Internal strife at RCMP HQ fodder for politicos

Mia Rabson (Winnipeg Free Press) – The unexpected personnel problem at the RCMP was a welcome break from the never-ending census saga.

It’s always interesting when underlings go public with complaints about their boss. When it’s the country’s top cop at the centre of the allegations, with as many as 10 senior Mounties saying William Elliott is verbally abusive, it takes on a whole new significance.

The revelation has the Conservatives and Liberals facing off about whether a civilian should have been appointed to lead the RCMP — Elliott is the force’s first civilian commissioner.

On CBC Power and Politics last Wednesday, Liberal MP Scott Brison and Conservative Senator Mike Duffy took each other on in a debate that got ugly at times.

NDP MP Claude Gravelle was part of the panel, though sidelined by the Brison/Duffy show. Gravelle’s contribution was marred by the fact he didn’t know how to pronounce the name of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. “Minister Toos has been having a lot of trouble with his ministry lately,” Gravelle said. He called Manitoba’s senior minister “Toos” a second time, proving it wasn’t just a slip of the tongue.

He may have a point, though. Since June, Toews has had to deal with the inquiry report on the RCMP Tasering death of Robert Dziekanski, the skyrocketing costs of security for the G20 summit in Toronto, and public comments by the head of Canada’s spy agency about provincial and municipal politicians being influenced by foreign countries, including China. Now there is the internal strife at the RCMP.

If Gravelle is going to criticize a minister, his words will have more impact if he properly pronounces the minister’s name. For the record, Mr. Gravelle, it is pronounced “Taves.”