In Nova Scotia, 2022 was marked by the important commission of inquiry into the April 2020 massacre that killed 22 people in the province. The revelations, which emerged during the public hearings, continued to fuel public distrust of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which some experts say has been growing for years.
Posted at 4:20 p.m
Sarah Smellie and Michael Tutton The Canadian Press
This year alone, an Indigenous group in Newfoundland and Labrador and a government committee on systemic racism in British Columbia have both urged their province to secede from the RCMP, while the Alberta United Conservative Party government is working on a plan to end the RCMP to replace RCMP with a provincial police force.
In Cumberland County, where some of the killings occurred during the Nova Scotia shooting, the City Council recently voted to solicit proposals to establish local police departments, including from police forces other than the RCMP.
A poll commissioned by the National Police earlier this year found that just 51% of Canadians believe the RCMP is honest, down five percentage points from a year ago. Only a third of Canadians believe the RCMP treats visible minorities and First Nations fairly.
“The RCMP must be held accountable. She really needs to rethink what she’s doing as a police officer,” said Michael Boudreau, a professor of criminology at Saint Thomas University in New Brunswick.
After police missteps were publicly exposed during the commission of inquiry into the Nova Scotia mass shooting, Mr. Boudreau points out that it would be a missed opportunity if the commission’s recommendations did not result in drastic changes.
However, it is not very optimistic to see such a change in direction.
“Unfortunately, if we want to have a serious discussion about the future of the police, politics has to get involved,” he points out. The police must not reform themselves. »
A crucial moment
Historically, the RCMP has managed to keep its problems out of the public eye, the professor recalls.
That all changed a decade ago, however, when several women said they had been victims of discrimination, harassment, bullying and sexual assault at the hands of their peers. Collective action resulting from these denunciations eventually paid out approximately $125 million to more than 2,300 women.
Janet Merlo was one of those women who denounced the actions of her colleagues. She was also the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit.
During the Nova Scotia shooting hearings, she was able to draw many parallels to the situation she experienced herself, including chronic understaffing, friction with local police, and a “police first” issuing a public warning about the shooter, the one Replica drives, delayed police cruiser.
“Everything is starting to fall apart,” says Ms. Merlo bluntly. But I feel sorry for those who are on the ground doing their jobs. »
She is now leading a campaign to establish independent external oversight of the RCMP, which she hopes will ensure greater accountability and help spark cultural change.
“They should no longer be allowed to control themselves or investigate themselves,” argues Ms. Merlo. That’s why the public’s trust is crumbling: they always investigate themselves, they come back and say it’s okay. »
When the final report on the class action lawsuit was released two years ago, Merlo hoped that Commissioner Brenda Lucki would turn things around.
But now, with little change yet to be seen, Ms Merlo has given up hope.
“I lost all faith in Brenda Lucki,” she says. I don’t think she will do anything to fix the ship. »
leadership challenged
Professor Boudreau thinks Ms Lucki should be replaced – preferably by a civilian who has never been a police officer.
The RCMP started out as a national police force, and Mr Boudreau argues that it should go back to its roots rather than spread across the country.
“They should be dealing with corporate crimes, national security and things like that and not responding to 911 calls if an ATV has been stolen,” he said.
And while creating municipal or provincial police forces is costly and demanding, Boudreau believes any significant change to the RCMP should involve a “fundamental, if not radical” review of policing as a whole, at both the national and provincial levels.
In a statement emailed by RCMP National Headquarters, Corporal Kim Chamberland says reforming culture and addressing harassment and discrimination are priorities for Ms Lucki.
“We know that ending harassment and improving organizational culture are essential to achieving operational excellence and thriving as a modern company,” writes Ms. Chamberland.
The RCMP has already identified five key priorities to achieve that goal, including tackling systemic racism and enhancing accountability, Chamberland said.
However, Professor Boudreau remains convinced that the police have not learned from their mistakes.
“I’m starting to think maybe it’s time the federal government stepped in to really take down this police force and build it from the ground up because it’s a broken police force,” he concludes.