RCMP Watch

If nothing else, the testimony of the last two weeks at the Air India inquiry proves one thing - there’s always something new to learn, even after 22 years.

But some critics of the Canadian police and intelligence establishments are starting to wonder if those agencies will ever draw the appropriate lessons from their past mistakes, no matter how many times they’re paraded in public.

Take the case of the RCMP, which has been under fire before for its national security shortcomings.

The Mounties’ actions were called into question when James Bartleman recounted warning an RCMP officer about the Air India boming. Bartleman says the officer’s response was to tell him he didn’t need any advice on how to do his job.

It was an example of the mind-set of the national police force, says Peter Russell, a retired University of Toronto academic.