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National Post - Canada
28 November 2006

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Mounties accused of nepotism,

OTTAWA -- The RCMP needs a policy for ensuring external investigations into its activities are independent and unbiased, the Auditor General concluded after finding instances of nepotism, inappropriate contracting and wasteful spending in the administration of the Mounties' pension and insurance plans.

Moreover, Sheila Fraser rebuked the RCMP for publicly referring to a probe into the affair as an investigation by a local police force - even though the lead investigator reported to an RCMP assistant
commissioner and the investigative team was stacked with RCMP officers.

But the audit did not reproach the RCMP for letting an internal disciplinary investigation lapse without taking action against the RCMP managers involved, an omission likely to disappoint rank-and-file Mounties who have accused RCMP brass of foot dragging.

The audit examined serious irregularities that came to light in 2003, as the RCMP took steps to modernize the management of its pension plan and outsource the administration of its insurance plans.

Since then, the case has exposed deep discontent within RCMP ranks, with some officers openly calling for the resignation of RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli.

The RCMP initially launched its own criminal investigation, but then turned over the case to the Ottawa Police Service. In June 2005, the Ottawa Police investigation concluded that there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction on criminal charges."

Nevertheless, the audit summarizes a number of disturbing findings of the investigation and an internal RCMP audit, including:

- The director of the National Compensation Policy Centre (NCPC), which administered the plans, routinely hired friends and relatives of the director and other RCMP staff as casual employees. Of 65 casual employees hired, 49 had friends or family in the force.

- About $1.3 million was charged to the pension and insurance plans to pay for commissions or products that provided little or no value, or for excessive payments to employees' friends and family hired as temporary staff.

- Over $3.1 million was inappropriately charged to the pension plan to pay for human resources projects that should have been paid out of the RCMP's annual funding allotment, allowing managers to relieve budget pressure.

- The NCPC director overrode contracting controls to establish $20 million in consulting contracts without a competitive bidding process, resulting in work of questionable value and excessive fees.

- The decision to outsource administration of the pension plan to private contractors was not backed by a sound business case.

Fraser concluded that the RCMP has responded "adequately" to the findings of the internal audit and criminal investigation.

For example, the RCMP reimbursed or credited about $3.4 million back to the pension plan, even though it found it impossible to determine how much to reimburse due to "significant" internal control weaknesses.

The Mounties have also established a "pension finance" oversight committee to advise on the management of the plan and strengthened controls on staffing and contracting.

But the Auditor General noted "some underlying issues remain to be resolved."

"We found that the RCMP does not have an established policy to ensure that external investigations requested by the RCMP of its activities are, and appear to be, independent and unbiased," the audit says.

The NCPC director and the RCMP's chief human-resources officer resigned over the affair.

But last month, the RCMP informed staff that no disciplinary action would be taken against four senior officers involved, because too much time had elapsed. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act requires that disciplinary action be taken within a year of officers being notified of a potential breach of conduct.

The Auditor General also recommends that the RCMP open up the contract on administration of its insurance plans to competition "at the earliest possible date." The audit found a number of irregularities in the tendering of the contract, including an instance when the RCMP essentially paid for the same work twice. The audit notes that the Mounties paid over $250,000 to Great-West Life, an insurance company, even though Great-West subcontracted the work to another firm without providing any "tangible service" to the RCMP.

The establishment of ethical business practices was also the theme of a separate audit by the Auditor General into the RCMP, Correctional Service Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA.)

Together they employ about 40,000 public servants and spend about $5.6 billion a year in taxpayers' money.

The audit looked into whether each agency has values and ethics programs that promote good behaviour and facilitate whistleblowing.

It found that all three generally have programs in place, but it noted that only 20 per cent of employees reported receiving values and ethics training.

And while 60 per cent of RCMP officials said management take reports of wrongdoing seriously, the figure fell to 45 per cent at the CBSA.

The audit also examined contracting, the use of credit cards, and the use of overtime and leave at the three agencies.

While the audit found few cases of overtime or credit-card abuse, all three agencies were found to have signed sole-sourced contracts, "to the detriment of fairness and equal access."

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Article sourced from

National Post - Canada28 November 2006

Mounties accused of nepotism,

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National Post - Canada
28 November 2006