Judge finds RCMP breached Charter rights during arrests at Wet'suwet'en pipeline

"I view the conduct as extremely serious involving racism directed towards Indigenous women, that is a group that has been systemically disadvantaged through all sectors of the criminal justice system for generations," Tammen said.
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 Senior RCMP officers who testified in the case expressed regret for the officers' actions, but Tammen stated in his ruling that he did not believe these expressions were enough to make up for the hurt and prejudice the remarks created. He stated that he would think about a sentence reduction as a workable solution. "The comments about the red face paint were not made by a single officer and were not a one-off occurrence," Tammen stated. Amid a federal probe, the RCMP C-IRG unit reveals a new name and mandate. A watchdog launches an investigation into RCMP unit that polices resource standoffs in B.C. He said there were multiple offensive and discriminatory comments made by multiple officers on Nov. 18, 2025.
 RCMP's Community-Industry Response Group led the enforcement. "That is potentially a sign of systemic attitudinal issue within the C-IRG," he said, but Tammen said there was no evidence that this offensive behaviour was encouraged or condoned more broadly within the RCMP. 
 Police needed warrants: judge During the accused's arrest on Nov. 19, Sleydo' and Sampson were located in a small structure, referred to as the tiny house. When police knocked on the door of the tiny house, Sleydo' said police needed a warrant to enter, but the RCMP breached the structure using a chainsaw, saying they could enter under the authority of the injunction. Police also breached a separate structure where Jocko was arrested, referred to as the cabin. During these arrests, the people inside this structure also said that police needed a warrant to enter. Tammen agreed in his decision that police did need a warrant to enter the structures.
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 "The breaches that flowed from that failure [to obtain a warrant] were about as minor as could ever occur with warrantless arrests in a dwelling house," Tammen stated. After a watchdog slams an illegal arrest, a man from British Columbia speaks out The actions of the RCMP at Fairy Creek Protests at Standing Rock were used by the RCMP as "evidence" to establish the contentious B.C. unit. Even if the RCMP were to secure a warrant, he said, there was no question that the building's inhabitants would be taken into custody and the structures would be demolished. According to Tammen, a stay of proceedings can only be issued in the most obvious circumstances, which this one is not. According to Tammen, the maximum penalty for criminal contempt is five years in jail.

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