Next karaoke night at Royal Canadian Mounted Police headquarters, we think we know what RCMP boss Giuliano Zaccardelli will be singing: Elton John's Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.
Canada's national police force remains steadfastly unwilling to apologize for pepper-spraying peaceful protesters at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Vancouver in 1997. This despite another report released this week -- from the commission that handles public complaints against the RCMP -- reiterating last summer's APEC inquiry report that the RCMP's heavy-handed tactics breached protesters' rights.
The RCMP's refusal to apologize doesn't create optimism that the force has changed much since the APEC clash. Given that Bill C-35 would give the RCMP a sweeping mandate to oversee security measures at all future intergovernmental conferences, its silence only adds to fears the RCMP will again trample constitutional rights at the G8 summit in Alberta.
Let's hope the RCMP's actions speak louder than its lack of words. Otherwise, we might face an even sorrier scene in the Alberta woods.
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