National

RCMP says it will collect info on possible war crimes in Gaza war

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Jun, 2025 01:49 PM

The RCMP says it will "proactively" collect information about possible war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Israel-Hamas armed conflict.

In a Wednesday statement, the Mounties stressed that they have no criminal investigations underway but they want to collect information on possible crimes by any party involved in the conflict.

"The primary objective is to proactively collect relevant information that may support future investigative steps, should jurisdictional and legal thresholds be met," says the statement.

The statement came from the force's Ontario division based in London, and not from the headquarters in Ottawa.

The RCMP says it initiated "a structural investigation" in "early 2024" of the conflict that started in October 2023, when Hamas militants brazenly attacked Israel and took dozens of hostages, prompting Israel to bombard the Gaza Strip and restrict food deliveries.

"A structural investigation is a broad, intelligence-led intake process designed to collect, preserve, and assess information potentially relevant under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. This includes gathering open-source material and voluntary submissions from individuals wishing to provide information," the statement says.

The RCMP said that this is standard procedure and the force hasn't initiated any criminal probes.

"Should a perpetrator of core international crimes — such as genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity — with the appropriate nexus to Canada be identified, the RCMP will initiate a separate criminal investigation," the statement reads.

The force says it has faced technical delays in rolling out "a secure online portal available in French, English, Hebrew and Arabic, to facilitate (investigations) and secure any submissions of information by the public and potential witnesses."

"We urge the public to refrain from drawing premature conclusions about the RCMP's role or intent," the statement wrote. "This initiative is solely focused on collecting relevant information and does not target any community or group."

The RCMP statement comes after the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs suggested that talk of war crimes probes encourage "false narratives" that can fuel a rise in antisemitic violence.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, a group advocating for Palestinians, has asked the RCMP to probe Canadian citizens serving in the Israeli military in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, given "the serious likelihood that they are involved in the commission of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide."

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Immigrant-owned firms suffer from productivity gap for variety of factors: StatCan

Companies owned by newcomers to Canada tend to struggle taking their businesses to the next level more than Canadian-born founders, new data suggests. The report released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday explores barriers immigrants to Canada can face when starting and scaling a business. One of the most significant findings was around labour productivity — how much an individual can produce in an hour of work.

Immigrant-owned firms suffer from productivity gap for variety of factors: StatCan

Quebec caps international students but is hazy on numbers

Quebec is taking steps to cut the number of international students in the province, but can't say by how many. The government will issue a maximum of around 124,000 acceptance certificates to foreign students this year, down from more than 156,000 last year. The measure targets private colleges that the government has said are using education as a business model to sell citizenship.

Quebec caps international students but is hazy on numbers

Polls suggest a close race as federal election approaches

Multiple polls now suggest the next federal election — which could begin in a matter of weeks — will be a tight race. At least one major pollster has the Liberals in the lead and ahead of the Conservatives for the first time in nearly four years.

Polls suggest a close race as federal election approaches

Canada, Germany working on diversifying trade in face of U.S. threats

Canadian companies and diplomats are working with their European colleagues to find ways to diversify trade as the U.S. threatens to impose steep tariffs. Germany's Ambassador to Canada Tjorven Bellmann says European ambassadors in Ottawa have been in touch with corporations on both sides of the Atlantic to discuss how they can boost trade.

Canada, Germany working on diversifying trade in face of U.S. threats

Supreme Court of Canada moving away from social media platform X

The Supreme Court of Canada says it's moving away from the social media platform X. In an apparent farewell post to its more than 45,000 subscribers, the top court says it will focus its communication efforts on other platforms.

Supreme Court of Canada moving away from social media platform X

The Tories say Carney is being 'sneaky' about his assets. What do the rules say?

In a series of press conferences in recent weeks, the federal Conservatives have demanded that Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney comply with the conflict of interest rules that apply to members of Parliament and cabinet ministers. Carney, who is neither an MP nor a member of cabinet, has said he will comply with the rules when they apply to him.