Commission for Public Complaints
Against the RCMP

For the period ending
March 31, 2002

Section I - Chair's Message
Section II - Commission Overview
    Vision
    Mission
    Mandate
    Core Values
    Organization Chart - Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP
Section III - Performance Accomplishments
    1. Expeditious Treatment of Complaints and Reviews
    2. Improved Information Management Systems and Processes
    3. Improved Service Delivery
    4. Improved Communications
Section IV - Financial Performance
    Financial Performance Overview
Section V - Other Information
    Contacts for Further Information and Web site
    Legislation Administered by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP
    List of Statutory and Commission Reports

This past year has been a year of upheaval for the institutions that are responsible for maintaining law and order. Unprecedented acts of terrorism against Canada's closest ally led our government to adopt laws that have conferred extraordinary powers on the police - powers that will most likely have some far-reaching consequences.

We all know that Canada is a mosaic of cultures and communities. Changes in policing policy will be interpreted and understood differently by every part of that mosaic. Each has a unique perspective, experience and cultural memory of its interactions with domestic police forces. Both the Commission and the RCMP must show we understand this fundamental Canadian characteristic and reflect that understanding and insight in our work.

It has never been more crucial for the RCMP to enjoy the whole-hearted support of the communities it polices. Never before has it been so vital to reach out to Canada's diverse communities, to build trust, and to keep that trust. Trust is intimately linked with accountability: the RCMP must show at every turn and at every level that it is accountable and that it accepts responsibility for its conduct.

The work of this Commission is vital to ensuring accountability. This year I intend to renew my efforts to make the public and the RCMP more aware of our essential role and mandate. It is important that we communicate and share our vision - "Excellence in policing through accountability" - as broadly as possible among the citizens we serve as well as the country's national police force.

The Commission has completed the second year of its five-year strategic plan. During the past fiscal year, we have upgraded the information management system and developed internal review standards. Internal communications are improving and we are enhancing our capacity to monitor and analyse policing issues and trends. I am proud of the progress that we have made, but recognize that we need to continue to improve our internal and external communication activities.

While we are acutely aware that the social and political context has changed significantly, I want to reassure Parliament, members of the public and the RCMP that we will continue to be vigilant, whatever the challenges, in serving the people of Canada.

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP is an independent agency. It is not part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The Commission's role is to provide civilian oversight regarding policing practices used by the RCMP and to perform an investigative function for members of the public who are dissatisfied with the activities of the RCMP in general or with the conduct of a particular member of the Force.

The Commission has jurisdiction to review the actions of members of the RCMP only; it cannot examine activities of other police forces. The Commission has the authority to make non-binding recommendations to the RCMP, but it cannot make decisions on appropriate levels of discipline or make monetary awards to complainants.

To provide civilian oversight of RCMP members' conduct in performing their policing duties so as to hold the RCMP accountable to the public.

The mandate of the Commission is set out in Part VII of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act and can be summarized as follows:

• To receive complaints from the public about the conduct of RCMP members;

• To conduct reviews when complainants are not satisfied with the RCMP's disposition of their complaints;

• To hold hearings and carry out investigations;

• To report findings and make recommendations.

The jurisdiction of the Commission pertains to RCMP members only and does not include members of other police forces. The Commission does not have the authority to make binding recommendations, impose discipline or make monetary awards to complainants.

The following core values guide the Commission's work and reflect the work environment for which we strive:

• Effective communication

• Excellence

• Fairness

• Independence

• Integrity

• Objectivity

• Professionalism

• Respect

• Teamwork

• Timeliness

The Government of Canada is committed to fostering strong communities that reflect and reinforce the values that are important to Canadians. These values include multiculturalism and respect for diversity, respect for human and individual rights and respect for peace and the rule of law. The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP plays an important role in maintaining strong and safe communities by providing civilian oversight of RCMP members' conduct in performing their policing duties.

The Commission is an impartial and independent government institution whose main stakeholder is the Canadian public. It receives complaints from the public and forwards them to the RCMP for investigation. It can also review the RCMP's disposition of a complaint if the complainant is not satisfied with that disposition.

The Commission may conduct investigations, initiate complaints, hold public hearings, summon witnesses, administer oaths, accept such evidence as the Commission sees fit, and make findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP and the Solicitor General of Canada.

The strategic outcome for the Commission is to provide civilian oversight of RCMP members' conduct in performing their policing duties so as to hold the RCMP accountable to the public.

The Commission measures performance accomplishments by breaking down the strategic outcome into four components:

1. Expeditious treatment of complaints and reviews

2. Improved information management systems and processes

3. Improved service delivery

4. Improved communications

The Commission focused on eliminating a significant backlog of review cases, which was accomplished in early 2001. In order to ensure that such a backlog does not develop again, the Commission has been working on improving and expediting the review process. The Commission is creating new internal standards to achieve this goal.

The planned turnaround time for cases where the Commission is satisfied with the RCMP investigation will be an average of 120 days.

The Commission has completed the second year of its five-year strategic plan. The plan - the first in the Commission's history - resulted from a Commission-wide review and planning exercise during the 1999-2000 fiscal year. The exercise rejuvenated the Commission and enabled it to refine its goals and priorities and develop a sound plan for achieving them.

During the first two years of the plan, the Commission focused on its top priorities - eliminating the backlog of review cases and improving and expediting the review process. During the past fiscal year, the Commission also took the first critical steps in upgrading its information management system, another key objective of the strategic plan.

An improved information system will allow Commission staff to better handle complaints; to conduct research more effectively during reviews; to more easily identify, monitor and evaluate policing issues and trends; and to provide research and analysis to policy makers about policing issues.

One of the key features that will be included in the upgrade is flexibility. All employees of the Commission need to access the database for a multitude of reasons. The data that is captured for use must be flexible enough to meet the varied requirements of the entire user group.

The upgrade of the information management system is planned for implementation during the next fiscal year. Once it is operational, all employees of the Commission will receive the training required to effectively find and manipulate the available data.

New Procedures - The past fiscal year has been full of changes and challenges for the Review and Policy Unit of the Commission. New procedures have been introduced to maintain the high quality and timely deliver of reviews. Every review file is now assigned to an analyst in the Review and Policy Unit and to a lawyer in the Legal Services Unit.

Both units review the file materials and agree on the approach to be taken before the analyst drafts the report for the consideration of the Chair or the Vice-Chair.

This new process ensures that all relevant legal issues are satisfactorily addressed prior to the drafting of the report and will ultimately save time because there will be agreement on the approach to be followed, making for fewer required edits.

File Assignment System - A new file assignment system was also introduced during the past fiscal year so that review files concerning certain types of policing issues are assigned to the analyst with the most expertise in that area. Once again, that will save time, as analysts preparing a case for review will be very familiar with the applicable law in their areas of expertise.

Consistent Approach - The Review and Policy Unit worked closely with the Commission's Records Management Section to centralize research materials. Analysts now have ready access to the wealth of research materials collected over the years.

Internal guidelines have been developed to ensure a consistent approach to reviews involving similar policing issues. Analysts have assembled compendiums of articles, relevant case law, and previous Commission cases for a variety of policing issues. Analysts can easily refer to this information when reviewing similar files.

The Commission plans on undertaking another strategic planning process to further streamline and develop the processes used by analysts in the Review Unit. This process will involve the management team working closely with the analysts in a collaborative manner.

Modern Comptrollership - The federal government has placed a high priority on the modernization of comptrollership in departments and agencies such as the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

Modern comptrollership brings together all elements of the management framework, including strategic leadership, sound business planning, risk management, shared ethics and values, motivated people, integrated performance information, clear accountability and rigorous stewardship.

In the next fiscal year, the Commission plans to conduct a series of interviews with a range of personnel and some external stakeholders. The objective of these interviews is to assess the state of modern comptrollership within the Commission. This involves analysing all elements of the management framework, comparing management practices with best practices and identifying priority areas for improvement.

The end goal of this process will be to develop an action plan for making improvements to the way the Commission is managed and how it utilizes its limited resources.

The Commission enjoys continued success with its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) initiative that was introduced as a method of resolving complaints in 1999 and in 2000. When ADR is considered appropriate, the Commission analyst acts as an impartial facilitator to help resolve the complaint with the participation of the complainant and the RCMP member involved.

Complaints may be resolved without going through the formal complaints process. Complainants retain the option of pursuing an official complaint if they are not satisfied with the ADR process.

Most often, there can be increased satisfaction to complainants and RCMP members who decide to participate in the ADR process as the matter is resolved early in the process and takes less of their time to come to resolution.

The ADR process is cost-efficient because valuable resources are saved when a speedy resolution is reached. Staff in the Western Region Office began formal training in conflict resolution during the past fiscal year to expand their skills in this area.

Improving internal and external communications is a critical aspect of the Commission's strategic plan. Information must be relevant to Canadians and must highlight trends over time. The Commission wants to demonstrate its progress toward the goals it has established. This information must be easily accessible and understandable to anyone who is interested in knowing about the activities of the Commission.

Establishing, maintaining and improving communications is an ongoing activity that takes a concerted effort by all members of any organization. While the Commission's team has accomplished a great deal of progress, much remains to be done in this regard.

The Commission is committed to staffing the position of Senior Communications Officer to assist with the implementation of the strategic plan. It is envisioned that this employee will assist with developing a strong culture of internal communications and will assist the Commission in communicating new policy directions, new procedures and in coordinating feedback from employees to the management level.

The Communications Officer will also be tasked with increasing the profile of the Commission within government, the media, the RCMP, complainants, and the general public. Several initiatives have been identified in the strategic plan, which is available at www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca.

Although much work remains to be done to increase public awareness of the complaints process, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the Commission and the RCMP, several successful external communications efforts took place during the last fiscal year.

APEC Hearing: The Final Report - The Commission Chair released her final report on the public interest hearing into the conduct of RCMP members during public demonstrations in November 1997 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Vancouver.

The release of her report on March 26, 2002, marks the end of the longest and most controversial public interest hearing in the Commission's history. The interim and final reports on the APEC hearing are available at www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca.

Special Projects: Police Pursuits and Public Safety - In 1999, the Commission Chair undertook an in-depth review of the threat to public safety that high-speed police pursuits pose. The RCMP's response to this report was provided to the Commission on November 19, 2001. The full report and the RCMP Commissioner's response can be found at www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca.

Professional Activities - The Chair and other Commission representatives participated in various conferences with other civilian oversight agencies during the past fiscal year. The Chair also continued to travel across the country, discussing her role as the head of a civilian oversight agency with various individuals and groups. These meetings provide an opportunity for members of the public and the RCMP to meet the Chair in person to discuss the public complaints process, or other issues of interest or concern. Speeches and presentations made by the Chair, are available at www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca.

Communication among Commission employees must be open and collaborative to achieve government goals and the Commission's mission, and to ensure quality information services for the public.

Internal communications must be a two-way dialogue. Employees must feel free to express their ideas and concerns and make suggestions for achieving results and improving service. Employees need to be informed and consulted on goals, priorities, and changes being considered for the Commission.

Employees at the Commission have been involved in developing the new systems and procedures that have been implemented over the past fiscal year.

Additionally, the Commission has focused on ensuring regular communications, including more frequent trips by employees to give staff of both Commission offices the opportunity to advance their ideas, concerns and suggestions.

During 2001-2002, an amount of $37,000 was received from Vote 15 and $60,000 from Vote 5 to cover the increase in salaries negotiated through collective bargaining. In addition, the Commission received a carry-forward amount of $187,900 and $150,000 through Supplementary Estimates to cover expenses related to the APEC hearing. The Commission also received $412,105 for Program Integrity Round II through Supplementary Estimates to assist in improving its service delivery to the public.

Treasury Board also advised the Commission that we would be receiving funds to cover the increase in salaries negotiated through collective bargaining. However, this particular amount was not made directly available to the Commission as was done with previous allocations.

The funds were allocated to the Department of the Solicitor General which covered expenditures made by its department and by some of the small agencies under its umbrella.

As a result, the amount of $152,891 is not reflected in the Total Authorities and in the actual spending in this report. This problem has now been rectified and will be reflected in subsequent reports.

The following tables are applicable to the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP:

Financial Table 2: Comparison of Total Planned Spending to Actual Spending

Commission Planned Versus Actual Spending ($ thousands)
		2001-02
Receipt and review of public complaints		Planned	Total Authorities	Actual
FTEs		34	-	34
Operating		3,830	4,677	4,653
Total Net Expenditures		3,830	4,677	4,653
Costs of services provided by other documents		462	462	462
Net Cost of the Program		4,292	5,139	5,115
Total Authorities are Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates of $750,005, Vote 15 in the amount of $37,000 and Vote 5 in the amount of $60,000.

Financial Table 3: Historical Comparison of Departmental Planned versus Actual Spending
(in millions of dollars)

Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC)
P.O. Box 3423, Station 'D'
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L4

General Enquiries        (613) 952-1471
Complaints (toll-free)  1-800-665-6878
Fax                             (613) 952-8045

Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC)
7337 137^th Street
Suite 102
Surrey, British Columbia V3W 1A4

General Enquiries        (604) 501-4080
                                   (604) 501-4091
Complaints (toll-free)  1-800-665-6878
Fax                             (604) 501-4095

Web Address: www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP shares responsibility with the RCMP for carrying out the provisions of Part VII, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S., c. R-10.

In addition, the RCMP Public Complaints Commission reports to Parliament on Parts VI and VII, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S., c. R-10.

Annual Reports
1988-1989 to 2000-2001

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act

Federal and Provincial Police Oversight Legislation: A Comparison of Statutory Provisions
June 1991

Police Pursuits and Public Safety (A report by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission)
December 1999