Episode 58: Toothless Tiger

Cops kill people. They hurt people. They sexually assault people. And when they do, there’s a whole system that’s supposed to hold them accountable, but it barely works. On Episode 58, Garth and Sam dig into Canada’s rotten history of police accountability—and ask whether the system is failing, or doing exactly what it was built to do. HEADLINES A recent report by the Tracking (In)Justice Project at Carleton University has found that Canadian police officers have killed significantly more people during the 2020s than in previous decades. In 96% of cases Canada’s police oversight agencies declined to recommend or lay charges on officers.  APTN reports that a family from the Swan Lake First Nation in Manitoba is frustrated with the province’s Independent Investigations Unit. In 2025, an officer with the Manitoba First Nations Police Service shot and killed their dog. This week, the IIU cleared the officer of any potential charges. (Link).  Universities are spying on students. The Breach uncovered a secret network of administrators at top Canadian universities. This “top-secret” network worked to surveille and suppress students protesting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. In Alberta, University managers were found to have colluded with the UCP government and the police to clear student encampments using violent, para-military raids.  Since 2025, the US military has killed over 200 people as part of Operation Southern Spear – a campaign to bomb small fishing boats in the Caribbean. Human rights organizations have called it “illegal” and a “murder spree.” President Donald Trump has claimed that these bombings contributed to a 97% reduction in drugs trafficked to the US by sea. However, a recently leaked Drug Enforcement Administration assessment states that Donald Trumps’ bombings have completely failed to impact the supply, purity, and price of cocaine in the United States. (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3).  UPDATES DULF’s Charter Challenge had its last day in court at the end of July. You can read Michelle Gamage’s reporting on the trial for The Tyee on the DULF trial here.  The BC Supreme Court recently issued a decision saying that David Eby’s forced treatment centres violate Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Read Health Justice’s summary of the decision here.   FEATURE STORY #1 Garth and Sam talk to Kingsley Gilliam, a civil rights legend and the Director of Advocacy for the Black Action Defence Committee, as well as Lydia Lukas Lobbezoo, a policy co