National Post (National Edition)
PM KEEN TO APPOINT WOMAN AS RCMP BOSS
Looking for merit, diversity, sources say
Facing mounting pressure to overhaul how Canada’s national police force is managed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled to staff he is keen to appoint a woman or someone with experience on the indigenous file to take charge of the RCMP after Commissioner Bob Paulson retires at the end of June.
Sources tell the National Post Trudeau is committed to a merit-based selection process for the high-profile commissioner’s job, which oversees 30,000 regular and civilian members. At the same time, he wants candidates who represent the diversity of Canada.
But a change in leadership alone may not be enough to address persistent problems plaguing the force, observers say.
The RCMP watchdog issued a scathing report on workplace harassment Monday, saying initiatives to address the problem have been “limited and ad hoc,” highlighting the RCMP’s decadeslong inability to bring about cultural reforms on its own.
The report by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission said only a change in the RCMP’s governance structure — bringing in civilian oversight to the force, currently run in a paramilitary style — can fix a “dysfunctional culture.”
In a statement, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the recommendations would be carefully reviewed and that he and the prime minister were “committed to whatever action is necessary to help RCMP members, trainees and employees feel safe and respected.”
Questions about the force’s leadership and governance are expected to intensify.
On Tuesday, Canada’s auditor-general is expected to release a report documenting shortcomings in the force’s handling of mental-health issues.
The Liberal government pledged last year that it would be more open and transparent about governor in council appointments. However, the Privy Council Office has so far refused to comment on the status of the search for Paulson’s replacement, including whether a search committee has been formed.
Conservative public safety critic Tony Clement says it’s troubling everyone is being kept in the dark. “Nothing is known about the next commissioner,” he told the National Post.
Clement said he hopes the government conducts a broad search within and outside the RCMP for someone who can modernize the force.
“I’m sure there are many meritorious female and male (candidates),” he added. That Trudeau would consider leaning towards a woman to fill the role isn’t surprising. After the 2015 federal election, the Liberals created a gender-balanced Cabinet, and many of the government’s judicial appointments have been women.
Only one woman — Beverley Busson — has ever helmed the RCMP and it was on an interim basis (December 2006 to July 2007). The current highest-ranking woman in the force is Deputy Commissioner Brenda Butterworth-Carr, the first aboriginal woman to oversee the RCMP in B.C.
In recent weeks, the National Police Federation, an organization seeking to become the bargaining agent for RCMP members, has floated some names of people for consideration, including Janice Armstrong, who retired last year as deputy commissioner in charge of contract and aboriginal policing.
“We are looking for a true leader … a person who is a truth-teller, will stand up for the membership” and who “will be a commissioner more than a deputy minister of Parliament,” said Eddie MacDonald, the NPF’s cochair. But Armstrong said Monday in an email she was enjoying retirement and “will not be returning to the force.”
The other names floated by the NPF were Alphonse MacNeil, a retired RCMP assistant commissioner; Vern White, a current senator and former Ottawa police chief; and Rick Hillier, Canada’s former chief of defence staff.
One law enforcement source said Deputy Commissioner Kevin Brosseau is also a top prospect because of his experience with aboriginal policing. He is also of Métis descent.
Rob Gordon, a Simon Fraser University criminologist, says Trudeau’s diversity aims are noble. However, what the RCMP really needs right now is change.
The force should get out of its municipal contracts and dedicate itself to federal policing matters like national security, drugs and border investigations, he said. It would also be wise to consider dropping some of its “novelty” functions, such as the Musical Ride and its overseas training duties.
“They’re trying to be all things to all people,” Gordon said.
The force also needs to move away from its 19thcentury hierarchal structure, he continued. “They haven’t pulled themselves out of that military shell. That is most unfortunate.”
Last fall, as part of an historic settlement in two proposed class-action lawsuits, Paulson issued an apology to all women in the force who had ever been bullied.
But Monday’s watchdog report noted harassment complaints persist, often involving allegations of abuse of authority or intimidation by supervisors against a subordinate. This includes allegations of abusive language, berating members in public, repeatedly coming to a member’s home while on sick leave, and transferring a member as a punitive measure. While initiatives to address workplace harassment at the local level have resulted in some positive developments, these efforts “fall far short of the kind of systemic reforms necessary for real impact,” the report said. Part of the problem is that senior leaders are almost entirely uniformed officers who have risen up the ranks and are “deeply embedded” in the institutional culture.
At a minimum, the RCMP should appoint civilian experts to help handle labour relations matters, the report urged. The public safety minister could go further by introducing a civilian board of management or perhaps divide responsibility for the RCMP between a civilian commissioner and a uniformed chief, similar to the model used by the New York Police Department.
(THE RCMP IS) TRYING TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE.