RCMP Watch

(UPI) - An internal Canadian military document is critical of an Arctic sovereignty exercise last August for lack of interest by officers. The report on Operation Nanook was obtained by The Globe and Mail newspaper under the Access to Information Act. It said officers failed to distribute information on how the exercises on capturing drug smugglers and responding to an oil spill were supposed to run.

The report also criticized the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for lack of participation in the drug interdiction part of the exercise.

RCMP Cpl. Greg Cox said manpower in Nunavut was part of the problem. “Human resources levels across the division were 25 percent below normal and ongoing operational issues and day-to-day community policing needs took precedence over the exercise,” he told the newspaper.

For its part, the military gained valuable experience, Lt. Cmdr. Diane Grover said. “That criticism, whether it’s negative or positive, is a valuable part of the training process,” she said. “There’s no point in training if you can already do things right.”