RCMP Watch

Langley Times

RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned following his revelation that he’d been inaccurate in earlier testimony before a House of Commons committee, looking into the case of Maher Arar.

Arar was sent to Syria where he was tortured, at least partially because of information given by the RCMP to U.S. authorities, suggesting that he was a member of Al-Qaeda.

He is now back in Canada, living in Kamloops. An inquiry has concluded that he did nothing wrong.
Zaccardelli’s resignation should end the force’s involvement in this affair, with the exception of any civil damages. He was the commissioner, and as such took ultimate responsibility for any wrongdoing.

This incident, while a challenge for the RCMP, does not diminish the respect that most people hold for our national police force. A great deal of that respect comes from the fact that the RCMP are also local police in most parts of the country, with the notable exceptions of Ontario and Quebec.

In our area almost every resident knows or knows of someone in the RCMP. That police officer may be a neighbour or a friend. Local RCMP officers conduct themselves appropriately and are respected by the vast majority of those who live here. The few who don’t respect them are the ones they have to deal with on a regular basis — and those people rarely respect anybody or anything.

Because so many members of the RCMP are like that, and have a deep and abiding concern for the communities they live and work in, this particular incident will not affect the force’s well-earned and long-standing reputation as one of Canada’s great institutions.