Christina Spencer, Ottawa (Sun Media) – RCMP commissioner William Elliott, whose appointment as the first civilian head of the agency stirred criticism, says it would be better if the next boss came from inside the police force.
Asked on CTV’s Question Period whether he should be succeeded by another civilian or someone in uniform, Elliott said, “I hope there will be fully qualified people from within the force that can be considered.
“All else being equal, I personally believe that it would be better for the organization to appoint someone from within the organization.”
A senior public servant who had extensive background in public security and had served both the Liberal and Conservative governments, Elliott was appointed commissioner in July 2007.
At the time, the RCMP was taking a drubbing over a pension and insurance scandal that had prompted an investigator to call RCMP culture “horribly broken.”
But many within the force were alarmed that a civilian had been named to head it — the first time since the creation of the North West Mounted Police in 1873.
Elliott said yesterday some members had been “surprised and frankly disappointed and somewhat angered.”
Since taking the job, he has faced his own rough ride over the RCMP’s use of Tasers, particularly in the death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver Airport in October 2007.
He recently told a Senate committee the RCMP was “very sorry” for Dziekanski’s death. “Obviously things did go wrong,” he told CTV.
But he said that while his appointment from outside the force was “controversial,” the RCMP has supported his attempts to improve the force.
Recruitment is up and front-line officers are being given more power to make decisions, Elliott said.
“I think there’s been a lot of positive change in the RCMP over the last couple of years.”
I do not recall “justice” ever being guaranteed or guaranteed speedy in our present system.
What sort of conspiracy do you see with the Crown and police in the Virk case?
Sometimes they are so effective at hiding things that the truth NEVER gets out…. avec la GRC/RCMP c’est la vie!
Not casual at all DT. But don’t worry, years will pass before the whole story is known. The insider fraud relates to land, not railcars.
“Since then RCMP and the so-called Special Prosecutor have worked to ensure the case will be tossed for delays and lack of disclosure.”
Quite a conspiracy theory there NRF. Pretty casual in your impugning the lawyer and the police. Disclosure/delay is a defense boon as a trial can be booted on delay even if, (are you ready…) the Crown never asked for nor agreed to any delay and even if on record for opposing it. Defense can argue non disclosure to the point of inanity and get away with it.
The Politics of Betrayal;
It is nothing short of astonishing to note the agenda-driven politics of our day.
Caught in this web of intrigue, it gives lip service to grand ideals, papers over the truth in order to distort reality and in the end, amounts to betrayal.
This is the picture that is unfolding before our eyes concerning the RCMP and their battle for survival, in order to remain in the people’s grace and achieve certain goals.
Nothing seems to change with time, does it?
“With the Commissioner reporting direct to one minister, a lid could be kept on anything”… except when people, prepared to risk their own careers, spoke up in public about outrages.
Not only do we need a new LEA and justice management system, we need whistle blower protection too. The people speaking loudest about improved justice management should be those directly affected.
Examine the BC Rail/Basi/Virk case to see how the present system protects high ranking fraudsters. There, investigators following ordinary drug and money laundering trails stumbled onto public corruption that the brass didn’t want to know about. Since then RCMP and the so-called Special Prosecutor have worked to ensure the case will be tossed for delays and lack of disclosure.
Canada reeks of this, “We investigate crime and criminals, unless they are rich and powerful.” Thus, we have the reputation for being the weakest developed nation in the world for action against corruption. Read Amir Attaran’s The Ugly Canadian in June LRC (linked on my blog).
A completely independent and autonomous union or staff association for RCMP ranks would help. Apparently, the occasional person here feels the need to be shielded by a nom de plum.
Well MS, if I were a cynical person I would suggest that the major Commercial Crime investigations that were conducted in that era corralled a nest of vipers from the government and the Quebec establishment. Not all were subject to charges, but the depth of the rot went past Ottawa mandarins into the Quebec government and civil service in bed with organized crime.
With the Commissioner reporting direct to one minister, a lid could be kept on anything. Subsequent procedures that changed such as the police not being allowed to serve search warrants on any MP without vetting by the “appropriate committee” is corruption in its purest form.
Keep your enemies closer rings true here doesn’t it? Only a separate, non political, civilian body appointed with no government hacks or cronies would be the proper oversight tool.
The definition of insanity; keep doing the same thing and expect something different…. does this remind you of someone?
Trudeau definately had an authoritarian streak in him. And he is one of the key figures in the unconstitutional growth of power in the PMO.
Harper is not going to reform that, despite railing against the power Chretien and Martin wielded when he was in opposition. The pension-fund scandal and the Arar scandal prompted not a public inquiry but a closed-door task-force that came up with some useful suggestions that have been ignored by Harper’s government regarding the RCMP.
And people wonder why voter turnout is declining in Canada.
Trudeau had an authoritarian streak to him despite seeming to be unconventional. He wanted a direct line into the police to be able to exercise control on the issues he cared about – mostly related to Quebec nationalism.
Once power is taken, it is never given back voluntarily so it is doubtful that Harper will give independence to the RCMP. I think only a huge groundswell from within the organization or need to respond to something citizens deem to be a scandal will stimulate willingness to change. Repeat Arar or Dziekanski and that might do it.
Right back at you DT; a lot of people have suggested the RCMP be given seperate employer status and I think that would be a real step in the right direction. I do not know what Trudeau’s intentions were when he made the Commisioner a deputy minister but it has led to the politicization and bureacratization of the upper echelons of the RCMP.
In the corporate world, candidates on track to the top are recognized early and streamed through postings that build broad expertise. Additionally, they participate in advanced in-service training and formal education upgrades, such as MBAs.
A good organization prospects for its future leaders if it identifies young candidates and gives them extraordinary opportunities for professional development.
One would hope the RCMP could generate its own supervising general management from existing staff but, does it have the programs to do so?
Obviously, civilian control of military and paramilitary groups is necessary but that can be mostly depoliticized by having the RCMP and other LEAs report to an officer of Parliament instead of the Prime Minister. That position would be something like the Auditor General.
I tend to agree with you on that MS. The very root cause of inaction and dithering from the office of the Commissioner is not unlike any other federal department. They have turned the office into a political government model of inefficiency. I would however go one step further in the process. I would give the RCMP separate employer status.
With a non political Head office, and control over everything from budgets to wages, some effective change could be made without mewling to the government at every turn. It always astounds me when some mandarin in Ottawa affects the stationery used in Alberta.
Sounds like Elliot is getting ready to leave. He’s generally been regarded as a failure by both the critics and supporters of the RCMP and has failed to rally the force behind his leadership. He meekly asked the Canadian public “to walk a mile in the RCMP’s shoes” at the height of the Braidwood Inquiry but did nothing to stand up for his officers when the Conservative government took the RCMP’s pay raise off the table. No matter how one stood on the state of the RCMP, Elliot has generally been viewed as a failure and its likely if he survived being asked to resign by this current PM in the next sixmonths, he would be canned by the next PM. Perhaps he is planning to resign before that can happen.
I am certain that from the ranks of the RCMP an intelligent reformer who is not part of the “old boys network” could be found to lead the force. But this new Commissioner would still face the problems that every one of his/her predecessors has since the mid-1980s; they would be considered a deputy minister in the federal cabinet and would serve at the beck and call of the PM.
Next RCMP chief should come from within ranks, Elliott says
Brian Laghi, Ottawa
Globe and Mail
June 7, 2009
The first civilian commissioner of the RCMP says the next head of the national police force should probably come from within the ranks.
“All else being equal, I think personally, I believe that it would be better for the organization to appoint someone from within the organization,” William Elliott told CTV News’ Question Period on Sunday.
While the commissioner said Sunday that he there would undoubtedly be candidates from both outside and within the organization, he hoped there would be “fully-qualified people from within the force that can be considered.”
Mr. Elliott came into the job two years ago after an internal pension scandal as well as controversy surrounding former commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli after he provided contradictory evidence before a House of Commons committee about the Maher Arar case.
Mr. Elliott’s appointment was criticized by RCMP members, something Mr. Elliott himself acknowledged during the interview. Some suggested that Mr. Elliott’s appointment was an effort by the federal government to gain more control over the force.
“Certainly my appointment from outside the force was controversial,” he said. “But I was very pleased by the reception I have received, even by those members and employees of the force who were surprised, and frankly disappointed and somewhat angered in some cases.”
“Their approach from the get-go has been ‘that decision is behind us. We’re here to support you.’”
Mr. Elliott refuted, however, suggestions that his appointment from the civilian ranks may have hampered his effectiveness.
“I think there’s been a lot of positive change over the last couple of years,” he said.
At one point after his appointment, then-minister responsible for the RCMP, Stockwell Day, issued an e-mail to RCMP members asking them to support the new commissioner.
Mr. Elliott was a senior bureaucrat in the public safety department before being appointed to the job.