Juno News - The RCMP lacks transparency

00:00:00.000 Transparency in the RCMP, please. I know it says that on their website. Whatever else we can say

00:00:12.480 about the RCMP is that they are the most opaque organization you can imagine. Just as an example,

00:00:19.060 does anyone know the type of weapons used by the Nova Scotia serial shooter from Portapique

00:00:24.160 in the spring? We know that most were obtained illegally, they told us that, but we don't know

00:00:30.300 where they came from. We don't know what they were. Why don't we know more? There's no transparency

00:00:37.300 there, but then, this is the RCMP. This week, we learned that the RCMP sat on a February 2018 report

00:00:47.540 saying that Canadians didn't have confidence in the leadership of the RCMP. The RCMP paid ECOS

00:00:54.980 Research $74,947 for the report, yet it was only released in the last few days. The RCMP had nothing

00:01:03.840 to say about why that was. I should add, the 2006 Financial Administration Act requires prompt

00:01:11.000 disclosure of taxpayer-funded research within six months of completion. Apparently, the RCMP

00:01:17.260 ignored that little piece of something called the law. Could it be because the majority of Canadians

00:01:24.120 lacked confidence in the leadership of the National Police Force? I'd bet the farm. And I'm sure the same

00:01:31.220 leadership spent the last two years trying to figure out how to spin the numbers to paint the

00:01:37.060 leadership in the best possible light. Canadians deserve better, by any analysis. I'm not talking about

00:01:46.240 confidential investigations. I am talking about things that affect Canadians, and that most especially

00:01:52.520 relates to the confidence most Canadians have in the Commissioner of the National Police Force.

00:01:58.740 We know the Commissioner and several other senior officers are under investigation by the OPP

00:02:05.240 for allegations made by two members of the YVR-4, one of whom served time in jail on a ridiculous

00:02:12.600 conviction, and the other is still serving member who was acquitted at trial. The allegations were

00:02:20.100 investigated internally, and the results did not satisfy the members. The OPP was then called in to

00:02:27.360 provide an independent look at the allegations that were made. This week, we learned that the two

00:02:34.580 members were interviewed and the OPP investigation is proceeding apace. But we also learned the specific

00:02:43.580 allegations against the Commissioner of the RCMP, but also two former commissioners and several other

00:02:50.240 senior officers, including two former commanding officers of V Division, BC. We also learned one of the

00:02:58.920 allegations of the allegations of obstruction of justice is against the internal investigations from

00:03:05.060 investigators from Alberta, who were initially assigned to look at the allegations against senior

00:03:10.800 leadership. The allegation is, quote, failing to investigate criminal allegations made by the complainants

00:03:17.640 via their correspondence and interviews, unquote. This is acute. Even if you make an allegation and the

00:03:25.840 assigned investigators will not properly investigate, and then they try and cover up for the senior

00:03:32.380 leadership being investigated, there is a problem. The implication of this is deep. There is no way,

00:03:39.620 despite the public statements to the contrary, to hold the leadership of the RCMP accountable.

00:03:45.140 Transparency? Not in this organization. As a former member of the RCMP, I know at first hand how this

00:03:52.320 works. We state a position, but what our real position is, don't do or say anything to bring

00:03:58.620 a disrepute onto the force as a whole. It is the unstated position of the RCMP. Do nothing to tarnish

00:04:06.100 the buffalo. The buffalo being at the center of the RCMP logo. Defying any law by the National Police

00:04:13.740 Force is not acceptable. Whether it is the seven findings of non-compliance within the Access of

00:04:19.780 Information Act by the RCMP, the lack of disclosure of information to Canadians in the worst mass

00:04:26.520 shooting in the country's history, or the breach of the Financial Administration Act, the RCMP have a

00:04:32.200 duty and responsibility to follow the law and be open and transparent to all Canadians. Why do we have

00:04:39.900 laws in a country of laws if our national police force can choose which ones to follow or not follow?

00:04:46.740 That should be an absolute. For some reason, it is not obvious to the leadership of the RCMP.

00:04:56.780 For True North, I'm Leo Knight.

Juno News - November 08, 2020