RCMP says no sign of interrupted investigations following FBI's outcry over CBC

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says that there is no evidence that investigations were impacted after a report that the FBI was directed to temporarily halt co-operating. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)Social SharingThe head of the RCMP says there's no evidence to suggest investigations were impacted following a report that FBI Director Kash Patel temporarily halted co-operation with the Mounties in retaliation for an internal CBC memo.

According to a New York Times story published last week, an irate Patel sought to punish the Canadian national law enforcement agency in the wake of a leaked internal memo from the public broadcaster instructing reporters to not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks ahead of the 25th anniversary. The policy was amended following international outcry. 

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said he received no formal notification that the FBI would stop co-operation.

"My concern was the perception of the Canadian public with regards to 'did this really happen?'" he told reporters after appearing before a parliamentary committee on Thursday.

FBI Director Kash Patel said any Canadian agency that did not 'publicly reject' the CBC memo would 'no longer have friend in this FBI.' (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)"So we did do a little bit of research throughout the country and there's nothing that was reported that any of our investigations have stopped."

Following the memo from CBC — which is editorially independent from the RCMP and the government at large — Patel put out a statement on X that "any agency in Canada that doesn't publicly reject this bastardization of history, and an insult to the souls lost during our largest terrorist attack in U.S. history will no longer have friend in this FBI."   

According to the New York Times's sources, Patel sought to punish Canada and FBI officials cancelled meetings with their Canadian counterparts — telling them they would be out of touch for some time. 

Duheme said he also heard Patel "told people not to go into the embassy those certain days, but there's no way for me to prove it," while stressing the RCMP's relationship with the FBI "remains very strong. "

Any kind of meaningful falling out with the FBI could be devastating for Canada. It's largely a net importer of intelligence and leans heavily on partnerships like the Fives Eyes — which includes the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — to pass on information.

The RCMP and FBI have a longstanding partnership and collaborate on a range of issues from the shared border to terrorism and cybersecurity.

Still, the two countries' intelligence and security alliance has been called into question since the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump who has repeatedly goaded Canada with annexation rhetoric and started a trade war with his northern neighbour.

From the RCMP's perspective, Duheme said there's no thought to reduce co-operation. 

"How would it be perceived if you're withholding information and an incident actually happened?" he said. 

"We're all aware of the political environment we're operating in," Duheme said. But he said the agencies share a common purpose: "Protecting the Americans, protecting Canadians, working together. And I think that's what people would expect."

The FBI has declined to comment on the New York Times report.

Asked about the report, a spokesperson for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said last week that it maintains "longstanding and mutually beneficial relationships with numerous agencies in the U.S. intelligence community. 

"When it comes to security and intelligence, the FBI remains an important partner, and it is in our shared interest to continue working together."

CBC has a longstanding policy to generally avoid labelling specific acts as terrorism without attribution.

Following the outcry, Basem Boshra, CBC's senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, issued a clarification on Aug. 28 saying "direct attribution is not required for describing the historic events of 9/11 as terrorism."

When reached for comment, CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson said "it's not our place to comment on matters between the FBI and the RCMP."