Posted by John Clearwater on October 18, 1999 at 09:12:56:
Dear Unionists:
Please re-print and distribute this article.
Share it with others on your network.
Print it in your local publication.
Make sure your labour group gets its secret file!
Dr. John M. Clearwater, Ottawa, da710@ncf.ca
(political researcher)
18 October 1999
UNIONS MONITORED BY THE RCMP:
FIGHT BACK WITH THEIR SECRET INFORMATION
All across Canada, in cities and towns and in the
countryside, the RCMP monitored unions and labour organizations.
Virtually all unions were monitored as the government feared any
organized opposition. The RCMP would even break & enter
premises in order to gather material for the inclusion in their files
on legal unions. Many of the RCMP Security Service (SS) files
were transferred to the National Archives of Canada (NAC). This
means that secret RCMP files on unions ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO
YOU! All you have to do is request the files from the National
Archives.
In Ottawa, go to the NAC Reference Room and view the
public RG146 finding aids for the secret files. There are hundreds
of pages of lists of unions and protest groups and activities and
strikes which were observed and noted by the RCMP undercover
agents and their moles and snitches. If you are not in Ottawa, you
should ask the NAC to make a copy of the finding aid available to
you in your city through the office of your local Member of
Parliament. The more direct way to find out if your union is on the
list is to call or mail the archivist in Ottawa. You can ask Ms Sarah
Gawman to do an electronic search for key words in the
RCMP/CSIS CD-ROM database. She will then give you the volume
number, and inform you of how many file parts make up the total
file. Call her at (613) 995-5493, or Email: sgawman@archives.ca
Now, before you become all worried that this takes lots of
time and money and knowledge, let us assure you that it does not.
Requests can be, and often are, hand-written. Although forms for
making requests are available from public libraries and
government offices, they are not required. You can use the
sample letter below. The AIA request form is on-line at:
http://www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/ip/infosource/Info_6/Request-Frms_e.html
It costs $5.00 to apply for the union files. These RCMP/SS files can
be accessed by anyone. Simply make a request in writing, using
the form or letter, by mail, and include $5.00 per file part, to:
Ms Marta Khan
Access to Information Coordinator
National Archives of Canada
395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0N3
tel. (613) 947-1532/954-4142 fax. (613) 992-9350
State that you request access to an RCMP RG146 file under
the Access Act (AIA) of Canada. Just describe in as much detail as
possible the records you seek. It is best to have gone through the
RCMP finding aid (RG146) at the NAC first, or have contacted
Sarah Gawman; this way you will be able to quote the file
reference. However, you could simply give the name and location
of the protest group, and have the NAC look it up for you.
The NAC then has 30 days under the AIA to respond, and
they will not meet this deadline, so you must immediately, on day
31, write a letter of delay complaint to the Information
Commissioner, stating that the NAC is in a deemed refusal (late)
position. In the event that they are not forthcoming with the files,
making a complaint to the Information Commissioners is free, and
can be hand-written in one sentence. Such simple complaints are
often all that is required to finally get files. It need only state that
you are dissatisfied with the response of the NAC, and that you
would like the Commissioner to investigate and get more material
released. Tell the Sommissioner that your request was not done in
the required time limit, and/or that the response did not include all
the requested records, and/or