B.C. Mountie's anti-Trudeau website raises concerns about discriminatory views within the RCMP
Police officer's satirical website pokes fun at prime minister, LGBTQ+ issues and immigration policy
A B.C. Mountie's anti-Trudeau website is causing waves in a small West Kootenay community and raising concerns about political bias among the ranks of the RCMP.
The Church of Trudeau website was online last November and early December and featured theatrical performances by a man dressed up as multiple characters in what appears to be satirical political commentary about the Prime Minister and what the site referred to as "left-wing Liberal ideologies."
CBC News has confirmed the identity of the man in photos and videos on the website as Trail, B.C., RCMP officer Brent Lord through a source familiar with the website and its contents.
The RCMP says it is aware of the site and the matter is under review.
In one of four videos CBC News has obtained, Lord plays the role of a character he calls Father B, and professes to be "the High Prophet of the Church of Trudeau" as he explains what the website is about, stating, "our religion teaches the importance of socialism, of cancelling everyone that offends anyone, of being woke and highly emotional."
A YouTube channel associated with the site that was scrubbed of content in December once stated, "our goal is to convert sinful conservatives who belong to a fringe minority with unacceptable views into entitled socialist liberals just like us."
Some of the website's contents and related social media accounts, including Twitter, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook are still publicly available through the Internet Archive Wayback Machine and search engines' web cache.
Lord does not mention his job as a Mountie on the website or in the videos.
CBC News has reached out to Lord through email, social media and the phone number listed on the website, but he has not responded.
Site pokes fun at LGBTQ+ issues, immigration
In one video, Lord is dressed in multiple costumes sarcastically praising Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and government funding announcements for a Saskatchewan First Nation community and the LGBTQ+ community.
"$35 million in new project funded support aimed at addressing specific barriers to 2SLGBTQ+ equality. Now I'm not as smart as Justin Trudeau so I don't really understand what that means, but it sounds really good and if Justin Trudeau has implemented it then it really makes sense and I trust that all of this money will be spent appropriately and there will be no scandals. I trust you Justin, I trust," he says, dressed in a fluffy dog hat with dog pyjamas and large red sunglasses.
In another video, Lord gives a speech about federal immigration policy while wearing a jester's hat and claims the goal of the policy is to bring in 1.5 million Liberal voters to Canada.
Viewers are invited to call into weekly streamed web broadcasts to discuss current events and donate money to support the website in order to "help make Canada the greatest welfare country in the world."
'We are taking it seriously': mayor
The website's contents and the views expressed by the officer are concerning, according to Trail Mayor Colleen Jones, who said she has had "multiple conversations with the Trail RCMP detachment commander about it.
"It's definitely not anything a community wants," Jones said.
"I want everybody to know that we are taking it seriously and that the officer in question is currently working from home and will continue to do so until the investigation is complete."
The
Church of Trudeau website was online in November and early December
before it was taken down. The officer who created the website has not
responded to multiple requests for comment. (churchoftrudeau.org)
To Kash Heed, a former West Vancouver police chief and former solicitor general and minister of public safety, the political nature of the website is not in line with the standard of conduct expected of a police officer.
"The RCMP should be investigating this as a code of conduct breach for this particular member," he said.
"When you're a public servant, especially with the RCMP where you've taken that oath of service to Canada, and you make those satirical videos, you have the memes of this particular character trying to be funny — I find it very disturbing."
'Public trust is essential': RCMP spokesperson
In a statement, RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Chris Manseau said the police force is assessing the website and the videos, calling it a fluid situation.
"Public trust is essential for the RCMP to effectively serve and protect Canadians," he said.
"As a result, RCMP employees must conduct themselves in a manner that not only meets, but exceeds, the rightfully high expectations of Canadians."
Heed likened the officer's political statements in the videos to cases last year of police officers expressing support for the Freedom Convoy movement and donating money to the organizers, which resulted in the officers being charged with misconduct and in one case demoted for their actions.
"It certainly brings into question the credibility of not only that individual, but the organization that he works for," Heed said.
"We need to make sure we're hiring the right people and we have the policies, discipline and supervision in place to detect these types of behaviours and deal with them in a swift fashion."
It's not clear how long the RCMP's investigation into the officer and website will take.
Jones said she has faith in the police force's review of the situation and that she will be closely following the process.
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