The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has rejected the RCMP’s expression of regret over a historic surveillance program targeting Indigenous leaders, calling it insufficient and demanding full accountability, including a public inquiry.
In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said the RCMP’s acknowledgment of the so-called “Native extremism program” fails to address what she described as serious violations of Indigenous rights.
“An apology isn’t enough,” Woodhouse Nepinak wrote, citing decades of systemic surveillance that she said undermined both individual and collective freedoms.
A recent investigation based on nearly 6,000 declassified documents revealed that the RCMP Security Service monitored Indigenous political movements from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. The program included physical surveillance, electronic eavesdropping and the use of paid informants to infiltrate Indigenous organizations.
Prominent Indigenous leaders — including future AFN national chiefs — were among those targeted. The surveillance expanded significantly following the rise of the Red Power movement in the early 1970s.
While RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme issued a statement expressing “sincere regret,” and the federal government has acknowledged the program as a “reprehensible practice,” AFN leaders say these responses fall short.
The AFN is now calling for the full release of all intelligence files, with appropriate privacy protections, and the establishment of a national inquiry into federal policing and surveillance of First Nations.
Woodhouse Nepinak also warned that current federal priorities around major project development could risk repeating similar patterns of surveillance and control.
Former AFN national chief Georges Erasmus, who was himself monitored, dismissed the value of any apology, arguing the files contain misinformation that damaged reputations and cannot be easily corrected.
The federal government has yet to issue a formal response, though Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree is expected to meet with AFN leadership.
