Question Period Note: Alleged War Crimes in the Ongoing Israel-Hamas Conflict

The role of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with respect to the ongoing conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is committed to its mandate under Canadian law to assess credible allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

• In early 2024, the RCMP initiated a structural investigation in connection with the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

• A structural investigation is not a criminal investigation. A structural investigation is a broad, intelligence-led process designed to collect, preserve, and assess information potentially relevant under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. Other examples where the RCMP has initiated these types of structural investigations include Ukraine-Russia and Syria-Iran.

• Should a perpetrator of core international crimes—such as genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity—with the appropriate nexus to Canada be identified, the RCMP will initiate a separate criminal investigation.

• The RCMP’s actions are solely focused on upholding Canada’s legal obligations and do not target any community or group.
 

The Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7, 2023, has resulted in more than 52,000 Palestinian fatalities in Gaza and approximately 1,700 Israeli deaths as of May 2025, along with mass displacement, widespread infrastructure destruction, and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
The war has led to numerous allegations of war crimes, with international bodies, human rights organizations, and legal experts raising concerns over violations of international humanitarian law. A United Nations Commission of Inquiry determined that both sides have been accused of targeting civilians. The investigation alleges that Israel’s military actions amount to crimes against humanity, citing extermination, torture, starvation, arbitrary detention as methods of warfare, and gender-based persecution of Palestinian men and boys. The inquiry also accused Hamas of war crimes, including widespread sexual violence committed against Israeli women, and patterns of mass killings in public shelters.
The Crimes Against Humanity War Crimes Program was established to support Canada’s policy to deny safe haven and ensure accountability to persons alleged to have committed or to have been complicit in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide (core crimes). The no safe haven policy prioritizes immigration and civil remedies aimed at preventing core crimes suspects from entering or obtaining status in Canada. Under the purview of the Crimes Against Humanity War Crimes Program, the RCMP has the ultimate authority to launch a national structural investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In early 2024, the RCMP initiated a structural investigation in connection with this ongoing conflict. A structural investigation is a broad, intelligence-led process designed to collect, preserve, and assess information potentially relevant under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. This includes gathering open-source material and voluntary submissions from individuals wishing to provide information. The primary objective is to proactively collect relevant information that may support future investigative steps, should jurisdictional and legal thresholds be met.
Should a perpetrator of core international crimes—such as genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity—with the appropriate nexus to Canada be identified, the RCMP will initiate a separate criminal investigation.
Although this work has been underway in a developmental capacity since early 2024, it had not yet been publicly announced as the RCMP continues to develop essential operational tools. This includes a secure online portal in French, English, Hebrew and Arabic to facilitate the structured and secure submission of information by the public and potential witnesses. Due to technical challenges, this has resulted in delays to the rollout of this critical tool.
A Department of Justice statement in late May 2025 indicated that the RCMP may launch a structural investigation “when there is evidence that war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide have occurred or are occurring anywhere in the world, and where there is a specific immigration community in Canada — either on a temporary residence or permanent residence basis — which is sufficiently large so that the RCMP may gather the necessary evidence.”

If Pressed
Q1- How does the RCMP collect information in a structural investigation?
• The RCMP collects public submissions through a secure web-based portal. The portal provides a clear, safe, and accessible mechanism through which the public can share information on what they have witnessed or experienced as potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• Victims of, or witnesses to, possible war crimes, or crimes against humanity, are eligible to provide submissions. The information is safeguarded by the RCMP and only used for investigative purposes and criminal prosecutions.
Q2 - Does the RCMP collect information outside of portal submissions as part of its investigations?
• The RCMP may collect information from a variety of sources, including open-source material, voluntary submissions from individuals who may have relevant information, as well as information from domestic and international partners and other modern and traditional investigative avenues.