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  • Briefly: Thomas Herdman of Vancouver has spent the last 38 months in a jail near Paris without trial. 

  • Herdman distributed Sky Global’s modified smartphones, which worked on an encrypted network called Sky ECC. Police from Belgium, France and Netherlands cracked the company’s French server. Authorities in the U.S. charged Herdman and Sky Global CEO Jean-Francois Eap with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in March 2021. 

  • Next: Herdman denies wrongdoing. His lawyer, Paul Sin-Chan, is appealing a judge’s denial of bail for Herdman. He had proposed house arrest, electronic monitoring and a 250,000-euro bail. READ MORE BELOW.

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  • Briefly: Thomas Herdman of Vancouver has spent the last 38 months in a jail near Paris without trial. 

  • Herdman distributed Sky Global’s modified smartphones, which worked on an encrypted network called Sky ECC. Police from Belgium, France and Netherlands cracked the company’s French server. Authorities in the U.S. charged Herdman and Sky Global CEO Jean-Francois Eap with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in March 2021. 

  • Next: Herdman denies wrongdoing. His lawyer, Paul Sin-Chan, is appealing a judge’s denial of bail for Herdman. He had proposed house arrest, electronic monitoring and a 250,000-euro bail. READ MORE BELOW.

Business, News, Opinion, Sports

For the week of  Aug. 4, 2024:

Happy British Columbia Day! 

To celebrate Canada’s 153-year-old Pacific province, a special edition of thePodcast, featuring: 

  • Research Co’s Mario Canseco on his latest pre-election poll. Could John Rustad’s Conservatives knock-off David Eby’s NDP government in the Oct. 19 election? Could BC United go from official opposition to fourth-place party? [begins at 01:08]
  • Alan Mullen, who was chief of staff to former B.C. Speaker Darryl Plecas. Will Mullen run in the fall or not? [begins at 14:43]
  • Boating B.C.’s Bruce Hayne on boating safety. More people than ever before are on B.C. water, from stand-up paddle boards to super yachts, competing for space with container ships, oil tankers, ferries and sea planes. [begins at 31:41]

Plus, this week’s Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines. 

CLICK BELOW to listen or go to TuneIn, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have you missed an edition of theBreaker.news Podcast? Go to the archive.

Support theBreaker.news for as low as $2 a month on Patreon. Find out how. Click here.

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For the week of  Aug. 4, 2024:

Business, News

  • Briefly: Vancouver city hall’s integrity commissioner released two reports Aug. 2, ahead of a meeting where Mayor Ken Sim’s party could freeze her investigations. 

  • Lisa Southern dismissed a complaint from Sim’s top two aides against two park board commissioners no longer with Sim’s ABC party. One of the park board officials complained that Sim used those aides to meddle in the park board.

  • Next: ABC decided to call a third-party review into Southern’s office and may go one step further at a special Aug. 6 meeting. READ MORE BELOW

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  • Briefly: Vancouver city hall’s integrity commissioner released two reports Aug. 2, ahead of a meeting where Mayor Ken Sim’s party could freeze her investigations. 

  • Lisa Southern dismissed a complaint from Sim’s top two aides against two park board commissioners no longer with Sim’s ABC party. One of the park board officials complained that Sim used those aides to meddle in the park board.

  • Next: ABC decided to call a third-party review into Southern’s office and may go one step further at a special Aug. 6 meeting. READ MORE BELOW

Business, News

Bob Mackin 

The lawyer for three members of the Lake Babine First Nation wants a new, Indigenous-led investigation of a former day school teacher who allegedly abused them and $40,000 compensation for each Indigenous person who experienced discrimination by the RCMP.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal heard evidence over 44 days beginning in May 2023 about the Prince George RCMP’s investigation of physical and sexual abuse allegations dating back to 1969. A final hearing was scheduled for July 30, but the parties and tribunal determined it was not necessary. The tribunal has reserved its decision. 

Lake Babine First Nation members Cathy Woodgate, Richard Perry, Dorothy Williams, Ann Tom, Maurice Joseph and Emma Williams complained in 2016 that the RCMP violated the Canadian Human Rights Act. Woodgate, Tom and Emma Williams have since died. 

“The evidence showed that the RCMP’s traditional investigative methods failed to meet the needs of Indigenous victims of abuse and were executed with biased attitudes during their investigation that commenced with a complaint from [Beverly] Abraham on July 11, 2012 and concluded on May 14, 2014,” said the closing arguments from their lawyer, Karen Bellehumeur. “The complainants assert that the discrimination revealed in this case is systemic in the RCMP.”

Abraham had alleged she was the victim of abuse by a former teacher at Immaculata, a Catholic day school in Burns Lake, in 1969 and 1970. The identity of that former teacher, who was not criminally charged, is banned from publication. 

Richmond RCMP (Mackin)

“A complete and thorough investigation would have involved interviewing all of the survivors and witnesses to the abuse in a culturally safe and trauma-informed manner,” said Bellehumeur’s April 5 submission. “It would have involved production orders for class lists, teacher employment records and affidavits regarding abuse allegations. It would have ensured that support was offered to all victims reporting abuse and that information they provided was followed up on. It would have ensured that every complainant who reported abuse was provided the outcome of the investigation, along with an explanation. It would ensure the complainants were treated with respect.”

Instead, according to Bellehumeur, the RCMP made false assumptions about Laura Robinson, a journalist investigating their allegations of abuse, and that the RCMP accepted information from a prominent person and his team without verification. 

An investigation without discrimination or bias, Bellehumeur said, “would have involved a careful assessment of the applicable law and policies to ensure allegations of abuse were not dismissed as corporal punishment, a conclusion that can only be based on the false presumption that abuse against Indigenous children was permissible at the time.”

In its final, June 28 submissions, the RCMP said it followed proper procedures and denied that its core functions — investigation and charge recommendation — are a service that is subject to review under the Canadian Human Rights Act. 

“The RCMP thoroughly investigated a criminal complaint over 18 months,” said the submissions by Attorney General of Canada lawyer Whitney Dunn. “The interactions they had with the five complainants they spoke with were respectful. While the complainants may be dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation, that does not mean there was discrimination on a prohibited ground.”

The RCMP filing admitted the Mounties’ historical actions have eroded the trust of Canada’s Indigenous peoples and caused generational harm, but the force is working to rebuild trust and establish respectful relationships. It has enhanced its recruitment, staffing and retention policies, forged partnerships with Indigenous groups with the goal of reconciliation, and added cultural awareness and trauma-informed methods.  

In September 2022, tribunal member Colleen Harrington ordered that only the initials “A.B.” be used in reference to the former teacher, “in all documents and pleadings filed with the tribunal, and in all tribunal rulings and decisions, until further order of the tribunal.”

The publication ban extends to information that would tend to identify A.B. (or family members), including A.B.’s birthdate and country of birth, province of residence, relatives, honours and past or present occupations. 

“The need to prevent disclosure of A.B.’s name to alleviate the risk of undue hardship outweighs the societal interest in full court openness in the circumstances of this case,” Harrington concluded. 

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Bob Mackin  The lawyer for three members of

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Bob Mackin

The Crown corporation in charge of driver licensing in B.C. is blaming a software problem for a backlog.

ICBC’s North Vancouver headquarters (LinkedIn)

Drivers who have renewed their license this summer have told theBreaker.news that they were advised of a delay of up to three months. One said that he was told by an ICBC driver licensing centre employee on Vancouver’s Westside that there had been an influx of driving tests in May and June. 

ICBC spokesperson Greg Harper said a recent software upgrade created a processing and printing backlog and frontline employees have advised drivers applying for cards about the potential delay. 

“We are working through the backlog and aim to have it cleared before the end of the summer,” Harper said. “Until we clear the backlog, drivers could experience a delay in receiving their license, however they are able to use their interim driver’s licenses, which are valid for 90 days.”

B.C. identification (ICBC)

Those interim licences, he said, are stamped with red ink to highlight the possibility of delay. 

The ICBC website includes a card status tracking page, to find out if a card is on its way or still being processed. 

In 2023, ICBC conducted 383,191 road tests and 382,757 knowledge tests, up from 254,912 and 267,092, respectively, in 2019. In 2019, 132,564 graduated licence program learners. In 2023, it was 154,494. 

Also last year, ICBC reported more than 3.9 million active driver licenses, including 2.92 million in class 5. The Lower Mainland is home to 1.75 million class 5 holders. 

In 2019, the number of active licenses across the province was almost 3.6 million, of which 2.7 million were class 5. 

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Bob Mackin The Crown corporation in charge of

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Bob Mackin (Updated Aug. 1, 2024)

Conservative Party of B.C. leader John Rustad told theBreaker.news that he met with personnel from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) about foreign interference in early July.

Conservative Party of B.C. leader John Rustad (Facebook)

Rustad said CSIS contacted him for the briefing. 

“I spent about an hour or so talking to them about issues. But I won’t talk any further about what we discussed,” Rustad said. 

“They provided me with the information that they were able to provide me with.”

Eric Balsam, spokesperson for CSIS, told theBreaker.news that the agency does not “confirm or discuss specific engagements for reasons of privacy.”

He said CSIS provides briefings to elected officials at all levels of government and across party lines to help them identify foreign interference and take measures to protect personal safety.  CSIS is also a member of the B.C. Elections Integrity Working Group with the offices of the Chief Information Officer, Deputy Minister to the Premier, Registrar of Lobbyists and Information and Privacy Commissioner, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and RCMP. 

Rustad was responding to a reporter’s questions about Richmond-North Centre MLA Teresa Wat leaving BC United on July 30 to run as the Conservative candidate in the new Richmond-Bridgeport riding in the Oct. 19 election. The announcement came the same day that a Research Co. poll pegged the Kevin Falcon-led BC United as the fourth-place party among decided voters, with only 9% support. 

“I’m quite concerned about foreign influence in elections, in particular in British Columbia, and not just from China,” said Rustad, a former aboriginal relations and forestry minister. “There’s foreign influence from numerous jurisdictions, including United States.”

Rustad said his party “did not do any extensive vetting” on Wat, a fellow cabinet minister from 2013 to 2017 under then-BC Liberal premier Christy Clark. He also said he cannot comment on Wat’s frequent attendance at events hosted by or in the honour of the People’s Republic of China. 

Wat has yet to respond for comment. She is the fifth MLA elected as a BC Liberal to defect to the Conservatives.

Rustad called Wat “a very passionate person, very passionate about democracy, very passionate about her riding and about this province. And that’s all I can ask anybody to be.”

Wat and Clark with donors, including realtor Layla Yang and online banker Shenglin Xian (Yang)

Wat, a former Chinese-language media manager, was the Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism under Clark. She travelled to China, acted as liaison with Chinese government officials and was a driving force in B.C. government efforts to woo investment from state-owned conglomerate China Poly Group, Union Mobile Pay (China) and Huawei.

In May 2016, Wat and Clark hosted Hu Chunhua, the top the top Chinese Communist Party official in Guangdong province and a member of the Central Committee’s Politburo.

As an opposition MLA, Wat was the critic for trade, tourism, arts and culture and anti-racism initiatives. In January and February 2023, Wat attended Lunar New Year banquets where she was recorded singing the Chinese national anthem, “March of the Volunteers.” 

At a Feb. 5, 2023 gala at the River Rock Casino Resort’s show theatre, Wat sat at the VIP table with Consul General Yang Shu and was surrounded by supporters of the Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations. The Richmond-based business and cultural coalition is aligned with the consulate’s Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, which promotes the CCP’s United Front propaganda campaign. 

Asked if there was any concern about Wat’s relationship with the Chinese government and its allies, Rustad said “he has not heard any.”

“I’ve asked her in discussions in the past, and I wasn’t aware, and I’m not aware of any concerns there,” Rustad said. 

CSIS has yet to respond for comment. 

In June, NDP Premier David Eby appealed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau so that provincial officials could receive the same detailed CSIS briefings given to federal officials.

David Eby (left) and Guo Ding in 2018 (John Yap/Twitter)

“We’ve had a state-level actor attack our computer systems in the heart of government operations,” said Eby at a June 18 news conference in North Vancouver. “We’ve had ex-pat populations from Iran, from Ukraine, from China say that they are being harassed and are facing issues of interference from foreign governments here in B.C.”

Balsam said Bill C-70 amendments to the CSIS Act enable disclosure of information to individuals and organizations outside the federal government.

The Foreign Interference Commission, under Quebec judge Marie-Josee Hogue, confirmed that China meddled in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians reported that members of parliament have colluded with foreign countries, including China. The names of elected officials with divided loyalties were not released. 

Meanwhile, a former NDP by-election candidate married to ex-Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart has exited the Vancouver-Yaletown nomination contest. Jeanette Ashe alleged in an email to supporters that the “nomination process has been compromised and the playing field is not level.” 

Vancouver Police Insp. Terry Yung, husband of Vancouver city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, is being courted by the NDP to run in the new riding. Yung announced his retirement from the force in a July 31 message on X, formerly Twitter. 

Yung has a history of socializing with Chinese diplomats in Vancouver, is past chair of Vancouver’s SUCCESS charity (with offices in Beijing and Guangzhou) and trained police officers from Mainland China through the Justice Institute of B.C.

The Globe and Mail reported last year that, in early 2022, China’s then-Consul General, Tong Xiaoling, allegedly discussed a strategy to replace pro-Taiwan Stewart with a Chinese-Canadian candidate. Ken Sim of the ABC Vancouver party eventually defeated Stewart in a landslide. 

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Bob Mackin (Updated Aug. 1, 2024) Conservative Party

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Bob Mackin 

A former city councillor is slamming Vancouver city hall for hiding the names and titles of the bureaucrats who run the $2 billion-a-year government. 

On June 24, city hall quietly removed the staff directory from the website.

Vancouver city hall (Mackin)

A heavily censored, two-page document, obtained under freedom of information, blamed “increased harassment and threats to individual staff (within parking enforcement, park rangers and planning) and elected officials” for recommending the end of what was known as the “QuickFind” list and search engine. 

There is no evidence visible in the document about any harassment or threat. 

“These people are public servants, their salaries are paid by the public, they need to be public,” said Colleen Hardwick, who spent four years on city council before finishing third in the 2022 mayoral election with TEAM for a Livable Vancouver. “I question whether this is a political decision or a staff decision. Yes, ABC are the political brand du jour, but I rather suspect this is a staff move.”

Colleen Hardwick (Mackin)

The document showed that staff compared the websites of only two other area governments, Metro Vancouver — which “only provides info centre contact” — and City of Surrey — which “lists general dept/team emails; may not have a centralized contact centre similar to 3-1-1.”

theBreaker.news found Toronto and Edmonton both include staff directories on their websites. 

Toronto’s is listed under the heading “Staff Directory, Divisions and Customer Service,” with downloadable staff lists, links to customer service standards for each department and complaints and compliments forms. 

The B.C., Alberta and federal governments also maintain dedicated online staff directories. 

Hardwick said Vancouver should follow Toronto and Edmonton’s disclosure of public employees, because “they’re working for a public institution, not a private company.”

City of Vancouver did as recommended by the document, removing the staff directory and replacing it with a nameless organization structure and referral to the 3-1-1 hotline. Unlike the website, it is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.  

The document even suggested “reactive key messages,” such as promoting 3-1-1’s translation services in more than 170 languages. “Agents route questions, feedback, or issues to various City departments to respond as appropriate.”

Under the heading of “if pushed,” the communications department recommended emphasizing that the city is “committed to providing a safe and respectful work environment, and abusive conduct or comments toward staff are not acceptable.” It called harassment and threats “an additional reason for the removal of the staff directory.”

The removal of the staff directory was supposed to happen by June 21, but Kira Hutchinson of the communications department suggested it be delayed until after the weekend, in case a reporter noticed it missing. “We don’t want our after hours media person getting queries about it if we can help it.”

Randy Helten of CityHallWatch.ca (Helten)

Without a staff directory, the only opportunity for citizens to know who is working for them is the statement of financial information sunshine list published every April. But that document shows last names, first initials, annual salaries and expenses, but not first names or job titles.

A reporter asked city hall for a copy of the current organization chart for the civic engagement and communications department. On July 25, FOI case manager Kevin Tuerlings demanded a $60 payment, because he claimed it would take five hours for staff to search, compile and create a record. (The FOI law says governments cannot charge for the first three hours of service.)

A local government watchdog called the removal of the staff directory “lamentable” and part of a pattern under the ABC party, elected with a supermajority in 2022. 

Randy Helten of CityHallWatch pointed to last December’s move to abolish park board elections and this month’s indefinite moratorium on integrity commissioner investigations and reports. 

“Another erosion of the openness of our municipal government,” Helten said. “CityHallWatch would use the staff directory often, and we know that many of our readers would do so too. Ken Sim and ABC’s election platform included a section on transparency, accountability, and good government, but with this change, the city is going further into hiding. People should call on Mayor Ken Sim to bring back the online staff directory.”

Helten said he was skeptical about the reason for removing the directory and accused city hall of “cherry picking examples,” rather than looking at the best practices of governance and transparency. 

“There’s a trade-off between hiding behind the shield of the city website versus being transparent and accountable to maintain the public trust in the municipal government,” Helten said.

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Bob Mackin  A former city councillor is slamming

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Bob Mackin

B.C. Lottery Corporation is giving away a suite at B.C. Place Stadium during Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour weekend in December.

BCLC logo

Does this mean the B.C. NDP government is breaking Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) advertising standards? 

A 250,000-run of $25 scratch and win tickets goes on sale Aug. 7 for what is described as “The Concert of a Lifetime Giveaway.” The draw takes place Oct. 30 for the grand prize, a suite for 14 people at B.C. Place. Travel and accommodation not included. 

The BCLC website does not specifically name Swift, who is scheduled to play sold out B.C. Place shows on Dec. 6-8. But it does drop a big hint: “Apart from being one of the world’s biggest multi-platinum artists, they also have a reputation of being an amazing performer.”

GPEB’s Advertising and Marketing Standards for Gambling in B.C. include a section on protecting those under the legal purchase age of 19. 

It expressly states that advertising and marketing materials “must not contain role models, and/or celebrity/entertainer endorsers whose primary appeal is to minors.” 

Taylor Swift B.C. Place concert ad (BC Place/Swift)

The key word may be primary. Swift appeals to various demographics. A Morning Consult survey found 45% of fans are millennials and 11% are Gen Z. But Swift enjoys a fanbase of teenage girls and children who rely on their parents to buy tickets and merchandise. Some of them scored tickets last November, many others did not. 

Premier David Eby, himself, acknowledged Swifties in his own household when he issued a social media plea last September for Swift to bring the tour to B.C. Place.

“Ms. Swift. It’s David Eby, premier of British Columbia,” he said. “I’m not accustomed to begging, but for my own constituency of my loving and beautiful wife and my son, Ezra, please come to Vancouver, British Columbia.”

It isn’t the first time BCLC raised eyebrows for connecting with a celebrity who enjoys fans not old enough to legally gamble. BCLC paid then-Canucks’ goalie Roberto Luongo $160,000 to appear in ads for PlayNow online poker in 2011.

Research by McGill University youth gambling expert Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky found 9% of high school students have gambled for money on the Internet. A 1996 study from Laval University found adolescents who gamble excessively are at increased risk for delinquency and crime, the disruption of relationships and impaired academic performance and work activities. 

In the same year, a University of Calgary study said pathological gamblers reported that they started gambling seriously at 9 or 10 years of age.

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Bob Mackin B.C. Lottery Corporation is giving away

Business, News, Opinion, Sports

For the week of July 28, 2024:

The XXXIII Summer Olympics are underway in Paris, now a third-time host of the five-ring circus. 

We will find out if the French learned anything about the good, the bad and the ugly of the Games that came before, such as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. 

This week, an encore presentation of host Bob Mackin’s February interview with Irwin Oostindie of Vancouver’s Voor Urban Labs. 

Oostindie was in the French capital in February to meet with academics and critics of Paris 2024, to share his knowledge about Vancouver 2010 and its socio-economic goals. 

Plus, the Canadian women’s Olympic soccer team is embroiled in scandal after a staff member was caught using a drone to spy on New Zealand’s training session. It became the biggest Olympic story before the Paris 2024 opening ceremony.

Could the precedent set by a Mexican scandal in 1988 affect Canada’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2026? Hear from former Mexican radio reporter Mario Canseco. 

Plus, this week’s Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines. 

CLICK BELOW to listen or go to TuneIn, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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For the week of July 28, 2024:

Business, News, Sports

Bob Mackin (Updated July 31, 2024)

Could the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) drone spying scandal at Paris 2024 result in disqualification of the Canadian men’s team from the FIFA World Cup in 2026?

Joey Lombardi (left), Bev Priestman and Jasmine Mander (CSA)

Women’s Olympic team head coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi were sent home, after French police caught Lombardi flying a drone around New Zealand’s closed training session in Saint-Etienne. FIFA banned each of them for a year.

TSN reported that Canadian men’s and women’s programs had been spying on opponents for years, something the CSA admitted to FIFA in a legal document presented to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. 

The incident involving the defending gold medal champions dominated international media attention before the July 26 Olympic opening ceremony. FIFA handed Canada a six-point tournament penalty, but there could be more consequences to come.

If it goes deeper, FIFA could revoke Canada’s Tokyo gold medal, issue additional individual suspensions or even penalize the CSA, co-host of the FIFA World Cup 26 with U.S. and Mexico. It is the biggest Canadian Olympic scandal since 1988 when sprinter Ben Johnson lost his gold medal and world record after failing a doping test in Seoul.

A former radio reporter from Mexico, who now runs a Vancouver market research company, said FIFA set a precedent after a 1988 scandal involving Mexico’s junior men’s national team. 

Mexican reporter Antonio Moreno noticed some of the ages of players in a publication by the Mexican federation conflicted with those on a roster sheet for the 1988 CONCACAF under-20 tournament in Guatemala.

(FIFA/CSA)

Mexico dominated the tournament and qualified for the Saudi Arabia 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship with at least four over-age players. Officials from the U.S. and Guatemala complained to CONCACAF, FIFA’s North and Central American and Caribbean zone. The scandal became known as “Cachirules,” named for an entertainer who often portrayed younger male roles.

“The way in which people felt about it is, Mexico has always been a friend of FIFA. It had just organized the 1986 World Cup after Colombia pulled out,” said Mario Canseco of Research Co. “At the time, the CONCACAF president [Joaquín Soria Terrazas] was also from Mexico, so the thought was, we’ll just get by with a slap in the wrist, nothing is going to be taken too seriously. But FIFA really did take it seriously.”

FIFA agreed with CONCACAF’s findings and banned all Mexican national teams from international competition for two years. That included the Seoul 1988 Olympics and qualifying for the Italy 1990 World Cup.

“It’s a different situation [in 2024], but if we had the same type of punishment — because if it’s a two-year situation that affects all of the teams — then Canada could conceivably not host the World Cup,” Canseco said. 

Canada qualified automatically for the 2026 men’s championship with the U.S. and Mexico. It is scheduled to play once in Toronto and twice in Vancouver during the opening round of the 48-nation tournament. Vancouver could spend up to $581 million on hosting while Toronto is expecting to spend $380 million. The federal security budget has not been announced. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani of West Vancouver is also a vice-president of FIFA.

Remaining teams in CONCACAF are vying for three berths. Another two teams could still enter as wildcards via an inter-confederation playoff. 

Canada qualified for its second World Cup, in Qatar 2022, as CONCACAF’s top team with an 8-4-2 record under coach John Herdman. Mexico and U.S. finished second and third, while Costa Rica won a wildcard berth. Panama, one of the teams Canada defeated, finished fifth.

Canada’s men’s national team in 2022 (CSA)

Herdman quit last year to coach Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. He previously coached the Canadian women’s team to two Olympic bronze medals between 2011 and 2018. Herdman told reporters in Toronto on July 26 that he was “highly confident” that drones were not used during his coaching career with the CSA.

FIFA rules for Paris 2024 specifically banned drones “over any tournament training sites and stadiums.” The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the six-point penalty before Canada qualified for the quarter-finals on July 31, but IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said any further discipline would be up to FIFA. 

The FIFA Appeal Committee’s July 28 “Notification of the grounds of the Decision” included evidence from the CSA that use of a drone to scout opposition dated back to Herdman’s tenure.

“It was not facilitated by the federation,” said the CSA submission. “New Canada Soccer administration is supporting a full independent investigation of this issue and has already taken steps to ensure that this scouting tactic does not happen again.”

The document also quoted from a March 2024 email Priestman sent to a CSA employee in which she called spying the difference between winning and losing. A performance analyst had cited moral grounds to refuse Priestman’s order to spy on opposition. 

The CSA has launched an independent review of the drone spying scandal by external lawyer Sonia Regenbogen, a workplace investigations specialist. 

“I am deeply concerned and feel frankly very disappointed and frustrated about the distraction that it has created,” Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue told reporters July 26. “But I have not considered withdrawal of the [women’s Olympic] team, primarily because we feel like we have addressed the situation swiftly and significantly. It would be to the detriment of our players who have worked so hard and sacrificed quite a bit to be Olympians and themselves have not engaged in unethical behaviour.”

A spokesperson for Canada’s Own the Podium high performance program said it does not fund national sports organizations directly, but collaborates “on how funds are spent to support their high-performance program.” 

“OTP definitely did not provide funding support for drones,” Chris Dornan said.  

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