Colin Freeze (Globe and Mail) – The RCMP plans to make white, male police officers a minority on the force within a generation as it struggles to better reflect the multicultural face of Canada.
Under new hiring benchmarks set this month, senior Mounties say that new classes of recruits should comprise 30 per cent women, 20 per cent visible minorities and 10 per cent aboriginals, The Globe has learned. If the benchmarks are met, it would be the first time “minority” hires would actually represent a majority of RCMP recruits.
These benchmarks amount to a near doubling, tripling and quintupling of the respective categories of cadets recruited last year. Figures show that, under less ambitious employment-equity goals then, the RCMP graduated classes that were 17 per cent women, 7 per cent visible minorities and 2 per cent aboriginal.
“We have a responsibility to be representative of the communities we serve,” Inspector Jo Ann Smith, the RMCP’s head of employment equity, said in an interview Thursday.
“There aren’t just six-foot-two-inch males in the population,” she said. “Think of it this way: If you have a culturally diverse police force, then you’re going to be able to respond to the calls you get from communities better. You’re going to have people who understand those communities better.”
Like most police forces, the RCMP has been a bastion of tough, white men that under-represents women and ethnic groups. Meanwhile, Canada has grown ever more multicultural. The country’s population is 51 per cent women, 15 per cent visible minorities and 4 per cent aboriginal, according to 2006 census data. (The Mounties do over-represent aboriginals in their ranks, given they often patrol those communities.)
Parliamentarians this year chided the force for being too male and too white. “A better balance with females and minorities will create a better RCMP and a better, peaceful, orderly Canada,” a group of Liberal senators wrote in a position paper.
“It’s important that the RCMP reflect the face of Canada for policing reasons,” said Liberal Senator Colin Kenny in an interview. He argued that the investigation into the 1984 Air India terrorist tragedy failed, in part, because federal agents couldn’t understand the language of the suspects.
Commissioner William Elliott, a career Ottawa bureaucrat appointed to lead the force three years ago, has frequently vowed to make his force more “progressive.” He claims to have changed the composition of the force somewhat, but figures show the Mounties’ ranks are still only 20 per cent female, 7 per cent visible minority and 7 per cent aboriginal.
The recruiting strategy has caused some tension in RCMP ranks. Some long-serving Mounties privately say they don’t feel that race and gender should be major parts of the hiring equation – they argue jobs should be given on merit only, and that being a police officer remains a physical job.
The RCMP makes male and female recruits pass the same baseline physical tests. Proponents for a more multicultural force say that anything lost in brute force would be made up in empathy, language skills and the ability to reach out to cultural communities.
Police forces that seek to become more diverse often discover they have to make an extra effort to do so. Many immigrants come from countries where police are repressive, cliquish and unwelcoming to women and minorities.
Some strides are being made in Canada. Earlier this year, Toronto Police said they graduated a class that was 33 per cent made up of visible minorities, 23 per cent female. The Ontario Provincial Police force claims to be more than 30 per cent female, but says it doesn’t track the races of the ranks.
The Mounties no longer talk of their hiring goals being “targets,” preferring now to use a less-committal term, “benchmarks.”
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
13 
21
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
20 
27
Quite right boomer, however you are dealing with the government of the day that has escalated its meddling with the hiring practices of the RCMP to ludicrous heights. They would like nothing better than to say a northern community of Inuit are policed by all Inuit officers. They also thought that hiring of and placing of aboriginal officers in reserves would be a good idea as well.
They would be much farther ahead to take heed of the success of the North with the RCMP, in that locals that for decades were hired to accompany, train, and assist the officers in the discharge of their duties. There are many examples of elder Inuit who have spent a lifetime in the employ of the RCMP to everyone’s great benefit. The least of lessons which is taught is physical survival in the North. Cultural and linguistic support that remains invaluable. Could you make RCMP officers out of them? Not likely, but in the service of their communities they are unique and invaluable. Is better service to the community what we all should ask for and facilitate? Then here is one example that has worked for decades.
But it does not fit some government bureaucrat’s idea of how things should be done, therefore it does not count as a solution. I am surprised that the RCMP hasn’t trotted out its tolerance of transsexuals, as they have one in the Province of BC. I wonder how that fits into the LGBT percentages.
Hot debate. What do you think?
17 
21
There aren’t just six-foot-two-inch males in the population,” she said. “Think of it this way: If you have a culturally diverse police force, then you’re going to be able to respond to the calls you get from communities better. You’re going to have people who understand those communities better.
Maybe I am reading into this, is she is really saying that the force wants victims of crimes calling the police telling the dispatcher what ethnic or gender police officer to their complaint! no wonder the force is in so much trouble.
“We have a responsibility to be representative of the communities we serve,” Inspector Jo Ann Smith, the RMCP’s head of employment equity, said in an interview Thursday
Inspector Smith quotes the above statement and then says the force has employment-equity goals or benchmarks. With our country’s population, 51 per cent women, 15 per cent visible minorities and 4 per cent aboriginal, according to 2006 census data, Insp. Smith is missing one more group, Persons with Disabilities. After all she is quoted as saying we have a responsibility to be representative of the communities we serve! Then that also requires the force to have this group represented too! Compliance under the employment-equity Act is however, subject to Bona Fide Occupational Requirements. Essentially, this means that they have a legal duty to accommodate which can be far reaching, however it can be overridden when functions of the job can adversely affect the health and safety of the employee, or the public around them. I recall being told once that 97 % of the community will never deal with a police officer, if they do; it is usually as a victim of a crime or stopped for speeding, but not on an every day to day situation. The police on the other hand, deal with 3% of the population, on an everyday occurrence. Inspector Smith does not mention this. Or is she saying that the female population is responsible for 51 per cent of the crimes in our communities ECT.
Just a thought, make a comparison between policing and hockey; if your favourite NHL team plays the best players they can put on the ice the fans to support them. However if they put 5 players on the ice out of 20 who can only play at the junior level, sure they can skate, pass the puck and even look like a hockey players, however when it comes to competing with the player on the ice, they fall short of what is expected of them at that level. Fans will not support a losing team for very long, and they’ll quickly let the owners of the team know this by their attendance to games. The force has been hiring members who fall short of the qualifications expected of them as police officer, and their support from the public has been notice. Hire the best and the brightest and put out a good produce and the community will support you.
Hot debate. What do you think?
14 
14
One of the best held secrets is the abject failure of the politically driven “aboriginal program.” Do not hear too much of that issue do you? It was / isn’t a failure because of the refusal by the RCMP and the govt to acknowledge it.
DT.
The program failed for a number of reasons. One of the reasons was, the failure to recognize that forcing a group of people from one culture to fit “entirely” into another culture does not work. In the case of First Nations People that was already attempted. It was called residential schools. This does not translate into lowering standards. it translates into recognizing differneces in a culture and applying it to the training program.
The world has changed in relation to cultures and diversity. There will be arguments for and against that change. The change has to be expected, acknowledged, and dealt with by the RCMP
. The Diversity Management Section in the RCMP was nothing more than a show casing political institution. There were useless Visible Minority Advisory Committees. The handling of Human rights complaints were geared to “how to get the RCMP out off the mess that and individual member has caused”. A dog and pony show was put on for the public.
Diversity Management Sections are an important aspect of policing today. The RCMP has to deal with what is; not with what was.
There are some people out there who are so narrow minded regarding diversity, that they can see through a key hole with both eyes.
If something happens that changes your home you may or may not like it; but you have to deal with it. You just can’t say oh well….. I remember when………….I am not going to do…………………….. etc.
It may or may not be considered progress; but it is change!
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
Hot debate. What do you think?
14 
19
Insp Smith is dreaming in technicolour and appears to merely following instructions from senior management. It is unfortunate that the Officers of the day are not more vocal in their personal opinions and attitude regarding quotas and diversity.
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
19 
9
irel, yes they have now lowered the bar to a point where you are able to “step’ over it. The thing I believe is you should have to maintain a respectable physical ability to do your job properly. Some police forces in the US have done this and some people become unemployed quite quickly.
Hot debate. What do you think?
22 
24
The silent majority is silent because they will be accused of racism if they fight this. Political Correctness is how liberals have pushed their adgenda this far.
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
18 
11
Too many officers of the day are more focused on spying out political incorrectness than worrying about how their organisation is going down the toilet.
If you talk about this disaster today, it is going to come out in the wash the second you have a conflict with someone. If you are not with the “program” so to speak this could limit your career prospects. The rank and file know that the mentality is much different at the division HQ, much let alone Ottawa.
The brass in Ottawa spend a lot of time in the “liberal arts” cocktail circuit. BS baffles brains, and when these guys repeat the same stuff they are fed enough time, they actually start to believe it.
Personally, I feel this direction may not bode well with some of the provinces. Ottawa is not asking the provinces what they want, they are telling them.
Personally I am at the point where I feel that the RCMP should get out of the provinces and the brand name is retired. I don’t think it will ever have separate employer status like it should. I don’t think anyone in Ottawa gets it. I just feel that the force has gotten so far from it’s traditions and roots, that it would better serve everyone if they disbanded the force and got a new federal org and called it something else. I would rather see this, as there were too many dedicated people over the years that put their hearts into making the outfit what it was. I can’t bear to see a bunch of social engineers ruin everything they worked towards.
Hot debate. What do you think?
13 
9
I have to say that this is one of the few threads I have ever seen where I am in agreement with Deepthroat.
This spells nothing but disaster in the force and I am actually shocked and astonished that this is the form of political meddling that is coming from this particular government. Very curious indeed.
Hot debate. What do you think?
15 
15
Deepthroat we are on the same page with this one. I find it impossible to describe the stupidity in a hiring policy that wants to hire by a quota.
I always think the person to hire first is the one at the top of the pile regardless of sex or race.
To say you have to hire a certain person to fill the quota is just adding to the problem we have already experienced in the RCMP. They are not always hiring the best, and that reflects in the way myself and countless others think of the force.
I remember a Sgt telling me about 15 years ago that he couldn’t hire a certain person as they were not looking for white males at that time. The Sgt said he was a fantastic person and he was confident he would make a great cop. He talked to his superior asking him to tell the young man he was wasting his time…was told by his superior..”you tell him I not going to”.
They ended up hiring someone who couldn’t pass the test of physical ability but “fit the profile” of who they wanted. He (Sgt) called it quits, decided retirment was his best option.
SAD, so very sad.
Hot debate. What do you think?
23 
24
I knew a constable who went to Regina 20 years ago to get his hooks. He was so disgusted with the people they were hiring and the incopetenece that was let into the Force he wanted OUT. He even took his epilets off and handed them to his boss and said here, I don’t want them, just put me back on the street as a constable. They wouldn’t do it, so he retired and became a municipal cop instead.
It was bad 20 years ago, and it is going to get worse before it gets better.
Hot debate. What do you think?
15 
11
JohnnyG, couldn’t agree more with what you wrote. It just always seems to me we just get excuse after excuse for the problems they have. Appears to me the RCMP is suffering from a “self-inflicted wound” You reap what you sow.
Hot debate. What do you think?
21 
22
The only saving grace in this whole hiring debacle could be the citizens. A percentage of the populace has no desire for a law enforcement career. It is preposterous to announce, and to realistically expect, that within “a generation” workforce A or B will be comprised of X% of anything. The hubris is astonishing. Simply put, perhaps there will not be enough applications at any given time to “get the math done”. This has already occurred with the hiring of women. Have the original targets been reached? No. So what to do? Hold the next batch of hires until that particular 32 person block have the new numbers?
One of the best held secrets is the abject failure of the politically driven “aboriginal program.” Do not hear too much of that issue do you? It was / isn’t a failure because of the refusal by the RCMP and the govt to acknowledge it. A good coffee time subject for your retired associates to discuss with you D.
Your example JohhnyG is reflective of ongoing meddling by the govt of the day, and truly is just not right. It is so disheartening that we as a society cannot learn from others (USA?) mistakes. I suppose one could argue that it is just the governments that haven’t observed and learned.
In the interim, the officers that are fielding the complaints every hour of every day, in all parts of the country are being short changed in several ways by this unnecessary debacle.
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
28 
18
I am by no means an expert on this subject, but isn’t hiring an individual based on race, sex or religion a no no for both the Canadian Labor Code and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? If anyone here understands why this isn’t being viewed as a contravention of those statutes, please educate me.
As for the article, I feel a little embarrassed on behalf of the people saying this is a good move for the force. How anybody could see hiring based on anything but merit is beyond my comprehension, especially in a job such as police work that has a great amount of responsibility attached and is always in the public eye . In a time like this, the force needs to be hiring the best available at the time, not watering down the talent pool to achieve some arbitrary “benchmarks”. This new policy hurts to read and is hard to swallow.
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
27 
6
I agree wholeheartedly, hiring on other than merit is ridiculous. During my tenure, there were strict hiring rules which resulted in a Force that did not encounter human rights complaints by visible minorities. It is time for upper management of the Force to wake up and smell the coffee. Let’s go back to hiring tose best qualified for the job and hopefully we will no longer read about members suing trhe Force, being convicted of theft, DWI, child porn, giving false testamony at Govt Hearings etc.
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
16 
6
Deepthroat I have to agree with your comments as quotas never work and I really hate to use the word NEVER. Hire the best person no matter what sex or race. Hiring quotas in many US states have been curtailed as they have always ended up with people who wouldn’t normally be hired if there had not been a quota. I wish I knew who you were as it would be interesting to have coffee with you someday and have a civil discussion of both our points of view.
Hot debate. What do you think?
23 
20
Deepthroat, I am still waiting for your reply on whether we will try to get together for coffee should we live close to each other? Hope you want to as it would be interesting and even with philsophical differences of the RCMP I know it would be very interesting and respectful.
Hot debate. What do you think?
18 
23
I am not going to enter that list of what I said was going to happen and is now starting with comments after mine.
People have general belief system. That would include for example which hockey team is the best or what hotel is the best. No big arguments and resentments in that process. Our personal belief system is different.
The personal belief system includes race, religion, culture etc. That is when people react with more zeal. Our reactions regarding this situation is challenging our personal belief system. Hence the heated responses.
With all the conflict regarding immigration, etc I cannot believe that the RCMP and the government are so out of touch with the citizens of this country that they come up with this process.
This has to be rolled out now to create a diversion from something else.
We will never agree on this topic except to say that process is wrong. I only request; and I will try to view opinions from other peoples model of the world. Sometimes that is difficult.
JG, The article that you included reminded me of how simple policing was back then; even with all the conflicts. We had fun working and my waist size was smaller.
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
Hot debate. What do you think?
12 
15
In the immortal words of the Valley Girl, Oh My God. Here we go again, now that the massive push for officers has subsided, its back to the socialist tinkering of the politically correct thanks to the government of the day.
Calvin and JohhnyG are dead on in their assessments of this ludicrous initiative.
“It’s important that the RCMP reflect the face of Canada for policing reasons,” said Liberal Senator Colin Kenny in an interview. He argued that the investigation into the 1984 Air India terrorist tragedy failed, in part, because federal agents couldn’t understand the language of the suspects.”
What a moronic statement bereft of any mote of germane observation. The RCMP at the time did not have Sikh terrorism on its radar, thanks to the secretive CSIS organization, who actually had electronic interception underway for some time in that respect. Government dictated policy accounted for the subsequent destruction of many intercepted communications. I guess Kenny has never heard of hired interpreters.
And what are the good Inspectors qualifications? I would opine that she does not have a career made up entirely of substantive police work. Her script is pure PC gone amok. Any hope that the various issues facing the RCMP at the moment will be suitably addressed is all but lost, as they scramble to do the government bidding on hiring quotas.
This is truly saddening for all Canadians, especially the RCMP officers and those being told now that it is a two to three year wait for engagement. It is little wonder that sons and daughters are being steered toward other departments by their relatives in the RCMP.
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
28 
18
Wow, I just went over to the website for the globe and mail and have been reading some of the comments from the public. MOST people are dead set against this and based I what I was reading it was in the high 90 percentile.
The Reform party of Preston Manning fought against this kind of thing, but former member Harper has abandoned everything that he once stood for. Typical politician. When I met Preston Manning nearly 20 years ago and spoke with him about this kind of thing, he was dead set against it.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mounties-to-recruit-for-women-and-minorities/article1722639/comments/
Here is a really good story here
My son(caucasion) passed all the preliminary tests and was placed on a list of potential new hires for the RCMP…..after much personal expenditure of both time and money he felt that he would make a good addition to the force….sometime later he received a letter stating that the list had been severely shortened(read for some applicants of paler complexion)…. As a result this ment my university honors graduate son was being dropped from th hiring list….on further enquriery he was told ( under confidential conversations) that the gov’ t was now using a racial and cultural quota system …the end result was that a caucasion male Canadian was being discriminated against and had no where to take his case….wisely my fine son decided that such a backward organiatio did not qualify to “his specifications and chose to find employment in a more well run and appreciative venue….I guess reverse discrimination is now acceptable in Canada….a sad day in Canadian history….just a thought
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
20 
11
Excellent points Calvin! Members aren’t being asked what is needed, but told by a bunch of carpet ivory tower elitists.
Here is an article I once found that mentions Halifax, the panthers and Calvin Lawrence. Remember this one Cal?
http://www.shunpiking.com/bhs/Buddy-Daye.htm
Hot debate. What do you think?
13 
8
My first argument here is that the RCMP shouldn’t be in these large culturally diverse cities. This was never the role of the force to begin with. A federal agency is too cumbersome.
You know the RCMP was built on merit. Now, it wasn’t always perfect and I will even argue that a system is flawed when guys like Calvin Lawrence and Craig Gibson are kept out. But, I believe things are really starting to go overboard.
More women? Are they serious? The last I heard, they comprised 20 percent of applications. There are already enough issues with recruiting, training, competence and retention with what they have been doing. Talk to any candid male member and they will tell you that out of a dozen women that went through his troop, only 1 or 2 were worth hiring.
What about maternity leave? How do they plan on covering this in rural outposts?
I just don’t know where they are going to find decent women and put them through training without them watering it down any further. The washout and attrition rates are high enough with 20%.
Also on paper, the physical standard was the same for both sexes. But, believe me that isnt’ a very high bar. When the PARE test came out too many females weren’t passing it, so they watered that down.
I also love how a bunch of unelected politicians (who the only cops they know are carpet ones) can get together and decide that this is the magic bullet to fix everything. I predict this will blow up in their faces. Things always do when you throw merit out the window.
Also, if hiring is the focus today, you can bet your boots it will be promotions tomorrow. I don’t know how anyone is going to take the force seriously as a good career choice instead of being some politically correct joke.
Over the years I have met some “London Bobbies” and Scottish police who have had a big head start in this PC realm and policing is now a joke over there. If this is a sign of things to come, it’s going to be a rough ride.
Here are a couple of really good articles that spell out how bad policing is in the UK, mark my words this is coming to a detachment near you.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-448298/Politically-correct-police-force-hiring-officers-job.html
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2009/08/police-are-now-the-useless-uniformed-wing-of-new-labour.html
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2010/march/18/police_and_pc_guidelines.aspx
Well-liked comment. Do you Like or Dislike:
17 
8
As some of the readers may or not know I was a member of Halifax City Police from 1969-1978.
There is and was a great deal of racial conflict in Nova Scotia. At the time of my hiring the US Black Panther Party was making its way into the black community. There was also racist behaviour practiced by individual police officers. So, there I am at twenty years of age in the mix as a police officer. I was required to police the black community, the white community, and deal with white police officers who had varying degrees of acceptance.
I also was raised in Halifax and had positive and negative interaction with the police and my peers in the community.
My policing style earned me the respect of most of the black community, white community, and police community. (Documentation available upon request.)
I have worked in some capacity in the area of police/race/cultural relations since 1970. My official capacity was two years in the RCMP Diversity Management Section of the RCMP. The rest of the involvement was in addition to my other duties. Again, I did well. (Documentation available upon request.)
I now consult on this subject.
Keeping the above in mind; I cannot help but think how misguided and out of touch Inspector Jo Ann Smith and Senator Colin Kenny are in these matters.
Neither work at their level in a racially and culturally diverse environment. The ongoing conflicts cannot be resolved by 1960 solutions. That is what is happening in this case.
They know or may not know that this will cause the following reactions:
Endless debates about qualifications.
Resentment among members.
Communities saying they are under represented.
Questions about promotions.
I remember stories.
Did anyone stop and think that a non-white person being hired my not want to police his/her community?
There will be hostile environments for the non-white members.
Harassment complaints
…………………. And on goes the endless arguments, debates, and accusations.
should comprise 30 per cent women, 20 per cent visible minorities and 10 per cent aboriginals,
(Article)
I never considered myself a percentage.
“There aren’t just six-foot-two-inch males in the population,” she said”.
Inspector Jo Ann Smith
Now we have statements like the above being made. Statements on this site have been made by RCMP members about women being two short. Is this the new way to manage diversity?
Get ready for the conflicts to escalate within the RCMP organization regarding this subject. The sad part is that it does not have be that way.
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
Hot debate. What do you think?
15 
15