(CTVNews.ca) - The Conservative government tabled new legislation Wednesday that would give the RCMP commissioner more power to discipline or fire dishonourable members of the force.
The Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act, introduced by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, aims to remove bureaucratic barriers to investigations involving RCMP members, especially when it comes to serious allegations like sexual harassment and assault.
“It’s become clear, through my discussions with the commissioner, and with Canadians, that the changes are, indeed, needed,” Toews said at a news conference Wednesday.
“Right now … the process is overly rigid and bureaucratic. Proceedings tend to be drawn out, over years in most instances.”
Toews said the proposed legislation will give “enhanced investigative powers” to RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson.
Criminal investigations into death and serious injury involving RCMP members will also be more transparent, Toews said.
“We’re addressing concerns about police investigating the police,” he said.
The RCMP has been under pressure to overhaul its disciplinary process and address perceived cultural problems within the force since several female RCMP officers alleged they were sexually harassed by their male colleagues and superiors in British Columbia.
Male RCMP officers have also complained of abusive behaviour and intimidation at work.
And many Canadians were outraged by stories of RCMP misconduct, including that of Sgt. Donald Ray, who admitted to having sex with female subordinates in his office and hosting after-hours, booze-fuelled parties in an Edmonton RCMP detachment.
Ray was only docked 10 days of pay and transferred to a B.C. detachment.
When Paulson took over as RCMP commissioner late last year, he said getting rid of bad behaviour within the force was one of his top priorities. But he said his hands were tied by red tape in many disciplinary cases.
Currently, any serious case requiring more than a reprimand must be referred to an adjudication board composed of three senior officers who follow a heavily regulated process. It can take up to five years for a case to be resolved and the RCMP manager is usually out of the loop, Toews said.
Under the proposed legislation, managers would have more responsibility over day-to-day disciplinary issues. Only cases where an officer could be punished with a dismissal would be required to go before a conduct board. But even then, new rules would be applied so the case is resolved efficiently.
The RCMP commissioner would have the power to fire members for various non-disciplinary reasons as well, including poor performance or absenteeism, Toews said.
“Our challenge is to be able to separate behaviour that can be corrected and can be made better versus the most outrageous that is condemned by everybody,” Paulson said Wednesday.
“It’s a really big step for the government to change the RCMP Act,” Former Mountie Krista Carle, who said she was sexually harassed at work for years, told CTV News.
But she said the RCMP needs to go further than firing officers or suspending them without pay.
“For very serious allegations, there need to be some criminal charges,” she said.
The government is also replacing the RCMP public complaints commission with a new independent body that would have the power to compel evidence.
[Source]
Legislation could give RCMP boss new powers to discipline rogue members
Douglas Quan
Postmedia News
June 20, 2012
The RCMP`s bureaucratic grievance and disciplinary system will be streamlined and the commissioner will have new powers to dismiss members for “non-disciplinary” reasons under legislation announced Wednesday by the Harper government.
The enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police accountability act would also replace the existing Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP with a new Civilian Review and Complaints Commission.
The legislation also aims to improve transparency in the handling of RCMP members who are suspected of committing serious crimes, officials said.
The proposed reforms, announced by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, are designed to address intense criticism that the force has been slow and ineffective in responding to allegations of harassment and other grievances involving members of the force.
Even Paulson himself has acknowledged in recent interviews, and in an open letter to Canadians, the force`s disciplinary process is often bogged down in bureaucracy and that punishment handed down to the force`s “rotten apples” sometimes just “does not cut it.”
“Canadians` confidence in the RCMP has been tested over the past few years and this legislation will ensure the RCMP is fully accountable for its actions and is open and transparent in its service to Canadians,” Toews said Wednesday in a statement.
A major aim of the legislation is to streamline the grievance process, which the government says can sometimes take up to five years to resolve.
Under the act, senior managers would be given a wider range of options to sanction members immediately, such as suspending pay.
In more serious cases, the manager would still be required to refer the case to an adjudication board. However, the boards would have discretion to resolve cases without having to hold a formal hearing.
“The formality and administrative burdens will be significantly reduced in favour of a fair, streamlined and proportionate system,” according to a government background sheet.
The legislation would also give the commissioner new powers to discharge members for a range of non-disciplinary reasons, including poor performance and abseentism.
A new Civilian Review and Complaints Commission would hold the same powers as the commission that it replaces but it would have additional powers, including the ability to compel witnesses to give evidence, review the RCMP`s compliance with legislation and regulations and appoint civilian observers to assess the impartiality of criminal investigations involving their own.
In addition, when Mounties fall under criminal investigation for serious incidents, the provinces will be given the authority to choose who it wants to conduct the investigation. _ it could be an investigative body, such as Alberta`s Serious Incident Response Team, or another police force.
NDP public safety critic Randall Garrison praised parts of the legislation Wednesday.
“On the face of it, it seems to give the commissioner new powers to deal with bad “apples: that`s a good thing,“ he said.
But he said the legislation failed to address how the force was going to tackle concerns about alleged systemic workplace harassment.
He also disputed the government`s characterization of the new civilian review commission as “independent,” saying that it still would report to the minister of public safety.
The proposed changes come at a time when the force is facing allegations of widespread systemic discrimination and harassment against female members in a proposed class-action lawsuit.
The force also came under heavy criticism recently when it came to light that an adjudication panel chose not to dismiss an Alberta Mountie, Sgt. Donald Ray, who had engaged in a “disturbing pattern” of activity, including having sex and drinking on the job. He was docked 10 days pay, given a formal reprimand and demoted one rank.
http://www.canada.com/Legislation+could+give+RCMP+boss+powers+discipline+rogue+members/6815260/story.html