‘Crack houses’ across rural Newfoundland? RCMP has no reports supporting MP’s claim

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/10/2024 (426 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A Conservative member of Parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador says there are small towns in his rural district overrun with “crack houses” and child sex trafficking, but police say they haven’t received reports to that effect.

Clifford Small told the House of Commons last month there were towns in central Newfoundland “with five crack houses operating.”

“Where young girls — teenagers — are being sold into prostitution,” he said, his voice rising. “These are children of the people that we represent.”

Cpl. Jolene Garland with the Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP said the force has received no such reports.

“Whether that’s happening, it’s not something we’re aware of,” Garland said in an interview Tuesday. “If it is happening, we should be aware of it. People should report crimes within their community.”

Small made the comments on Sept. 26, in support of an unsuccessful motion by Conservative Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre to take down the Liberal minority government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The story was first reported by The Independent online news outlet.

The MP also said a police cruiser was spray-painted in Lewisporte, N.L., which is serviced by the RCMP, but Garland says none of the force’s vehicles in the town were vandalized.

At a recent community meeting in Stoneville, N.L., “terrified seniors told of being threatened that they’d be burned out of their homes, that they’d be burned in their beds,” Small said.

There was a community meeting held recently in the town to discuss policing issues, Garland confirmed. She said the force had received two reports of threats involving one family, which she said were isolated.

Small did not return requests for comment.

The Conservatives’ pitch to replace the Liberals on Parliament Hill includes a focus on crime reduction. Small posted a video of his remarks to the X platform, saying it was time to elect a government that would “put these thugs back where they belong” and make communities safer.

According to Statistics Canada, the province’s crime severity index increased by about 18 per cent between 2019 to 2023. The index accounts for both the volume and severity of police-reported crimes.

Dan McGettigan, who works with people in the criminal justice system in St. John’s, N.L., said social issues including addiction and homelessness are behind that increase. People need stronger community supports, not more time in jail, the founder of non-profit Turnings said in an interview Tuesday.

“We’re putting all our money into the criminal justice system, and in many ways, we’re getting no return,” McGettigan said. “It’s a whole-of-government, whole-society problem, and we just can’t expect the criminal justice system … to be the answer to everything.”

Lawyer Desmond Parsons said he has not seen “any evidence” that incarceration lowers rates of recidivism in his nearly 30-year career. Parsons is the director of the province’s legal aid services in Clarenville, N.L., and Gander, N.L., which is in Small’s district.

“If it were not for addictions and untreated serious mental health struggles, I’d be unemployed,” Parsons said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.