RCMP Watch

Maria Babbage, Canadian Press

The scandal-plagued RCMP stands at a critical point in its history, newly minted Commissioner William Elliott told his troubled ranks yesterday.Dressed in a business suit rather than the traditional red serge, the career bureaucrat used the change-of-command ceremony to urge the Mounties to help him meet the challenges ahead.

“We must build on our strengths, recognize and address our weaknesses, and live up to the highest standards that we set for ourselves and that Canadians rightly expect of us,” he said.

The Mounties’ first commissioner appointed without police or even military experience, Elliott has been given a mandate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to clean up an administration beset by a pension- and insurance-fund scandal that reached into the very office he now holds. He must also shore up support among the rank-and-file while implementing changes to avoid the mistakes made in the case of Maher Arar.

Barely four weeks on the job, Elliott is already facing some tough questions. Newly released documents showed officers relied on intelligence obtained from an unnamed country with a questionable human-rights record to support search and wiretap warrant applications for an anti-terrorist investigation.

But the RCMP has learned from its mistakes and put measures in place to ensure that what happened to Arar doesn’t happen again, Elliott said after the ceremony.

“I believe the force has far more strengths than weaknesses. Clearly, there is room for improvement,” he said.