Rebel News

Edmonton mayor directed police chief to answer to Muslim group, not city hall

Subhead:Records reveal that while Edmonton's Jewish Federation warned of rising antisemitism and defended Chief Driechel, Mayor Knack was busy directing police leadership to treat the NCCM's demands as the authoritative starting point.# YouTube-embed:jNUZt6Qb438 Article by Rebel News staff. Newly released access to information records obtained by Rebel News reveal that Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack acted as a conduit between the National Council of Canadian Muslims and Edmonton police leadership during the controversy over Chief Warren Driechel's professional development trip to Israel. Guest host Sheila Gunn Reid walked through the documents on Thursday's edition of The Ezra Levant Show — and the picture they paint is one of two-tier treatment at city hall. Chief Driechel travelled to Israel as part of a multi-city North American police delegation focused on emergency management, public safety, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism. The trip was professionally relevant: Edmonton has previously experienced an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack targeting city police. More than two dozen organizations affiliated with the NCCM nevertheless demanded answers, apologies, and in some cases the chief's resignation. According to the ATIP records, Mayor Knack's response was to treat those demands not as one voice among many, but as the authoritative starting point. In one email to the police chief and police commission chair, Knack wrote that “the best starting point for organizations to engage with is the letter sent by NCCM.” Knack went further, describing the three questions raised in the NCCM-backed letter as “reasonable questions to be answered,” and offered his office's help coordinating a meeting — one that would be hosted and led by the NCCM itself. “Sounds more like a struggle session,” Sheila remarked. Knack also recommended NCCM-connected individuals as sources of advice for police leadership.