RCMP Watch

Kevin Bissett, Canadian Press

New Brunswick Attorney General T.J. Burke declined comment Wednesday on allegations of wrongdoing within the provincial RCMP.

At least two current and former Mounties in the province are among more than a dozen officers across the country who have alleged wrongdoing within the force, including abuse of power, harassment and the coverup of evidence.

One of the published allegations was made by Daniel Bernier, a former RCMP corporal who lives near Fredericton. He claims he was removed from an investigation in which he said he found evidence of the misuse of federal funds by New Brunswick government officials in 1999.

He alleges grants were wrongly approved to farmers.

Once he was removed from the case, Bernier said an internal investigation by the RCMP was called into his conduct.

“Our government doesn’t respond to allegations,” Burke said Wednesday when asked by reporters about the claims published this week.

“We respond to factual information that is provided to us, information that we need to investigate and look at.”

William Gilmour, an Ontario lawyer representing some of the Mounties who made the allegations, said the current and former members are anxious to tell their stories, but there must be protection from reprisal.

“We’re actively seeking the government to afford a venue in the nature of a parliamentary committee, where there’s some protection for these people, where they have agreed to come forward and tell their stories,” he said Wednesday.

Gilmour, who is an ex-Mountie, said he has been trying to get the federal government to call his clients before such a committee for a year, but so far nothing has happened.

In the Commons on Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day was accused by the opposition of ignoring the turmoil.

“The Conservative public safety minister’s response is to shrug his shoulders, plug his ears and see no evil, hear no evil,” said Liberal Sue Barnes.

“Is this wilful blindness or gross negligence? When it comes to protecting the integrity of Canada’s national police, why is the public safety minister thwarting real action?”

Day responded by saying the government is “taking action to get to the bottom of some of the concerns that have been raised.”

Another New Brunswick Mountie, Staff Sgt. Ken Smith, is suing senior officers at J Division in Fredericton for alleged harassment, but the New Brunswick government has stepped in and stayed proceedings.

The province has asked the Fredericton police force to fully investigate the Smith case, which includes allegations of unauthorized use of tracking devices on his police vehicle.

“For the 30 years that I have had with the police force, my job has been to go out and investigate crime,” Smith said. “To find that we have just as much crime happening within our organization, which is stopping us from doing our job, is very troubling for me and for the individuals who have come forward.”

Bernier said he’s not surprised to hear that as many as 30 current and former Mounties would be willing to testify before a parliamentary committee.

“The country of Canada is quite vast and the RCMP is all over the place, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been treated like a piece of shit,” Bernier said.

Gilmour said the appointment of a new RCMP commissioner with the mandate to fix the problems in the force could prevent having to launch an inquiry or royal commission.

In the meantime, he said, the reputation of the force is taking a beating.

“That’s really quite unfair to the members on the street who are performing such a valuable function and putting their lives at risk every day,” said Gilmour. “They don’t deserve that and it needs to be dealt with far sooner than later.”