RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme responded to reports from the New York Times about FBI Director Kash Patel temporarily halting cooperation with Canadian law enforcement after a CBC memo instructed reporters not to refer to the 9/11 attacks as terrorist attacks without attribution. Duheme emphasized that despite these reports, the RCMP maintains strong relationships with its international partners and continues to work closely on national security issues. The article focuses on how this diplomatic spat may affect ongoing intelligence-sharing between Canadian and U.S. agencies.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford praised Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow during a press conference for her work and their relationship, hinting at support for her re-election bid. This followed the announcement of a new financial deal between the province and the city, leading some to interpret Ford's comments as an endorsement. However, over 30 hours later, on Thursday evening, Ford’s office issued a statement clarifying that these remarks were not intended as an official endorsement and that he will not endorse any candidate in Toronto’s mayoral race. The clarification came after Chow’s main rival, Brad Bradford, claimed Ford had endorsed Chow. Ford and Chow have developed a working relationship despite their different political backgrounds, with the Premier highlighting over $9 billion in funding provided to the city under his leadership.
Written for “Doug Ford Not Endorsing Olivia Chow” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 12 other(s) covering the same event.
RCMP says relationships with allies 'strong' after report FBI stopped co-operation following CBC 9/11 memo
New York Times reported on a short-lived attempt to punish the Mounties
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Times → say → Mounties
The head of the RCMP says the national law enforcement agency maintains "strong relationships" with its allies, seemingly downplaying reports that FBI Director Kash Patel sought to punish Canada for a CBC memo regarding how to describe 9/11.
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Patel → say → 9/11
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme was responding to a report from the New York Times on Friday alleging Patel temporarily halted some co-operation with the Mounties in retaliation to a leaked CBC internal memo instructing reporters to not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks ahead of the 25th anniversary.
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Patel → respond → anniversary
CBC has a longstanding policy to generally avoid labelling specific acts as terrorism without attribution.
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CBC → have → attribution
In a statement, the RCMP said it cannot speak to the intelligence-sharing practices of other law enforcement agencies, but the commissioner stressed that the relationship continues.
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relationship → say → agencies
"We value our relationship with our U.S. counterparts, as we work closely to respond to threats to national security and maintain situational awareness of emerging risks," said Duheme in a statement.
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Duheme → value → statement
"We maintain strong relationships with Canada's security and intelligence community and work closely with domestic and international partners, including members of the Five Eyes community."
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We → maintain → community
Following international outcry, Basem Boshra, CBC's senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, issued a clarification on Aug. 28 saying "direct attribution is not required for describing the historic events of 9/11 as terrorism."
However the damage seemed to have been done with the White House.
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damage → follow → House
Patel was very public in his anger, putting a statement out on X that "any agency in Canada that doesn't publicly reject this bastardization of history, and an insult to the souls lost during our largest terrorist attack in U.S. history will no longer have friend in this FBI."
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that → put → FBI
According to the New York Times's sources, Patel sought to punish Canada and FBI officials cancelled meetings with their Canadian counterparts — telling them they would be out of touch for some time.
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they → accord → time
The news outlet also reported that some collaboration between the two agencies stopped around the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, citing people with knowledge of the episode.
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collaboration → report → episode
The allegations would mark a new chapter in the already disintegrating Canada-U.S. relationship, this time with public safety ramifications.
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allegations → mark → ramifications
Republican Party revokes CBC/Radio-Canada media accreditation for upcoming midterm convention
- FRONT BURNER
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Party → revoke → convention
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's incessant jabs at his northern neighbour, including his 51st state rhetoric, security and intelligence officials in Canada have maintained that day-to-day operations continue largely unchanged.
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operations → include → day
As a net importer of intelligence, Canada leans heavily on partnerships like the Fives Eyes — which includes the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand — to pass on information.
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which → lean → information
The RCMP and FBI have a longstanding partnership and collaborate on a range of issues from the shared border to terrorism and cybersecurity.
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RCMP → have → terrorism
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the federal government "values its close and longstanding law enforcement and security partnerships with the United States."
"We remain grateful for the service of Canadian and American law enforcement personnel and for the deep co-operation between Canadian and U.S. agencies," said the spokesperson, Simon Lafortune.
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spokesperson → say → agencies
"This collaboration is essential to keeping Canadians and Americans safe, and we will continue to engage with our American partners constructively and respectfully."
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we → keep → partners
The FBI declined to comment.
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FBI → decline → ?
The White House did not respond to questions about the allegations in the New York Times's story but spokesperson Lauren Bis called the CBC guidance "disgusting and disrespectful to all the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks and their families."
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Bis → respond → attacks
"These terror attacks were pure acts of evil," said Bis.
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Bis → say → evil
The Aporia
