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'I'm sick to my stomach': Retired RCMP officer details humiliating experience with CBC prank show
A retired RCMP officer who says he was tricked into appearing on a CBC prank show has provided a full account of his experience, describing how he was made to partake in a sort of humiliation ritual in which former police were subject to allegations of mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.
In an hour-long video posted to his personal channel, a YouTuber under the name Clinton Jaws, a nearly 40-year RCMP veteran, said he and other former officers were invited to attend a Vancouver event that was hosted by a production company funded by the broadcaster, which organizers reportedly said would be attended by Prince William. (The National Post spoke to Jaws, who declined to confirm his real surname.)
The whole thing was in fact a prank performed by Northland Tales, a satirical program described as an “ unscripted, half-hour comedy series where an Indigenous activist trio uses pranks as a form of social action,” which is being produced by the CBC. Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (ATPN) is a co-producer.
The program has come under fire in recent days for the way its organizers duped some conservative-leaning activists and former RCMP officers into appearing on the program, with critics — including some Conservative MPs — saying the broadcaster was using taxpayer dollars to promote activism disguised as comedy. None of the episodes of Northland Tales have yet run, but the CBC on Tuesday announced it was pausing the program before its airing to ensure that the series “does not negatively impact our news brand.”
While Jaws is quite frank in the video about how he fell for the trick, he also speaks repeatedly to the overall strangeness of the setup, and his ongoing confusion around what the organizers intended to achieve.
“They got me, hook line and sinker,” Jaws said. “I’m one of the cops out of six that they pranked.”
“It wasn’t even a prank, it was something very odd. I felt evil around me when it was happening to me.”
The program appeared to target people who have voiced doubts about the existence of unmarked graves on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, or who have spoken favourably about Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister.
The RCMP is often cited by residential school critics as an alleged perpetrator of Indigenous harms, and several former officers also got tricked into participating in the program.
“The RCMP was informed of an incident involving an RCMP Veteran’s Association (RCMPVA) member who volunteered for a CBC documentary series about an episode featuring life after retirement from policing,” an RCMP spokesperson told Juno News in a statement. “The veteran has relayed her experience and describes being subjected to a prank during filming in Vancouver in March 2026.”
Frances Widdowson, a former Mount Royal University professor, and Lindsay Shepherd, a conservative commentator, also appeared on the program under false pretenses.
Jaws is a YouTuber with two channels focused mainly on U.S. and Canadian politics, where he regularly attracts hundreds of thousands of viewers. He told the National Post he is unclear why he was targeted by Northland Tales, but said the officers were being used as “symbols” in the prank.
Jaws said he first got an email from someone named Michael Burnett in January who claimed to be working on a “new documentary-style series for BBC 2 and CBC” called After the Call. The series, according to a picture of an email in Jaws’ video, would focus on how police officers adjust to life after retirement.
Jaws said he first did a pre-interview at his home, and then agreed to a later interview in Vancouver in March.
He was told that he and other officers would partake in a Vancouver event to honour their service, and that Prince William would be attending the ceremony. Organizers asked him to wear his RCMP Red Serge uniform that Mounties are allowed to keep after they retire. The organizers booked Jaws for three nights at the Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel just down the road from the broadcaster’s studios, Jaws said.
Jaws said he had already been suspicious about the pre-interview, which he said felt oddly superficial. He told the organizers he did not want to partake in any effort to honour his service, and said he recalled thinking that the whole thing “doesn’t make any sense.”
Jaws said he also had deep skepticism about the Vancouver event, and said he even expected a CBC crew to try to catch him off guard at the Rosedale hotel when he checked in. He said he declined to wear his uniform to the event.
He said he and two other officers were brought to the Vancouver studio, where they were guided through the building and finally into a room with a stage. Jaws said he and the others were introduced by someone posing as an event host, and one of the officers sang the national anthem.
The organizers then played a fake video of King Charles on a massive television screen in front of the audience claiming that Canada was dissolving the RCMP in order to account for all the wrongs the force had committed against First Nations people. A First Nation chief then came on stage and spoke to how, according to his account, the RCMP were responsible for the plight of Indigenous people. Later, a person pretending to be Prince William also did a speech.
“And now I’m realizing I’m sitting there for a reason,” Jaws said. “These people, these production people, wanted me to feel humiliated, which I did, big time.”
Jaws said he walked off stage but was followed out of the room by a camera crew that refused to turn off its cameras. In the hallway, Jaws said he saw Michael Burnett, the organizer who invited Jaws to the interview, refusing to make eye contact with Jaws.
Months after the event, Jaws said he is still baffled by the whole experience, and somewhat dismayed that the show sought former RCMP officers who sometimes struggle with mental health issues.
“I’m sick to my stomach,” he said. “I guess they got me, but there was no funny part…. I still don’t understand it, I don’t get it. Then I started thinking: the most fragile minds, some of them, are retired police officers. It’s so dangerous.”
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