Public Safety committee  Mr. Chair, I'm not an expert on all electronic devices. However, the recent National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft brought auto industry representatives and auto insurance representatives to the same table, because the solution has to come from more than just the Canada Border Services Agency or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Public Safety committee  Mr. Chair, first of all, the RCMP has a mandate to investigate any foreign interference or any other matter that may affect national security. We work closely with our partners abroad, as well as with Mr. Vigneault's team, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service team, across the country.

Public Safety committee  I'm not quite sure if the numbers were the same—I apologize if I don't have the statistics—or if this was influenced by a certain event, or whether there was still extortion but maybe not at the level you're seeing today and with the violence you're seeing today.

Public Safety committee  I would first say that with regard to Peel's comments, I can't really comment on them. It's the first time I'm hearing about the copycats. The RCMP takes the question of extortion very seriously. That's why we put a national project team together, to make sure we can connect the dots and demonstrate that they're possibly related, from what we're seeing in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

Public Safety committee  First off, I feel sorry for people who have to go through this type of extortion. It's unacceptable in Canada. You will note that Peel started an extortion crime task force. There's also one in Edmonton and one in British Columbia. The RCMP has the overarching role of connecting all three organizations to make sure we have the right picture.

Public Safety committee  I can commit that we'll look into it, but I'm just not quite sure if we have it.

Public Safety committee  Mr. Chair, the impact is felt not only in the RCMP but also by my colleague David Vigneault from CSIS. Again, the decision was rendered three weeks ago. I don't have the number of files that took place in the last three weeks that incurred delays, but from an organizational perspective we are monitoring the impact on current operations.

Public Safety committee  Let me give you a few numbers on the sexual harassment side of things over the last couple of years. In 2021, there were 48 out of 373 harassment files. Out of those, 12 did not meet the definition of harassment and violence; 16 at least had one allegation that met the definition of harassment, and 18 were withdrawn by the principal parties.

Public Safety committee  We were a bit surprised with the decision that came out. At this point in time—the decision was rendered three weeks ago—I've asked that throughout the country, we monitor the impacts on our operations. I don't have the numbers just yet, because it's relatively fresh. We will have to come back to the committee.

Public Safety committee  Thank you, Minister. Mr. Chair, as you've seen in the news, auto theft is really concentrated in the Montreal and Toronto areas. CPIC, the Canadian Police Information Centre, records data on automobiles, stolen property and licence plate numbers. It's a system that police across the country use on average 300,000 times a day, I think.

Declaration of Emergency committee  Are you talking about a law enforcement perspective? You also mentioned governments not talking to each other.

Declaration of Emergency committee  From a law enforcement perspective, we are in a different place than we were when the convoy happened. We've seen it through different events that took place in Ottawa. From a government perspective, I'll let Minister LeBlanc respond.

Declaration of Emergency committee  I can just add, Madam Chair, that since then we've seen a difference in the requesting of resources. I think there is a historical part here that needs to be understood as well. When the RCMP was responsible for the Hill, we worked jointly with the Ottawa Police Service because most of the demonstrations would start on the street and end on the Hill.

Information & Ethics committee  That's an opinion. I'll keep my opinion to myself.

Information & Ethics committee  Before you sit down with someone, obviously there's an analysis that's been done of everything that you've collected on that person as to what they have seen, whether they're involved and whatnot. Our investigators have a game plan when they go in and sit down with someone—if there's a need to sit down with someone.