Halifax police, RCMP, CSIS say they were not involved in Davis Cup decision

Three local and national authorities are denying involvement in Tennis Canada's decision to hold the Canada-Israel Davis Cup matches without spectators this weekend in Halifax.

On Tuesday, Tennis Canada announced fans would not be allowed into Scotiabank Centre for the event due to "escalating safety concerns." It cited "intelligence received from local authorities and national security agencies."

A spokesperson for Tennis Canada said that Halifax Regional Police, the RCMP and CSIS, Canada's national intelligence service, are those local and national agencies.

But all three told CBC News via email that they were not consulted.

"The Nova Scotia RCMP didn't have an advisory role regarding Davis Cup security," an RCMP spokesperson said. "Halifax Regional Police is the lead policing agency for the Davis Cup location, therefore, we will defer all comments to them."

But an HRP spokesperson said it "did not provide any intelligence or risk assessment to Tennis Canada," and added it did not have any involvement with the decision to close the venue.

Finally, a spokesperson for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service also denied involvement.

"CSIS was not involved in providing advice to Tennis Canada," a spokesperson for the intelligence service said in an email.

Tennis Canada had previously declined an interview with CBC Nova Scotia.

'Multiple sources'

In light of the new information, a spokesperson said on Friday afternoon that the organization had "received credible information from multiple sources."

But the spokesperson did not reveal where the information came from. It also didn't explain the discrepancy from its initial claim.

"We have a strong security plan in place, we are working closely with the appropriate authorities and we are confident in our approach," said Tennis Canada.

The matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday will proceed behind closed doors. A March for Palestine is also set for both dates, and is in response to Israel's military actions that have killed over 64,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza.

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