RCMP Watch

OTTAWA (Canadian Press) — The new commissioner of the RCMP says he wants to change the force’s culture to allow rank-and-file members to speak up about problems without fear for their jobs.

William Elliott, who’s formally been on the job less than a month, told a House of Commons committee Friday that a senior task force is looking at ways to open up communications within the Mounties.

“We need to have mechanisms and processes in place so that people can come forward,” he said.

Linda Duxbury, a Carleton University professor who did a study on the Mounties, told the MPs that low-ranking members of the force tend to keep complaints to themselves for fear of repercussions.

She said they feel that politics is the driving force in the senior echelons: “They feel the promotions depend on who you know and playing the game rather than competence.”

Her findings came from questionnaires sent to thousands of Mounties and individual interviews with 300 of them.

Elliott said he wants to make it easier for constables and the like to make complaints or blow the whistle on questionable practices. He said they are free right now to contact the task force or send complaints directly to him.

“They have not been shy about making their views known,” he said.

The new commissioner, a civilian rather than a uniformed member of the force, said it’s a daunting task to change a corporate culture, but he feels it can be done.

Duxbury the process will take time and no one should expect instant results..

“Cultural change is the most difficult kind of change,” she said. “If all the stars are aligned, it’s five to 10 years for cultural change to occur. We have to give the RCMP a chance.”

Elliott said despite the problems, the RCMP remains strong and still has the confidence of Canadians.

“I would say there is far more positive than negative about the RCMP.”

He said he’s determined to act on whatever recommendations come from a task force that is studying the RCMP management structure.

Earlier this year, the force’s corporate culture was described as “horribly broken” after an investigation into mishandling of the RCMP pension fund.

Elliott, a career bureaucrat, was given the job of cleaning up the administration and restoring confidence in the force in the wake of controversies such as the pension fund and the Arar case.

The Mounties initially called in the Ottawa police to investigate the pension troubles, but the Ontario Provincial Police is now doing a second probe.

The controversies shook the force and led to the resignation of former commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli.

A public inquiry found that the RCMP wrongly labelled former Ottawa engineer Maher Arar as a terrorist - a mistake that likely led to his deportation from the U.S. and torture in a Syrian jail.

Duxbury said such incidents have rattled the lower ranks, to the point where half of interviewees told her they would not want their children to follow in their footsteps, and about 40 per cent said they would leave the RCMP before pension age.