Not easy to remove racist officers, observers say
Rooting out Mounties who harbour racist views may not be as easy or happen as quickly as the RCMP’s top boss has suggested.
Commissioner Bob Paulson acknowledged to a gathering of First Nations leaders this week “there are racists in my police force” and sought to assure them recent changes to the RCMP Act allow him and his commanding officers to take “decisive” action.
“I would encourage you all … to have confidence in the processes that exist, up to and including calling me if you are having a problem with a racist in your jurisdiction or any other problems,” he said at the annual meeting of the Assembly of First Nations ( AFN) in Gatineau, Que., Wednesday.
Legal observers say it is possible officers who display racist behaviour on or off duty could be disciplined under the RCM P code of conduct. However, proving someone is racist can be challenging, requiring witnesses or a recording of the remarks, they said.
“Absent a racist statement, ( it’s) likely not an easy task,” said Peter Brauti, a Toronto criminal defence lawyer. Sebastien Anderson, a labour lawyer representing the Mounted Police Professional Association of Canada ( MPPAC), wondered why Paulson hasn’t already dealt with racist members if he knows they exist.
“If he believes that to be the case or had that belief for some time, the means to deal with it lay at his fingertips,” he said.
“He has an extensive supervisory structure underneath him to deal with it. My question is: why he hasn’t dealt with it before now?”
Paulson’s invitation to aboriginal leaders to call him directly about suspected racist members potentially puts him in a conflict if he later has to adjudicate a case that has been appealed, Anderson said.
Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the AFN, said through a spokesman Paulson’s decision to address the leaders and answer tough questions “showed a lot of character.”
“A good first step was made by acknowledging the problem and now we need to take some actions,” he said.
Paulson’s candid remarks were in response to pointed questions from B.C. Grand Chief Doug Kelly, leader of the Sto:lo Tribal Council.
“We encounter racism every single day. Some of the worst racists carry a gun. And they carry a badge, authorized by you, Commissioner Paulson … We need you to confront racism in the ranks,” Kelly said.
Rob Creasser, an MPPAC spokesman, said his group does not disagree there are members of the force who probably shouldn’t be on it. “For ( the force) to come out and say there’s not a problem with part of the RCM P membership would be naive and unbelieved,” he said.