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Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
10 December 2007

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RCMP

New RCMP watchdog needed, MPs

A Commons committee has called for creation of an accountability board to keep an eye on the RCMP, saying the force suffers from "serious management and administrative shortcomings."

It also urges the House of Commons to denounce a lack of leadership shown by former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli during investigation of improper administration of the Mountie pension and insurance plans.

The public accounts committee heard allegations of fraud, abuse of authority, contracting irregularities and harassment by senior members of the RCMP during 15 sessions involving 61 witnesses.

"The RCMP's normally high ethical standards were violated in this case," says the toughly worded report tabled Monday in the Commons.

"Unfortunately, RCMP senior management allowed an ethical culture to develop which discouraged the disclosure of wrongdoing and did not hold individuals to account for unethical behaviour."

The MPs recommend improving procedures for disclosure of malfeasance and tightening the rules for contracting.

"The wide array of problems uncovered during this study indicates that the RCMP suffers from serious management and administrative shortcomings," the report says.

It is the latest of several examinations sparked by the scandal.

A report for the government by Toronto lawyer David Brown described the RCMP's corporate culture as "horribly broken" and concluded the force's management had mishandled the employee pension fund. But it found no evidence of a cover-up by senior Mounties.

Brown heads a federal task force due to report this month on RCMP management practices.

The pension and insurance matter simmered for years as the allegations wound their way through internal RCMP channels, a municipal police investigation and the auditor general's office before landing in the public accounts committee's lap.

NDP committee member David Christopherson said the RCMP "is teetering on the brink of the abyss."

Among their 31 recommendations, the MPs also call for strengthening the authority of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and the RCMP Ethics Advisor.

The committee expressed disappointment at the lack of leadership shown by Zaccardelli and the former chief financial officer, Paul Gauvin, saying they should have acted more swiftly to prevent the abuses and punish wrongdoers.

MPs were also disturbed by the contradictory evidence provided by many witnesses, and included a long list of "unresolved concerns" about the scandal.

The report recommends the government ask the Ontario provincial police to fully probe irregularities in the private outsourcing of administration of the insurance plan. The Ontario force is already looking into other aspects of the scandal.

Under the committee's blueprint, the RCMP commissioner would continue to report to the public safety minister, but would also report to the new police accountability board. The board, in turn, would report to the minister and issue a public annual statement on the Mounties' performance.

The MPs also want the RCMP to provide more timely responses to formal requests for documents under the Access to Information Act, noting extensive delays in answering applications that could have shed light on the issues much earlier.

The report notes Jim Ewanovich and Dominic Crupi, the two individuals at the RCMP primarily responsible for irregularities in the administration of the pension and insurance plans, eventually lost their jobs. However, they remained on the RCMP payroll for many months after an internal audit brought the issues to light.

The MPs were "discouraged and frustrated" with the government's lack of authority, or plain unwillingness, to dismiss employees found guilty of gross misconduct.

At the same time, the committee commended RCMP members and employees who showed courage in helping expose the scandal, including Chief Supt. Fraser Macaulay.

Another who raised concerns, now-retired staff sergeant Ron Lewis, said Monday the success of new whistle-blowing measures would depend on whether they were truly independent of the commissioner.

RCMP employee Denise Revine, who suffered reprisals for speaking up, said recognition from the committee meant a lot. "It was a long haul."

The report also expressed dismay that several individuals responsible for questionable behaviour were allowed to simply move to other government departments � "perhaps indicative of the weak system of discipline in the public service."

Though the report was unanimous, the NDP and Bloc Quebecois separately called for a full public inquiry into the RCMP, as well as giving Mounties the right to unionize.

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Article sourced from

Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada10 December 2007

New RCMP watchdog needed, MPs

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Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
10 December 2007