RCMP is adrift without a saviour

Carol Goar (Toronto Star, Opinion) – Anyone younger than 25 is unlikely to remember how it felt when the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was a respected public figure.

The late 20th century was no golden age. The RCMP still got into its share of scrapes and scandals. It was still roundly criticized in Parliament and regularly attacked by civil libertarians. But it was headed by men who projected integrity and professionalism.

Former RCMP commissioner Norman Inkster (1987-1994) was forthright, tackled problems head-on and earned the nation’s trust.

His successor, Philip Murray (1994-2000), led the force with probity and openness through an era of crippling cutbacks and political interference.

To watch William Elliott, the current commissioner, duck responsibility for the RCMP’s ever-growing list of debacles – botched investigations, reckless Taser use, perjury on the stand – is to wince.

To look at the records of his two predecessors, Beverley Busson (2006-2007) and Giuliano Zaccardelli (2000-2006), is to lament the downslide of a once-iconic institution.

There are still thousands of Mounties doing exemplary work in communities across Canada and overseas. And there is still a deeply rooted tradition of fair policing in the ranks. But when the commissioner isn’t upholding these standards, the old values weaken and the force drifts.

The RCMP is badly adrift now. It has lost the nation’s confidence and squandered its once-proud reputation.

The government could still pull it back on track.

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan would have to override the commissioner if he refuses to fix credibility-sapping problems.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper would have to make it crystal clear to Elliott that he is there to fix improper procedures, not excuse or defend them. But there is no indication anyone in government intends to take charge.

This summer, Canadians got a stark demonstration of this lack of accountability at the top.

Paul Kennedy, who heads the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, a government-appointed watchdog agency, released an analysis of 28 incidents in which the force investigated crimes involving its own members.

The two highest profile cases were the death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who was jolted with a Taser five times by the RCMP at Vancouver airport, and the death of Ian Bush, a young sawmill worker in Houston, B.C., who was shot in police custody after being caught with an open beer at a hockey game.

Only three of the RCMP’s internal investigations resulted in convictions.

This apparent leniency raised profound doubts about letting the national police force investigate itself.

Kennedy recommended that when RCMP officers were involved in deaths, serious injuries or sexual assaults, the investigation should be referred to an external police force or provincial agency, such as Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit.

It was hardly a revolutionary proposal. Most modern police forces already do it.

Elliott responded with a dismissive letter. He upbraided Kennedy for the “unduly negative” tone of his report. He said it “may be impractical in some instances” to hand off investigations. And he made it plain he felt no compulsion to adopt the commission’s recommendations.

The public safety minister issued a pro forma statement welcoming Kennedy’s “important input” into the government’s ongoing review of police oversight.

The Prime Minister said nothing at all.

This gives Elliott a green light to keep obstructing the public complaints commission, denying that anything is wrong and resisting change.

The Conservatives can legitimately claim that they didn’t create this mess. By the time they took power in 2006, the RCMP was behaving as if it answered to no one, was above the law and couldn’t be reined in.

That was the time to set things straight. Three years later, Canadians are still waiting, wondering if it’s too late and if anybody in Ottawa even cares.