Top Mountie accused of nepotism

OTTAWA— RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson is making “patronage appointments” and handing out “cashable leave” in moves that amount to favouring his friends as he goes out the door, a Carleton University criminologist alleges in a formal complaint to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

Prof. Darryl Davies on Thursday wrote Goodale a letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Star, in which he slams the top Mountie for making inappropriate promotions in the final weeks before Paulson’s June 30 retirement.

Davies is demanding that Goodale freeze all senior management promotions, roll back “largesse” offered in the form of two weeks of “cashable leave” to chief superintendents and appoint an interim commissioner from outside the force.

Goodale’s office acknowledged receipt of Davies’ complaint, but declined immediate comment. The RCMP had no immediate response to the Star’s request for confirmation or an explanation of the moves. Paulson, however, defended his actions.

“They are not patronage appointments,” he said, pointing to the individuals’ qualifications, the support of his senior executive committee for them and his legal authority to appoint under the RCMP Act.

Paulson said that with these appointments, the ratio of females to males on the RCMP’s senior executive committee changes from 28.6 per cent to 42.9 per cent.

At the heart of Davies’ complaints are two significant promotions.

Davies says Paulson named his chief of staff, Lisa-Marie Inman, to the RCMP’s senior communications job and blasts Paulson’s appointment of Guylaine Dansereau, the wife of the senior RCMP deputy soon to replace Paulson, to the position of professional responsibility officer. That office oversees complaints about unethical or harassing behaviour in the RCMP.

In an interview with the Star, Davies said the appointments are clearly “patronage” and “nepotism.”

His letter says Dansereau is the wife of Deputy Commissioner Dan Dubeau, the RCMP’s chief human resources officer who will become interim commissioner replacing Paulson at the end of the week.

Paulson, in an email reply to the Star, confirmed the appointments, and said “recruitment, retention and succession planning are key priorities of the RCMP. Human resource planning decisions are regularly made by the Senior Executive Committee.” He cited his authority under the RCMP Act to make the appointments and said the women’s promotions are “in the organization’s interest.”

He said Dubeau was excluded from his senior executive committee’s discussion of Dansereau’s appointment because “we have ethics.”