OTTAWA — The head of the union representing RCMP members is seeking answers for how a CBC-related production was approved that targeted retired Mounties under the pretence of being celebrated for their service, but which ultimately turned out to be a prank.
Brian Sauve, president of the National Police Federation, which represents roughly 20,000 current and former RCMP members, says he was recently contacted by a retired member who recounted having been approached by the program, saying he knows of others who were as well.
“We’re not talking about one or two to make it an issue,” Sauve says. “We’re talking about, you know, probably a dozen or more.”
“This is not a one-off scenario.”
The former member who contacted Sauve, who also detailed his experience in a YouTube video, says he was contacted back in January to take part in a series focused on how police officers transition to life after service.
The person says after taking part in a pre-interview he agreed to another interview in March, saying he was informed that he and other officers would be attending an event in Vancouver featuring Prince William to thank them for their service, adding he was instructed to wear his red serge.
It was during that event where the former officer says he realized it had all been a prank, as a fake video address was played about King Charles III announcing the dissolution of the RCMP as a result of the force’s historical dealings with First Nations.
“Disgust was my initial reaction,” Sauve said in an interview on Thursday.
“You’ve chosen a life of service to Canadians,” he says, “to be invited to celebrate that service, I think, is a matter of pride, a pat on the back, and you’re probably walking into that building thinking, ‘Oh, this is going to be great, we don’t actually get recognized enough.’”
“Then you get into a room and the whole thing turns on a 180 so you’re going from that emotional high to an extreme emotional low within 30 seconds… I think that’s where the disgust comes in.”
“It’s just not right,” he added.
As an institution, the RCMP has acknowledged the role it played during the operation of church-run government-funded residential schools, which thousands of Indigenous children were forced to attend and where there was widespread physical and sexual abuse. A 2011 report concluded that the RCMP would assist in removing children from their homes. Past commissioners have delivered apologies for the force’s role during the residential school system.
In a letter penned to Heritage Minister Marc Miller, whose department oversees CBC/Radio-Canada, as well as to the public broadcaster’s president, Marie-Philippe Bouchard, Sauve outlines that among the concerns he has about the targeting of RCMP veterans to participate in the prank-style show is that many former members live with undiagnosed trauma and distresses related to their service.
He says what came up from those who were either contacted or invited to participate was the experience added to their “ongoing issues.”
Sauve says he has been in contact with the RCMP Veterans’ Association who have been talking to veterans who have communicated “their displeasure with how this transpired.”
He expects the number for how many participated and were contacted to be higher than what has been shared in public as there is a sense of “embarrassment” in disclosing that one fell for such a prank.
Chuck Thompson, head of public affairs for CBC, confirmed in an email on Thursday that the broadcaster’s president had received the letter outlining the concerns of the RCMP union.
He reiterated that the show, which carried the working title of “Northland Tales,” had been paused as it examines its footage, in light of concerns raised.
Among those voicing concerns were academics who were contacted that have publicly questioned claims of unmarked graves found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., as well as Conservative politicians, who have since questioned why the CBC would back such a production.
Thompson underscored how CBC News and APTN News, “have no involvement in this production or prior knowledge of it.”
“It is important for us in the execution that this entertainment series does not negatively impact our news brand,” he wrote.
Thompson says that the show, “an Indigenous-led unscripted, half-hour comedy series in early production for CBC Entertainment and APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network), had first been pitched as part of the Banff World Media Festival back in 2024.
“CBC Entertainment joined APTN as a partner shortly thereafter. Social experiments and satirical prank shows are a long-established television format used by broadcasters and streamers around the world, including many public broadcasters,” he said.
“In this case, the Indigenous creators are using the format for Northland Tales. A form of comedy is being deployed to increase better understanding of historical injustices against Indigenous peoples and support truth and reconciliation in Canada.”
Sauve in his letter called for the footage captured never to air and an inquiry be conducted into the funding and approvals behind the production.
He also specifically asked Miller to outline steps his office may take to investigate the issue.
Reached for comment on Thursday, the minister’s office declined to do so.
“CBC/Radio-Canada and APTN operate independently. Questions regarding programming should be addressed directly to CBC/Radio-Canada and APTN,” spokeswoman Hermine Landry wrote.
With files from Jesse Snyder
National Post
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