Larry Burden’s This Day In The RCMP
November 8, 2019
The achievements and contributions of the Force have been built upon the individual contributions of many past Veterans. These contributions have largely been forgotten.
Veteran Sgt. Larry Burden ( #35982), who served in “E” Division for 20 years, has spent over ten years researching and summarizing these achievements by specific date. Nearly every day, Larry sends out an email message with a selection from his work in progress manuscript “This Day In The RCMP” to individuals interested in these historical notes.
In an effort to share his research to a large group, Larry has agreed to permit us to develop a webpage on our website. Each webpage will post Larry’s historical notations over the past week.
November 9th
1942– On this day during World War II a Nazi secret agent named Werner von Janowski came ashore near the Gaspé town of New Carlisle after being delivered by submarine U-518. Within twelve hours he was captured due to his strong accent and out-of-place possessions.
After being captured the RCMP decided to “turn” him and become their first double agent. With the passage of time, it appeared that he may have been a triple agent and that was the German plan in the first place. In 1996 author Dean Beeby published Cargo of Lies: The true Story of a Nazi Double Agent in Canada in which he detailed the events surrounding this story.
1970– Surrey B.C. members responded to a domestic disturbance where a mother had reported that her distraught son had fled her house with a rifle after he threatened to kill his wife and himself. As the supervisor #15736 Sergeant Arnold McPherson left the house the suspect drove by honking his horn at the police. The sergeant then followed the man in his car and 100 yards down the road the suspect stopped and jumped from his vehicle and aimed the rifle at the policeman.
After a tense standoff the gunman jumped back into his car and sped off and shortly thereafter fled from his car on foot into the bush. After a search of the area with a police dog failed to locate the man, constables #27665 John W. Clarke and #27842 K. L. Smith were sent to his house and they hid inside to await his return. Shortly thereafter the man kicked in the door to his house and threatened to shoot Constable Clarke with the rifle. As he stepped forward, Constable Smith grabbed the barrel of the rifle and the two officers subdued him. He received a six-month sentence for pointing a firearm. Both constables were later awarded Commanding Officers Commendations for bravery.
1973 -Commendations for bravery were issued to #18887 / O.959 Victor Edwards along with #20064 Dennis Roberts and #25458 / O.1646 Maurice Riou after they arrested an armed man who had shot and wounded Constable Roberts and two civilians at Williams Lake, BC.
1976 – #23101 Corporal Robert C. Henderson and Constable #28498 Richard A. Bourgoin (Honour Roll Number 175)saved a man from a smoke-filled room in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Both men and were awarded St John Ambulance Meritorious Certificates.
1979– A gunman went into the Caisse Populaire (Credit Union) in the New Brunswick village of St. Basile and after firing a warning shot into the ceiling, demanded money. He then made his escape in a getaway car driven by his accomplice. An hour and a half later the pair ran a police roadblock near the village of Green River. #22674 Sergeant L.H. Armstrong then pursued the culprits in a high-speed chase at speeds exceeding 110 miles per hour. During the criminal pursuit the bank robber crawled into the back seat of the car and began shooting at Armstrong with a high-powered rifle. The pursuit continued until the suspect vehicle skidded into the ditch. As Anderson brought his vehicle to a halt 75 feet away the gunman fired three more shots at him before the pair began to run towards the bush. When Sergeant Armstrong ordered the men to stop, the gunman turned and took aim at him with the rifle. Before the suspect could shoot, Armstrong fired his revolver twice and wounded both men. The wounded men were then arrested and transported to hospital. On June 17, 1980 Sergeant L.H. Armstrong was awarded the Commissioners Commendation for Bravery.
1982– Former FLQ terrorist leader Yves Langlois returns to Quebec from exile.
1983– #29714 Corporal Rick W. McKillican received a Commissioners Commendation for outstanding service for working undercover and pretending to be a high-level drug trafficker gaining the trust of psychopathic murder suspect. He was so convincing that over time he won the confidence of the suspect who eventually took him to where he had buried the victim.
1986– Special Constable Denis Chausse’ a member of the Executive/Diplomatic Protection Section, earned a Commissioners Letter of Appreciation for his role in apprehending two armed men in a shopping mall in Hull Quebec. Chausse’ was off duty when he noted the two men flee from a store and though he was unarmed, he confronted the pair, identifying himself as a peace officer and ordering them to stop. The pair split up and ran off in different directions, so with the help of mall security he chased after the men and arrested them.
November 8th
1902– Doukhobors’ were Russian peasants who abandoned the Orthodox Church and were named “douko-borets,” meaning “spirit wrestlers.” Their Christian beliefs led them to adopt principles of pacifism, communal living, the sharing of the possessions, the rejection of church and state authorities, and vegetarianism. 8,000 Doukhobors had migrated from Russia to Canada in 1899 and settled in Saskatchewan. Not long after arrival, they were advised by the Canadian government that titles to their settled lands would be granted only upon their signing of an oath of allegiance to the Crown of British Empire. Most of them refused to sign the oath.
In 1900, the Doukhobors presented a petition to the Canadian government, demanding exemption from the law: along with their intent to disobey Canadian laws. In addition, they stated that they would refuse to individually register their lands, decline to register marriages and divorces or report births and deaths. In 1902 they began to march in protest hoping to convince the government to cede to their demands with the intention of converting the world to their faith and finding a new Promised Land
When six hundred members decided to do a pilgrimage to the east they were met on this day in Minnedosa Manitoba by a contingent of Mounties. The marchers refused to disperse and return to their communes in Saskatchewan, so physical forcehad to be used to load over 450 Doukhobor men and women into railroad cars. They were then transported under guard back to Yorkton, Saskatchewan, where they were made to return home on foot.
1933– A Commissioners Commendation was issued to #11347 Constable William H.A. Hanna after he attended to a complaint of a man who was threatening his family with a shotgun. When he arrived at the suspect’s residence in the Scapa District near Hanna, Alberta he was confronted by the man wielding the shotgun. Constable Hanna then wrestled the weapon from the gunman’s hands and promptly arrested him.
Ten years later Corporal Hanna became the first Mountie to travel the Alaska Highway in his own car. He had been transferred from “K Division” (Alberta) to “M Division” (Yukon) and the1500 mile trip took five days to complete.
1955– RCMP seize 16 kg of pure heroin on a freighter at Pointe-au-Père.
1966-A Commissioners Commendation for Bravery was issued to #16586 Constable Rodney Vallance Alcock While on patrol in Prince Rupert BC he checked Karlo Hegedus, a suspect in a break and enter. Alcock invited the suspect into his police car and was questioning him as he drove through town. Suddenly the suspect jumped out of the moving car and ran off. Constable Alcock left his vehicle and chased after the suspect who suddenly turned around and fired a .455 caliber revolver, narrowly missing him. Alcock then pounced on the suspect and with the help of two teenagers, Mario Paolinelli and Ivan Rhyno he wrested the gun from him and placed him under arrest. Karlo Hegedus received a four sentence for “intent to wound.”
1990– Commanding Officers Commendations were issued to Constables #33931 C.D. Seafoot and #38504 Douglas J. Wasylenki for arresting an armed man after six-hour stand-off in a domestic dispute, in the remote community of Janvier, Alberta.
November 7th
1874– After being ordered to return to Winnipeg, Commissioner French and “D” Division arrived back at Fort Garry having marched 1,959 miles across the prairies and back.
1958– Honour Roll Number 81.
The first Mountie killed in Newfoundland.
On this day #20307 Constable John Terrence Hoey age 21 was shot and killed at Botwood, Newfoundland.Constable Hoey had graduated basic training in Regina only three weeks earlier.
A waitress at the Harbourview Cafe in Botwood, contacted the police to report thatthe cafe she worked at was unexpectedly closed when she had reported for work. Third Class Constable Hoey and #19393 Constable Amadee Arthur ‘Red’ Bowen drove to the scene to investigate but could get no response from within. The officers knew that the owner Tom Ling lived inside and when they could get no response from inside, they returned to the detachment to discuss the matter with senior constable L. Robert Healy.
The three officers then returned to the café and getting no answer to their knocks and fearing that something had happened to Mr. Ling, they climbed inside the building through a window. After they had entered the building they discovered that the door to the residence had been barricaded and could hear incoherent talk from within. Then suddenly and without warning a shotgun blast was fired through the door hitting Constable Hoey in the chest killing him instantly. Then a second shot was heard, Mr. Ling had committed suicide.
The deranged man had cut short the life and career of Constable Hoey who had graduated from basic training in Regina only three weeks earlier.His body was returned to his family, where he was buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery, in Peterborough, Ontario.
1976– Commanding Officers Commendations are issued to #29050 A.H. Arsenault and #32509 Stephen M. Harrison after they disarmed two men who had gone on a shooting spree in Pelican Narrows, Manitoba. The two suspects had fired over 28 rounds into five occupied houses and six other buildings.
1983 – #27229 Constable Peter G. Sharp and #21644 Sergeant Glenn Madsen attended to a complaint involving a suicidal man in North Vancouver BC. The man who was suffering from physical illness and depression had been drinking and was armed with a .37 and .3030 caliber rifle. After a considerable amount of time Constable Sharp managed to talk his way into the apartment and when he gave the man a cigarette he succeeded in jumping him and both he and Madsen disarmed him. Constable Sharp’s patience and courage was acknowledged by the awarding of a Commanding Officers Commendation.
2002– #36517 Constable Glen Beattie of the Kamloops BC detachment spotted the suspect from a Williams Lake, home invasion and when he attempted to stop the suspect, a criminal pursuit ensued. The chase ended at Savona, 28 miles west of Kamloops when the suspect wrecked his vehicle going through a roadside ditch. The suspect then pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and threatened to kill him. Constable Beattie calmly talked the gunman into dropping the weapon and surrendering. On November 4thConstable Beattie was issued the Commanding Officer’s letter of appreciation and on November 1st2005 he was presented the Commissioners Commendation for Bravery.
November 6th
1873– Three days after the first recruits were sworn into the NWMP, Sir John A. Macdonald Canada’s first Prime Minster resigned and was replaced by Alexander Mackenzie.
1984– Former Saskatchewan cabinet minister Colin Thatcher is found guilty of murdering his ex-wife Joanne because he was angry that he had to pay her $820,000 in a divorce settlement. Initially he tried to hire someone to kill her but when that failed he smuggled a gun into Canada and shot her himself. He was sentenced to life in prison.
1978– The Royal Canadian Humane Society Bronze Medal is awarded to #25756 Constable Gerald Moen for helping Mr. Mel Dyck, escape from his burning car he was driving near Red Deer, Alberta.
November 5th
1939– The National Research Council in Ottawa first broadcasts its official time signal at EXACTLY 1:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.
1941– Honour Roll Number 103.
During World War two the RCMP hired many special constables for use as guards at vital domestic installations. 58-year-old#S/3185 S/Constable Joseph Henry Kent a veteran of the Great War was assigned to guard Bridge No.4 on the Welland Ship Canal, at St. Catharines, Ont. At approximately 11:50 pm, he was walking home at the end of his shift when he was run over by a 1930 Chrysler that had traveled 130 yards after jumping the curb. Hit from behind Constable Kent was knocked unconscious after receiving two broken legs and a cerebral hemorrhage. He was immediately transported to the nearby hospital in a patrol car driven by Sergeant E. Anstead but died en-route. The driver, Harold Jacobs was charged with manslaughter.
Special Constable Kent had only been married for 8 short months and was buried in the Victoria Lawn Cemetery in St. Catharines, Ontario.
1958– The last body of the 74 miners killed in the Springhill Mine disaster that occurred on October 23 is finally removed from the mine.
1960 – Commissioners Commendations along with $25 grants from the Fine Fund were issued to nine members who were involved in a stakeout and gun battle at a farmhouse near Edmonton Alberta.
Police received a tip that a group of armed men planned to enter a farm house 30 miles west of Edmonton Alberta and rob the elderly residents of a large sum of money. The Edmonton General Investigations Section headed by #13382/O.537 Staff Sergeant Waldemer WernerPeterson had other plans for the robbers.
The elderly couple were removed to safety and replaced by #15225 / O.565 Sergeant Peter Wright, Corporals #14430 John D. Kennedy, #16915 / O.643 Thomas S. Venner, #17484 / O.668 Victor G. P. Irving and Constables #17703 Allen S. Cedar, #17068 Harry P. Greaves, #17455 Dennis Norton and #18440 Derlin C. Dillabaugh.
When the three-armed men entered the building, they were ordered to drop their guns by the waiting policemen. Instead of complying, the trio began shooting at the police officers. Constable Cedar was struck in the chest, but his life was saved because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, which was a rarity in 1960. Several shots were fired in the dark farmhouse and in the ensuing struggle two of the suspects were arrested. The third suspect managed to get outside where the gun battle continued and finally ended when Constable Norton was able to subdue and arrest him.
#30408 Constable Graham Holmes while assisting Calgary Immigration Officers went to search a home in Calgary Alberta for illegal immigrants. When the officers entered the residence one of the suspects fled. Constable Holmes caught him and, in the struggle, to arrest him, was stabbed with a knife.
1981– Two youths received commendations from the RCMP for assisting a constable who had been stabbed.
Although he had been stabbed, Holmes continued to fight with the suspect in an effort to subdue him. Witnessing the struggle, brothers Keith and Ken Dussome age 15 and 17 jumped into the fray and assisted Holmes’s in handcuffing the suspect.
2001– Police Dog handler #36090 Constable William Finney accompanied by #41257 Constable Roland Wallis were tracking a suspect in the mountains of the Hemlock Valley, near Mission BC when they became stranded on a mountain ridge in a sudden snowstorm. At the beginning of the search the two officers had no way of knowing that the pursuit of their quarry would lead them into the rugged mountain wilderness or that they would become stranded by the weather. They were not dressed for the severe winter weather and were in danger of perishing.
In spite of the extreme weather conditions, RCMP helicopter pilot #39446 Corporal Dwayne Harlem Jennings volunteered to transport a search team to the area to participate in a rescue his comrades. After locating the two officers and their dog on a precipice, Corporal Jennings managed to skillfully maneuver his helicopter, so that the tip of one skid rested on the mountain face and the search members could exit the hovering helicopter. Corporal Jennings repeated the tricky maneuver three times, so he could off-load personnel and supplies. And then repeated the process to reload the rescuers and the three stranded victims and then flew them back to safety.
Had Corporal Jennings not volunteered to fly in very adverse conditions, the two constables and their police dog could have perished.
For his bravery and outstanding flying ability, Corporal Jennings received the Commissioners Commendation for Bravery, the Treasury Board Award of Excellence and the Meritorious Service Medal.
2007– Honour Roll Number 220
#54592 Constable Douglas Scott was killed while responding to a report of a possible impaired driver in Kimmirut, Nunavut.
After graduating from the RCMP Training Academy twenty-year-old Dougie Scott was posted to the remote “dry” (alcohol is banned) Arctic community of Kimmirut on Baffin Island (formerly known as Lake Harbour) population 425 people. After working in Iqaluit for five months, he was transferred to the two-man detachment and had been there for a few weeks when he was dispatched to a complaint about a possible impaired driver. At 11:02 p.m. Cst. Scott advised the dispatcher that he was responding to the call. Despite repeated attempts to contact him shortly afterwards nothing further was heard from him.
Witness later reported that 37-yea told Pingoatuk Kolola, known locally as “Ping,” had threatened his pregnant girlfriend, Oolitua Judea after drinking a bottle of vodka that she had hid from him in their house. She fled the house around 10:30 p.m. and fled to Lloyd McDougall, the local by-law officer’s house and told him that he was drunk and threatening her. Meanwhile Ping was racing around the community with his nine-month-old son in his pickup truck at high speeds and honking his horn.
Const. Scott, along with two of Ping’s co-workers found him and attempted to chase him down with the police vehicle and snowmobiles, with the intention of catching him and calming him down. The pursuit ended near Ping’s residence where he and the patrol car crashed. Ping then climbed out of his truck and with his child in one arm and a hunting rifle in the other. He then walked over to Constable Scott’s vehicle and shot him in the head through the passenger-side window.
One of the co-workers involved in the chase then rushed over to Lloyd McDougall’s house and told him what had happened and that Cst. Scott had been murdered. McDougall raced over to the scene and found Kolola’s pickup; crashed into a new home under construction a short distance from Cst. Scott’s truck. McDougall went over to the patrol vehicle and found Cst. Scott’s lifeless body slumped over the steering wheel. Lloyd McDougall would later tell the media “The constable didn’t do anything to defend himself, because the shooter had his baby in his arms. Doug didn’t want to hurt the baby.”
McDougall then drove to the RCMP house and advised Doug’s partner about the tragedy. He in turn rushed to the scene and confirmed the murder and advised the dispatcher of what had transpired and requested the emergency response team be flown to the scene.
By then Ping had barricaded himself inside the duplex along with his son and his boss, Kolola Pitsulakwho had come to the scene to try and talk him into releasing the baby and surrendering. By 12:30 a.m., the Emergency Response Team from Iqaluit had arrived by plane and surrounded Ping Kolola’s home and the efforts to have him surrender continued until 4:10 a.m. when he finally surrendered to police and flown back to Iqualuit.
Known as the “friendliest town in the North”, the community of Kimmirut overnight became a place of confusion, sorrow and anger. Although Cst. Scott had only been a resident of Kimmirut for a few weeks, he had already gained the respect of the community, especially the children. The local school principal had dubbed him the “Pied Piper of Kimmirut” because every time he appeared in public, throngs of kids would follow him around. The next day the citizens of the town, hand in hand surrounded the detachment in a gesture of community support and genuine empathy over the loss of this fine young man.
On March 12thNunavut court Justice Robert Kilpatrick addressing Kolola directly, said “You are not, sir, a monster, but you are a man who has failed to address your inner demons,” For this, you will now pay a most terrible price.” He then sentenced Pingoatuk Kolola to life in prison without eligibility of parole for 25 years. In October 2013 Kolola appealed the decision and tried to have the conviction quashed byclaiming the trial judge had erred in his instructions to the jury. His appeal was rejected by the Nunavut Court of Appeal, which stated there was no merit to the grounds of appeal.
Two weeks after his death Constable Douglas Allen Scott Jr. was laid to rest in his home town of Lyn, (Brockville) Ontario. The funeral procession to the Wall Street United Church was lead by pipers from the RCMP, OPP, Toronto Police and U.S. Border Patrol and followed by a convoy of motorcycles while a mounted honour guard escorted his hearse. The streets were lined with hundreds of residents who watched the solemn parade of hundreds of uniformed men and women from numerous agencies that filled two full blocks follow behind. His parents, Doug and Marla, and younger brothers Chad and Layne survived him.
Three years after of the death of Constable Doug Scott Jr. 300 people including several members of the Force gathered at the ballpark that was renamed in his honour in his hometown of Lyn, Ontario and unveiled a monument and new entrance gate for the “Douglas A. Scott Jr. Memorial Park”.
November 4th
1913– On this day in 1913, Constables #3775 Charles Harper and #5591 Frederick Stevenson set out on a three-month trek to retrieve a young girl who had been reported abducted by a trapper named Asa Hunting.
It was alleged that Hunting had abducted sixteen-year-old Mildred Shaw and taken her to his trap line in the Porcupine River area near present-day Grand Prairie. After nearly two months of searching, the constables located the pair on December 22ndand arrested Hunting. Nearly one month later they delivered their suspect and the alleged victim to Saskatoon Lake detachment where they were brought before a judge. After listening to the evidence, the judge handed Hunting a suspended sentence and on July30th 1914 the accused and his kidnap victim were married!
For their efforts in tracking the pair and bringing them before the courts both constables were awarded $50 from the Fine Fund.
1949– A Commendation is issued to #14853 Constable William Parsons for his investigation of a safe breaking at Imperial Bank in Yellowknife NWT. His efforts resulted in the recovery of the stolen property and the conviction of three accused.
1982– The Ontario Supreme Court orders the extradition of Canadian citizen Albert Helmut Rauca to West Germany; charged in connection with murder of over 11,000 Lithuanian Jews in World War II; first extradition of a Canadian accused of war crimes.
1990– A Commanding Officers Commendation for bravery was earned by Constable #36603 L. Grant McCulloch for his restraint and arrest of a schizophrenic man who was choking a police dog “Jake” near Merritt, BC.
November 3rd
1873 – The first 150 members of NWMP were sworn in as official members of the North West Mounted Police at Lower Fort Garry Manitoba by O.2½** William Osborne Smith. Though this was the date they were “sworn in” most had been hired a month earlier on October 4that Collingwood, Ontario, before they were sent to Manitoba to begin their training.
Recruits had to be of sound constitution, able to ride, active and able-bodied, between the ages of 18 and 40, and literate in either English or French.
Pay was 75 cents per day but did not begin until they reached Fort Gary and were sworn in. Upon successful completion of service, the men would be eligible for a land grant of 160 acres in the North-West Territories.
The place of origin for 245 of the original members was recorded. Of them, 167 were Canadian, 43 were from Great Britain, 20 from Ireland, 1 from the Channel Islands, 1 from Jamaica, 7 from the USA. 4 men represented Continental Europe from France, and one each from Germany and Bohemia.
**Officer numbers did not exist until about 1900 when such things as duplicate names began creating file problems, which explains why Commissioner Smith’s officer regimental number was O.21/5. When the Force began assigning officer numbers they attempted to go back to day one and issue them in sequence but missed three men. To try and correct the error they squeezed the missing officers into the sequence as .5 or 1/2 numbers. Smith was actually the 3rdofficer to be hired for the new police force.
1933– The RCMP Patrol Cruiser “Alchasse” arrested a speedboat off of St. Joachim Quebec that was smuggling 345 gallons of alcohol.
1973 – Despite the fact that a Spruce Grove, Alberta mobile home was engulfed in flames, #28214 Constable Garry Radford entered the burning trailer and rescued a woman who was unconscious inside. Having located the victim, he carried her to an open window and pushed her out and immediately followed as the trailer exploded in flames. He was later awarded a Commissioners Commendation for Bravery.
1988 – The Medal of Bravery was earned by #24439 Corporal Brian Hugh Stephenson for saving a woman from a burning building. Corporal Stephenson crawled through a broken window into a smoke-filled house trying to locate the person trapped on the second floor. Due to the heavy smoke he was forced to retreat twice for air, but finally reached the unconscious victim and brought her to a window where he was assisted by #26645 Norman Thomson and a fireman.
1991– Multiple murder Allan Legere is convicted of four counts of first-degree murder in the beating deaths of three women and a Catholic priest during a reign of terror in the Mirimichi region of New Brunswick.
1993 – A Commanding Officer’s Commendations for outstanding service was awarded to #22263 / O.1524 Inspector Brian E. Robinson and #26110 Staff Sergeant Martin J. Kerelchuk because of their exceptional leadership in the investigation of a murder of a16 year old girl in Manitoba.
November 2nd
1959 – #18759 Constable John Ross and #20318 Constable R.A. Harris were patrolling near Uranium City, Saskatchewan on bitterly cold night when they encountered a water-soaked couple standing on the road. Reverend Allen Shanks explained how their car had slid off road and broke through the ice on Martin Lake and sank upside. The two officers stripped off their outer clothes and dove into the frigid water and rescued Mrs. Donalda MacDonald from the vehicle and then Constable Ross rushed her to the hospital while Harris remained at the scene in frozen clothing to wait for a tow truck. Unfortunately, three other passengers trapped inside the vehicle did not survive. In recognition of their bravery both Constable were awarded Commissioners Commendations
While on duty in Fairview, Alberta, both officers attended to the scene of a fire in a mobile home. Having been advised by bystanders that the owner of the home was still inside the home, the officers made two attempts to enter entered burning trailer but were forced back by the heavy toxic smoke. Constable Mundel then smashed out the kitchen windows, resulting in the flames increasing but the smoke cleared enough that Constable LaHaie was able to see the unconscious man lying on the floor in the kitchen. She ran inside and grabbed onto the unconscious man and shortly afterwards was joined by Constable Mundle. Blinded by the smoke, the two members became disoriented and finally managed to locate the exit where others assisted them in completing the rescue. Despite their valiant efforts, the man subsequently died of his injuries.
1996 – On this day Constables #44783 Valerie Ann LaHaie and #44509 Brent J. Mundle earned the Medal of Bravery.
November 1st
1880– Acheson Gosford Irvine becomes the third Commissioner and serves until March 31, 1886.
1963- George Brinton McClellan becomes the twelfth Commissioner and serves until Canada’s Centennial year and retires August 14, 1967.
1910– #4817 Constable Edwin Smith was awarded $25 from the Fine Fund to for his efficient work in the arrest of a horse thief, in southern Alberta.
2005– #35982 Corporal Lawrence Allen Burden was presented with the Commissioners Commendation for Outstanding Service by Commissioner Zacerdeli at an awards ceremony in Vancouver BC. For several years Corporal Burden had represented the RCMP on an advisory committee to the Canadian Coast Guard and he discovered that Canadian built boats were not required to have any hidden identification that would assist in identifying stolen boats. After bringing this issue to the attention of the Coast Guard, he was instrumental in getting the construction regulations changed to require boat manufacturers to include extra identification in their products.
