Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, April 29, 2013

RCMP Accountability Act gets sober second thought from Senate National Security Committee

The government’s legislation to stamp out harassment in the RCMP got a strong defence from Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and top Mountie Bob Paulson at the Senate National Security Committee last week, despite concerns that the bill will be used to dismiss officers who complain about harassment within the RCMP.

Within hours of the announcement that the RCMP had arrested two individuals for allegedly plotting to bomb a Via Rail train between Toronto and New York City, Mr. Toews (Provencher, Man.) and Commissioner Paulson were before the Senate National Security and Defence Committee to defend Bill C-42, The Enhancing RCMP Accountability Act.
The legislation aims to make it easier for the RCMP to address harassment and inappropriate behaviour within the force by giving the commissioner greater powers to discipline and dismiss officers. The bill also replaces the current Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP with a Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, and establishes a legal framework for conducting internal investigations into misconduct within the Force.

In an opening statement to the committee, Mr. Toews said that the bill would help maintain “internal discipline and integrity” in the RCMP.

“It will do this by modernizing the internal human resources management structure, which includes the discipline and grievance systems within the RCMP,” Mr. Toews told the committee. “Bill C-42 will provide the RCMP Commissioner with the authority to establish a single, comprehensive system for investigating and resolving harassment concerns.”

The bill also gives the commissioner the power to establish disciplinary measures to be administered by subordinate commanders and managers and implement additional procedures to investigate workplace harassment in the force.

Quebec Liberal Senator Roméo Dallaire, a retired lieutenant general who served as assistant deputy minister for military human resources in the late 1990s, questioned how the commissioner would be able to ensure that new powers introduced throughout the force were exercised responsibly.

“How will that whole officer cadre be realigned in order to handle the significant power in the process of its implementation and subsequently ensuring that it will be credible and ethical in so doing,” Sen. Dallaire asked.

Commissioner Paulson acknowledged that distributing disciplinary power throughout the RCMP chain of command was “a little revolutionary,” compared to the current structure of the RCMP.

“When we say that we are putting the responsibility for discipline down to the lowest level, we are going down to [non-commissioned officers], corporals, and sergeants,” Commissioner Paulson told the committee. “[T]he commanding officers of the divisions, are reporting directly to me ... There will be a much more direct line of accountability with a line of sight for me and for my professional integrity officer.”

Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell, who has been pushing for the Senate to investigate harassment within the RCMP since 2011, was particularly critical of the legislation’s ability to protect victims of harassment when it makes it easier for low-ranking supervisors to discipline their subordinates.

“[T]here are those who would argue that if you give the power to fire to lower and lower echelons and disperse it, you possibly give power to the harassers to fire the people who have complained that they are being harassed by them,” Sen. Mitchell said.

Commissioner Paulson responded that the force was in the process of implementing a “Gender and Respect” action plan with oversight by a senior officer.

Conservative members of the committee also raised questions over Bill C-42’s implementation. Conservative Senator Don Plett requested the costing for implementation of the act.

Public Safety deputy minister François Guimont informed the committee that the new Civilian Review and Complaints Commission would have an operating budget of $10-million; $5-million more than the annual operating budget of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP. An additional $10-million in funding is being allocated to other initiatives contained in Bill C-42.

Quebec Conservative Senator Pierre Claude Nolin also raised concerns that the legislation would create additional responsibilities for civilian RCMP employees, in addition to existing Treasury Board rules.

“[W]hile I might be responsible for the RCMP, I am not the employer. I want to assure you that the concerns you have raised and which I have referred to in my opening statement will be raised with Treasury Board,” Mr. Toews responded.

Ironically, Mr. Toews ended the week in the opposition’s bad books after the CBC reported that senior Mounties required clearance from both his office and the office of Commissioner Paulson before speaking to MPs and Senators.

In November, Mr. Toews rebuked the Commissioner in a letter leaked to the media for discussing the results of a gender-based review of the RCMP without first consulting the minister on developing an action plan to respond to the audit’s findings.

The RCMP has been plagued by scandal throughout the past decade. More than 150 female former Mounties have joined a class action lawsuit against the RCMP for failing to provide a workplace “free of gender-based discrimination, bullying and harassment.”

Bill C-42 was introduced on June 20, 2012 and passed third reading in the House in March.

Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author: Chris Plecash

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