The Honourable Anne A. McLellan, P.C., M.P.
Solicitor General of Canada (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada)
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Dear Ms. McLellan,
Pursuant to section 45.34 of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, I hereby transmit the annual report of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) for the 2003-2004 fiscal year, for tabling in Parliament.
Yours very truly,
Shirley Heafey
Chair
June 2004
VISION
Excellence in policing through accountability.
MISSION
To provide civilian oversight of RCMP members' conduct in performing their policing duties so as to hold the RCMP accountable to the public.
CORE VALUES
The following core values guide our work and reflect the work environment for which we strive.
- Independence
- Fairness
- Effective communication
- Respect
- Professionalism
- Objectivity
- Timeliness
- Excellence
- Integrity
- Teamwork
Table of Contents
Top of page
PART I ABOUT THE COMMISSION
MANDATE
The mandate of the Commission is set out in Part VII of the RCMP Act and can be summarized as follows:
- receive complaints from the public about the conduct of RCMP members;
- conduct reviews when complainants are not satisfied with the RCMP's handling of their complaints;
- hold hearings and investigations; and
- report findings and recommendations.
Top of page
OUR ROLE
The Commission is an independent body. Parliament established the Commission to receive and review allegations of inappropriate conduct by RCMP members and to reinforce good police conduct.
The Commission is an independent body. It is not part of the RCMP. Parliament established the Commission to receive and review allegations of inappropriate conduct by RCMP members and to reinforce good police conduct.
In carrying out its duties, the Commission treats the public and RCMP members with fairness and objectivity. The Commission does not act as an advocate for either the complainant or the RCMP member(s). Nor is the Commission a disciplinary body of the RCMP.
The Commission makes findings and recommendations aimed at correcting and preventing recurring policing problems. These findings and recommendations may address the conduct of specific RCMP members or may deal with broader issues involving RCMP policies and practices. The Commission's effectiveness depends on its ability to formulate persuasive recommendations that the RCMP Commissioner will accept and implement.
Top of page
Jurisdiction of the Commission
The Commission has jurisdiction over a complaint from a member of the public that concerns the conduct of an RCMP member while performing a policing duty or function. The last restriction is that the alleged conduct must have occurred after September 30, 1988, the date the Commission became authorized to take complaints.
The Commission's jurisdiction may, in limited circumstances, extend to complaints about the personal conduct of members. When the personal conduct of an RCMP member is at issue, the Commission has jurisdiction over the complaint only if it is determined that the alleged conduct is likely to adversely affect the member's performance as an RCMP member and/or the RCMP's reputation.
It is important to note that the Commission does not have authority to review matters falling within the administration of the affairs of the RCMP. In other words, managerial or administrative concerns cannot be dealt with under Part VII of the public complaint process under the RCMP Act.
Top of page
Composition of the Commission
Commission Members
The legislation establishing the Commission provides for a Chair and a Vice-Chair. The Chair may have a complement of 27 full- or part-time members who may be assigned to conduct hearings. The Chair serves full time; other members may serve full time or part time. The Governor in Council appoints the Chair and Vice-Chair for a term of up to five years. The members of the Commission representing each province and territory are also appointed by the Governor in Council following consultation with the minister responsible for policing in that province or territory.
Top of page
Commission Structure
Organizational Structure
COMMISSION BUDGET
|
ACTUAL SPENDING 2003-2004 |
PLANNED SPENDING 2004-2005 |
|
($ THOUSANDS) |
| Salaries, wages and other personnel cost |
3,061* |
2,597 |
| Contributions to employee benefits plan |
516 |
558 |
| SUBTOTAL |
3,577 |
3,155 |
| Other operating expenditures |
1,326** |
1,580 |
| TOTAL net spending |
4,903 |
4,735 |
*This amount reflects funding received through Supplementary Estimates A and B.
**This amount includes additional funds provided for Modern Comptrollership.
Chair Shirley Heafey
Ms. Heafey was first appointed Commission Chair on October 16, 1997, after serving as a member-at-large of the Commission since 1995. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Heafey was a barrister and solicitor in private practice in Ottawa and specialized in administrative and human rights law. She was ad hoc counsel to the Security Intelligence Review Committee and the City of Ottawa. Her priorities include examining issues such as police conduct involving high-speed police pursuits, cell deaths, the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians and the treatment of persons with a mental illness.
Vice-Chair Brooke McNabb
Mr. McNabb was appointed Vice-Chair of the Commission on May 1, 2003. With diverse professional experience as a professor of Conflict Resolution Studies at the University of Winnipeg, a lawyer, a mediator and a television journalist, one of Mr. McNabb's priorities at the Commission is increasing the use of interest-based Alternate Dispute Resolution processes.
Since 2001, the Commission has been experiencing a funding shortfall, which is comprised of many components:
- For over two years, the Commission has been double paying for one position because a senior Commission executive has been on language training in order to comply with the official languages policy requiring all executive-level employees to obtain a CBC bilingualism rating.
- The Commission filled the position of Senior Communications Officer following a strong recommendation made in an audit by the Auditor General to improve the Commission's internal and external communication activities. The Commission did not receive any additional funding for this position.
- The Commission also filled the position of Manager, Investigations to address a shortcoming in the ability to fulfil one of the core mandates of the Commission.
- Finally, the Commission added program responsibilities for Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the Western Region Office. This decision enabled the Commission to offer better service to the public; however, the additional responsibilities required a reclassification of Analysts working in that office. The Commission did not receive any additional funds to fulfil this requirement.
The Commission had managed all of these funding pressures by internally reallocating funds from the operations budget over the past three years. However, that in turn resulted in a growing deficit in the operations budget.
In fiscal year 2003-2004, obtaining additional funding from Treasury Board became a necessity.
In fiscal year 2003-2004, obtaining additional funding from Treasury Board became a necessity. As a result, the Commission received a total of $449,746 as additional funding to cover the deficit in operating expenditures and the ongoing salary shortfall. This additional funding was a one-time amount and a temporary solution. It does not address the ongoing salary shortfall that the Commission will face in the coming fiscal year.
Top of page