. The Toronto Globe & Mail, Feb. 24, put it very well: “We have been offered re- peatédly the foolish assurance that those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear from police surveillance, legal or not. But the cruel truth is that when we are told that what goes under the name of defence of Canada’s na- tional security is prey to such wild imaginings as the ‘impression’ that Mr. Allmand ‘is a Com- munist’, then all of us:have a great deal to fear. If, as Hart al- leges, the names of people who contributed, as they had a per- fectly legal right to do, to the de- fence. of Mr. Douglas, were pas- sed on to be examined by such a mentality as he ascribes to the RCMP, none of us, no matter how innocent, can feel secure .:.”’ RCMP working with Nazis During the recently concluded trial in Toronto of two members of the fascist Western Guard Party (see Tribune, Feb. 27) tes- timony was given by a Robert Toope, a man in the pay of the RCMP in the WGP about the sort of activities he carried -out. Over 50 incidents of attacks against Jewish, Black, ethnic and progressive persons and organi- zations took place in Toronto ina 14-month period. In many in- stances the police knew be- forehand; in others they were in- formed by the perpetrators shortly after. At no time did the police tell the victims they knew the criminals. At no time did they act to: pro- tect the victims and prevent dam- age. Toope received between $300-$500 a month for his work. Government money was spent smashing windows, painting swastikas and racist slogans and aiding in the distribution of hate literature. Churches, synagogues, university buildings, businesses, bookstores and law offices were the targets. Here is part of Toope’s tes- timony.at a preliminary hearing: Q. I want to direct your attention to the Jewish Congress building at 150 Beverley Street ... Q. Did you ever hear of that building, sir? A. Yes I did, sir. Q. Do you know if anything was done in relation to that building? A. Well most of the Jewish build- ings we used to either spray paint or bust out the windows on them with bricks, throw bricks through the windows. There was so many different buildings I just don’t re- call the specific one. et ae By JEFF SALLOT Globe ond Mail Reporter OTTAWA — Pierre T= deau says he stands assurance he made la U 5S. z that no MP has been t by the RCMP as long shas been Prime Mir He bases this on inform from the force itself, « assurances he trusts 1 than allegations by an known third party.” The Prime- Minis commenting in the mons on allegatis orTaw by Trudeau? Keep looking ... denies Mounties) ue golicitot- | A jean-Jacaues x Who is telling the truth? On Feb..23 the Toronto Globe & Mail | reports that a former solicitor general was bugged by a RCMP informer. On Feb. 24 Trudeau denies it happened and the press" reports that. On Feb. 28 the present solicitor general confirms that the RCMP bugging in fact did take place. Looking for a retraction FEB 2: 1573 ide the, mou _ Q. Can you just, to the best of your recollection, what places you did. A. It was in the fall of the year we did York University, up on Keele and Steeles. Q. What did you do up there? A.. There’s a college up there, Bethune College. Q. Bethune? A. Bethune College it’s called. Mr. Andrews directed us to spray paint that because he said there was a lot of communist involve- ment there with the students and whatnot. And he wanted the stu- dents up there to think there was some sort of a Nazi group within the college itself, so he directed us to go up and do some spray paint- ing up there. * Ok Q. Did you receive any money ‘from the RCMP for joining? A. Yes, I did. I received most of the expense money and alittle put aside. Q. To get more specific, by ““Ex- pense money”’ do you mean your expense money to join the Party and for dues? : A. And for gas and whatnot, whatever it would cost me to stay down at the Party for refresh- ments, maybe go to restaurants, whatnot. Q. So you were on the expense account then? A. To a certain extent, yes. Q. When you said, ‘‘a little to put aside,”’ what do you mean by that? A. Well, if there was any left over, I was getting — do you want to know how much I was getting? Q. Yes, please? A. You should give me that question then. I was only getting about, well, it varied from three to five hundred a month. It was varied. Q. From three to five__? A. Hundred a month: | Q. From three hundred to five hundred dollars a month? A. Mmm-hmm. Q. When did you first start re- ’ RCMP is willing to go, howev™" : ceiving this three to five hundre! amonth? ~— . A. A month after I had joined: * * * : Q. Mr. Toope, you are what would call an informer, is correct? A. That’s correct. Q. Do you see yourself as an former? A. No. . a} Q. Trying to help the law? # A. Right. a) Q. Aside from being approache by Corporal Duggan, did a have that idea in your mind z fore you spoke to Corporal D gan about joining the West Guard Party? A. Yes, to acertain extent, yes Q. Had you ever tried to help law on other occasions? A. No, I haven’t, no. OK Q. Well, you’re against th communist and you wanted help the law. Are there any 0 reasons why you joined Western Guard Party? 4 A. Well, I wanted to make S! that my own family was safes Q. The Party threatened y? family? ' A. No, they didn’t, no. Q. And also the three to hundred dollars a month. A. Yeah, that helped. Q. Who suggested that? A. They did. * fiv! a In case you might think Robel Toope was on trial or charg®’ you’re wrong. Neither W® RCMP Corporal Duggan or a one who recruited and direct Toope as a police agent. ive’ This is a glimpse into the ! a of two men, police informers ¢ agents provocateurs. As indiv! als they are neither important # f impressive. The goings on und? the rock they helped ove and the lengths to which th should alert Canadians 4 q what is in store unless actio® taken to stop it.