Library and Archives Canada (LAC) told CBC Indigenous it would need nearly four years to consult on a request to see 50-year old secret records from an RCMP program that spied on so-called "Native extremism." The fight began in 2022 when CBC Indigenous reporter Brett Forester used Access To Information (ATIP) to ask to see a file created by the RCMP Security Service, which monitored hundreds of Indigenous people during the 1970s, stored at the archives. The CBC Indigenous reporter persisted and submitted four new ATIP requests asking to see a handful of dossiers focused on Indigenous political organizations kept by the Mounties' "Racial Intelligence" section. Some of the RCMP Security Service's 'Native extremism' files now online at Library and Archives Canada. A team of journalists at CBC Indigenous and CBC Investigates have published a series of stories based on the released documents showing RCMP use of wiretaps, surveillance and paid informants to infiltrate legitimate Indigenous organizations.

Source: CBC News March 28, 2026 02:28 UTC