Testimony continues in RCMP labour charges

FINANCES PLAYED ROLE IN CARBINE ROLLOUT: WITNESS

Senior Mounties should not have included the “influence of finances” when deciding which RCMP divisions would first get semi-automatic carbine rifles, an RCMP tactical expert testified Wednesday at the national police force’s trial on charges of violating the Canada Labour Code.

The allegations against the RCMP stem from its response to Justin Bourque’s 2014 shooting rampage in Moncton, N.B., which claimed the lives of three officers and left two others wounded. Bourque shot each of the officers with a semi-automatic assault rifle, prompting some critics to complain police armed with pistols and shotguns were outgunned.

As a result, police use of the C8 carbine — also a highpowered assault rifle — became a central focus after the Moncton shootings. The Mounties in that city did not have access to carbines at the time.

RCMP Supt. Bruce Stuart, an expert in use of force, told Moncton provincial court that he contributed to a threat risk assessment that would help determine how many carbines were needed and which divisions needed them most. The carbines were approved in September 2011, but the rollout took time.

Stuart told Judge Leslie Jackson that senior management wanted to add financial components to the risk assessment.

He said he attempted to stress that the assessment should not include “the influence of finances,” but he said the top brass did not see it that way.

“I understand finance plays a piece of it, but to me, don’t meld it together,” Stuart, a carbine instructor, said during his second full day of testimony.

He said some detachments could afford to purchase the carbines immediately, but others would need more time.