RCMP Watch

Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star
Mounties would “welcome” more robust civilian oversight of the embattled national police force if that were what it takes to keep the trust of Canadians, Interim RCMP Commissioner Bev Busson says.

It is the first time the RCMP’s top cop has opened the door to accepting civilian oversight of the force’s activities that would go beyond the current Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

The current and past head of the RCMP’s watchdog body publicly complained they do not have enough power to hold the force accountable, and Busson said the force recognizes it may have to accept a more empowered process of outside review.

“I believe that the more oversight that the RCMP has, to a level that makes people feel comfortable, we welcome that because we have to maintain the trust that we have of Canadians,” said Busson.

In the six months since she replaced former commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, Busson has overseen a series of damaging revelations of RCMP actions, including a parliamentary probe of the misuse of pension funds, the Air India inquiry and a series of lawsuits launched by its own members who allege harassment by superiors.

But Busson, who is days away from being replaced by a new commissioner, again pitched for an insider to be named to lead change from within.

“I believe that my leadership and the way the force has responded over the last six months is a good example of why the leadership does not have to come from outside the force,” Busson told reporters.

She said she has already set up “a safe place for people to come and discuss their issues” and a new commissioner will have to build an effective “communications loop” to ensure concerns are properly dealt with.

However, Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino disagreed that only an insider can fix what’s wrong with the force. Fantino, who has said he is not interested in the job, has acted as police chief in several organizations.

“I’ve been an outsider, I’ve been an insider. I’ve been half and half. You just need to have a person that’s capable, competent, that has the credibility and the commitment to go forward.”

A new commissioner to replace Zaccardelli could be named as early as tomorrow or Friday, with the top contenders rumoured to be narrowed down to two insiders – deputy commissioners Bill Sweeney and Pierre-Yves Borduas – and one outsider – former Montreal police chief and now Canadian Air Transport Security Authority head Jacques Duchesneau.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper resisted calls from the Liberals and NDP yesterday for a full public inquiry into the RCMP, saying special investigator David Brown produced last week “a thorough, a clear and a very severe report on the state of the RCMP.”

He said the government is taking “sweeping action” and will implement all of Brown’s recommendations, including a task force on management and another look at a 2005 Ottawa police investigation that Brown said was not as independent as it should have been.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said the RCMP needs “objective solutions put together by an impartial judge, not some panel selected by the minister who is running the police force.”

But Harper said: “We do not ask a judge how to improve the management. We do not ask a judge how to finish a police investigation. We are asking the appropriate people to do the appropriate work. We are getting on with fixing this institution in the interests of this country.”