The federal police force treats 973 of its 1,228 drones as “high security risks” because of their countries of origin, data handling practices and uncertain supply chains, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told the Senate’s national security committee. That’s exactly the same number of RCMP drones as the force lists as having come from China. (The Logic)

Talking point: The Mounties keep their questionable drones from transmitting data during flights and use them only for non-sensitive jobs like looking for missing people and stolen vehicles, according to Duheme. They’ve had no contracts with Chinese suppliers since mid-2023, he wrote. Public records show the RCMP at the national level has had drone contracts only with Canadian companies even prior to that—including one that specializes in re-selling drones from China’s DJI, which is facing an imminent import ban in the United States. Replacing the 973 high-risk drones would cost more than $30 million, Duheme said in a written submission.