Editorial, The Toronto Star
What will it take to fix a “horribly broken” Royal Canadian Mounted Police and restore public trust and the force’s morale?
Nothing less than sweeping change, designed to tug one of Canada’s iconic 19th-century institutions into the 21st century, according to David Brown, who issued a scathing report yesterday after probing allegations of fraud and mismanagement of the RCMP pension fund.
Whoever Prime Minister Stephen Harper choose to replace former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli must adopt a less autocratic style, be more approachable, show greater tolerance for whistleblowers and bad news, and be willing to accept more meaningful oversight than past commissioners have tolerated.
The 26,000-member police force also needs a thorough shakeup in the way it is run, Brown advises. For that he would marshall a “task force on governance and culture change” composed of police, public servants and private-sector experts. They should aim by year’s end to bring more effective oversight, transparency and accountability into what has been a deeply flawed top-down system that has bred “mistrust and cynicism” in the ranks toward senior officers.
And Brown urges commendations, not demotions, for Mounties who blow the whistle when things go wrong.
What Brown does not suggest is the full public inquiry that the opposition in Parliament has been pushing for. “I have seen no indication in my investigation that there are important facts lurking beneath the surface that only a public inquiry could expose,” he found. He should be in a position to know.
A House of Commons committee, the auditor general, police and others have all looked into complaints about mismanagement of the RCMP pension plan and a related insurance fund, allegations of nepotism, questionable expense claims, improper contracts and unfair treatment of Mounties who objected to any of the above.
Brown’s probe, the seventh recently into RCMP management, had the advantage of building on the previous six. If opposition MPs insist on raking over the coals an eighth time, they must show what more might be gained from a costly, long-drawn-out public inquiry.
Whatever Parliament may decide on that score, Brown rightly urges Ottawa to focus on rebuilding public confidence in an RCMP that has been tarnished by the Air India tragedy, the deportation and torture of Maher Arar, the pension mess and other fiascos.
Systemic reform is needed, starting at the top.
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