Rampage response slowed by ‘finances’
Moncton RCMP left behind in C8 carbine rollout
Senior Mounties should not have included the “influences of finances” when deciding which RCMP divisions would first get semiautomatic 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 s hooting r ampage i n 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 were outgunned.
As a result, police use of the C8 carbine, also a highpowered assault rifle, became a central focus in the fallout from the Moncton shootings. The Mounties in Moncton did not have access to carbines at the time.
RCMP Supt. Bruce Stuart, an expert in tactical operations, 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 threat risk assessment should not include “the influence of finances,” but 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 trained carbine instructor, said during his second day of testimony.
He said some detachments could afford to purchase the carbines immediately, but others would need more time.
On Tuesday, Stuart said he wanted the new firearms to be distributed to every detachment as soon as possible in a national rollout.
Crown prosecutor Paul Adams has said the majority of the officers in Moncton who responded to the active-shooter call on June 4, 2014, lacked full training and requalification in firearms.
In his opening comments earlier this week, Adams said some of the fatalities could have been avoided had the force complied with labour laws.
Retired assistant commissioner Alphonse MacNeil issued 64 recommendations in the wake of the Moncton shootings. He has said the carbine could have made a difference in the shootings and they should be rolled out faster.
Earlier this year, the force said more than 3,300 RCMP officers across Canada had been trained to use carbines, and that number is expected to double over the coming year.