Carly Weeks, CanWest News ServiceOnly two-thirds of Canadians say they have confidence in the upper ranks of the RCMP to provide ethical, sound leadership, according to a survey released today as the former public safety minister prepares to be grilled at a Parliamentary committee over an ongoing scandal involving the Mounties’ pension fund.
Although the majority of those surveyed said they support the front-line RCMP officers, one-third reported having little to no confidence in RCMP management. Furthermore, just over half, or 57 per cent, said they believe the force’s leaders are doing a good job, according to the survey conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global National by Ipsos-Reid.
“Right now these are not very good numbers,” Ipsos-Reid senior vice-president John Wright said. “That’s a mediocre stamp of approval for the leadership. People are lacking confidence, but not in the front lines.”
Quebec residents were least likely to support the RCMP’s upper ranks, with only 57 per cent saying they have confidence in the management. Meanwhile, 70 per cent of people living in Alberta said they have confidence in management, the highest level of any province.
Despite the shaky confidence in the force’s upper ranks, eight out of 10 Canadians surveyed said they believe the front-line officers on the streets are doing a good job.
Leadership within the RCMP has faced significant controversy and come under fire in recent weeks as a Parliamentary committee began probing an alleged cover-up and corruption involving the Mounties’ pension fund.
Last month, several Mounties shocked MPs when they accused RCMP senior management of attempting to cover-up the misappropriation of funds in the force’s $12.4 billion pension fund. They accused senior management of blocking, delaying and eventually stopping an investigation into misuse of the pension fund once allegations of wrongdoing reached the force’s executive level. Deputy Commissioner Barbara George was suspended after MPs heard conflicting evidence about how and why Staff Sgt. Mike Frizzell was pulled off the Ottawa police investigation into misuse of the Mounties’ pension and insurance funds.
Monday, former public safety minister Anne McLellan and former Treasury Board president Reg Alcock are scheduled to appear in front of the House of Commons public accounts committee as it continues its probe into misuse and corruption involving the pension fund.
Although the majority of Canadians report strong levels of support for front-line Mounties, the fact that only 62 per cent say they have confidence in the Mounties’ upper ranks is an alarming indication of deep-seeded problems with the way Canadians see the national police force, Wright said.
“You don’t have these numbers created overnight or by the odd issue. Reputation management is actually based on the resilience and the ability of an organization to go through difficult things or to rebound from them,” Wright said. ” This, obviously, is deeply set.”
Just over 1,000 adult Canadians were questioned in the survey, which was conducted April 17 to 19. The results are considered accurate to within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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