Brett Forester

The RCMP commissioner says he expresses sincere regret for an extensive spying program that targeted hundreds of Indigenous people following a CBC Indigenous investigation.

Dene leaders believe the RCMP Security Service in the 1970s broke into their office in Yellowknife, bugged it, stole and leaked material while aiming to discredit them via Operation Checkmate, a national disruption program.

A declassified copy of the RCMP Security Service's dossier on the precursor to the Assembly of First Nations reveals the use of spies, infiltration and physical and electronic surveillance targeting one of the most widely respected First Nations political leaders in modern history — George Manuel.

The head of the Assembly of First Nations is rejecting the RCMP's recent statement of regret for a secret surveillance program that targeted hundreds of Indigenous people. Such statements are "not a sufficient response," Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says in a letter to the prime minister.

Amnesty International is concerned Canada is backsliding on Indigenous rights under Prime Minister Mark Carney. The organization warns in its annual global human rights report that new laws passed last year to fast-track major projects have threatened Indigenous peoples' right to self-determination.

The RCMP Security Service spied on Inuit leaders like John Amagoalik as they developed their Nunavut proposal in the 1970s, newly declassified papers show. Between 1972 and 1980, Mounties compiled a three-volume intelligence dossier on the national Inuit organization under the "Native extremism" program.

Ovide Mercredi says he intends to sue the federal government over its surveillance of Indigenous leaders. It's the latest response to a CBC News investigation into the RCMP's “Native extremism program" in the 1970s. But as the former Assembly of First Nations leader now learns, the spying didn't stop there.

First Nations chiefs countrywide are expressing concern about the lack of engagement after two pipelines were announced in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario. Two leaders say they only learned of the plans through last-minute emails and rumours.

The Carney government continues to fight First Nations in court to deny Canada has any legal duty to ensure they have safe drinking water on reserve, even as the Liberals advance legislation aiming to do just that. This contradiction is drawing accusations of hypocrisy and demands for clarity.

First Nations leaders are gathering in Ottawa for three days to debate and discuss issues like fast-tracking major projects, new proposed drinking water legislation, and a promised first ministers' meeting with the prime minister and premiers.