RCMP Public Complaints Commission

_______________________________

Hon. Lawrence MacAulay, P.C., M.P.
Solicitor General of Canada

Section I: Message

Section II: Departmental Performance

Societal Context *
Chart of Key Results Commitments *
Performance Accomplishments *
Financial Information *
Other Performance Issues *

Financial Performance Overview *
Financial Summary Tables *

Mandate *
Mission *
Business Line *
Organizational Chart *

Contacts for Further Information and Web Site *
Legislation Administered by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission *
List of Statutory and Commission Reports *

Eliminating the backlog of review cases remained the Commission's first priority during the past year. The Commission is continuing to refine its approach in carrying out reviews so that these cases are processed in the most timely and fair manner possible. Once again this year, the Commission has successfully reduced the backlog of review cases and I am confident that our goal of eliminating the review backlog completely by fiscal year-end 2000-2001 will be achieved.

Both the evidentiary phase of the APEC hearing and the Saint-Simon and Saint-Sauveur public interest investigation effectively drew to a close in March 2000. These two undertakings have been the most extensive in the Commission's history. I am confident that each of these inquiries will ultimately make a compelling contribution to the subject of police conduct in the handling of demonstrations.

One of my primary goals as Chair of this Commission has been to make the complaints process less adversarial. In 1999-2000 we implemented a pilot project in alternative dispute resolution (our "service to the public" model), whereby the Commission identifies opportunities for the RCMP and members of the public to address issues of concern in the early stages of the dispute, before invoking the formal complaints mechanism. While it is still in the developmental stage, preliminary results are very promising.

Building on its experience in dealing with complaints about police pursuits, the Commission recognized the need for an in-depth analysis of high-speed pursuits by the RCMP. In the autumn of 1999, the Commission published its first research report, entitled Police Pursuits and Public Safety. It is my hope that this report will result in improved policies and practices within the Force, improvements that will help to enhance the safety not only of the public, but also of RCMP members involved in such pursuits.

In the interest of improving our performance in serving Canadians, during the past year the Commission undertook a major review and strategic planning exercise that drew on the collective wisdom of the entire staff of the Commission and representatives of key stakeholders. The results of this exercise will serve as a basis for renewal for the Commission and a source of new directions in the years to come.

To provide the public with an opportunity to make complaints regarding the conduct of members of the RCMP in the performance of their duties, and to have the RCMP's disposition of those complaints reviewed by an external body in an independent and impartial manner.

The Commission's current strategic priorities are:

• to ensure that the receipt and review of complaints are dealt with in a fair and timely fashion; and

• to better inform the Canadian public and members of the RCMP about the public complaints process.

The Commission is an agency of the federal government, distinct and independent from the RCMP. As a neutral third party, the Commission is, and must be seen to be, impartial and fair in its dealings with both complainants and RCMP members complained about. The Solicitor General of Canada tables the Commission's annual report to Parliament; however, the Solicitor General has no involvement in the operations of the Commission.

Pursuant to Part VII of the RCMP Act, the Commission shares responsibility with the RCMP for the receipt of public complaints. Regardless of which of the two agencies receives the complaint, the legislation requires the RCMP to carry out the investigation and report back to the complainant with the results. If a complainant is dissatisfied with the disposition of the complaint by the RCMP, she or he can ask the Commission to carry out an independent review of the disposition. In exceptional cases the Commission will undertake the initial investigation.

When reviewing the RCMP's disposition of a complaint, the Commission does not act as an advocate either for the complainant or for RCMP members. Rather, its role is to conduct an independent inquiry and reach objective conclusions based on the available information.

The Commission's key stakeholder is the Canadian public. Public expectations of the Commission are high. Both complainants and members of the RCMP have expressed their concerns about review cases being processed more expeditiously. As well, there is a continuing expectation for the Commission to better communicate publicly its role, responsibilities and results.

The key results commitment of the Commission is to contribute to a safe and secure society in Canada through the independent and impartial review of public complaints against the RCMP.

The Commission achieves this objective by:

• receiving complaints;

• reviewing complaints;

• conducting hearings and investigations;

• making recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP; and

• publishing other reports, as necessary.

The public complaints process has historically been too rigid and bureaucratic. One of the Commission Chair's primary goals has been to make the complaints process less adversarial by introducing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) approaches to resolve complaints.

During the first nine months of the pilot project, 385 cases were successfully resolved using this informal service to the public model.

This practical and effective alternative to the formal complaints process allows both the RCMP and the Commission to provide better and more timely service to the public. In this way, the citizen's concern can be addressed without abrogating the Commission's responsibility under the legislation or impinging on the rights of the complainant or the RCMP member who is the subject of the complaint.

The following narrative provides an illustration of how the Commission's service to the public model works:

A group of high school students held a party on the outskirts of a town. The party was boisterous and loud enough to cause people living nearby to call the police. When the police arrived, they determined that the party had gotten out of hand and that some of the people consuming alcoholic beverages were below the legal drinking age. Several of those at the party were arrested and taken into custody at the local detention centre. Many of the parents of the young people who were arrested and held in custody felt that the police had overreacted. The parents contacted the Commission with their concerns. It became apparent that there was the potential for a large number of complaints to be filed in relation to this incident. Staff at the Commission contacted the officer-in-charge of the local detachment, related the concerns that had been raised with the Commission and suggested the RCMP meet with the parents. As a result, the officer-in-charge arranged a public meeting with the concerned citizens of the community where the issues were discussed and dealt with in a manner satisfactory to all concerned.

The Commission has made it a key priority to eliminate the backlog of outstanding review cases. In this regard, the Commission can report 1999-2000 as another record year for the processing of review files and in its ongoing efforts to reduce the backlog. The Commission completed 277 review reports and, for the second year in a row, resolved a greater number of cases than it received. Although the total number of review cases completed this year is somewhat lower than in the previous year, many of the review files considered during the current year were more complex and therefore took longer to complete.

The Commission continues to refine its review processes, and additional staff have been hired to help prepare review reports. The Commission remains committed to attaining its goal of eliminating the backlog of review cases by the end of fiscal year 2000-2001.

A summary of Commission Review Reports in 1999-2000 is found in Chart 1.

After the RCMP's involvement in demonstrations at the University of British Columbia during the APEC conference in November 1997, the Commission received a large number of complaints about the conduct of certain members of the RCMP during those events. As a consequence, the Chair established a public interest investigation on December 9, 1997. On February 20, 1998, the Chair instituted a public interest hearing into these matters.

The APEC hearing is the most extensive hearing in the Commission's history. It was originally expected that the hearing of witnesses would be complete by the end of 1999. However, the sheer number of legal and other issues that had to be dealt with meant that testimony from witnesses did not wrap up until March 31, 2000.

In May 1997, a provincial government decision to close schools in Saint-Simon and Saint-Sauveur, New Brunswick, led to demonstrations by the residents of these Acadian communities. In early 1998, the Commission received information that many residents were unhappy about the conduct of the RCMP during the demonstrations. This information was soon confirmed by receipt of 170 complaints containing some 400 allegations. As a result, on March 20, 1998, the Chair established a public interest investigation. During this extensive investigation, Commission investigators interviewed more than 300 people - complainants, independent witnesses, citizens and members of the RCMP - and analyzed many thousands of pages of documents.

On March 28, 2000, the Chair of the Commission submitted her interim report on this matter to the Solicitor General and the Commissioner of the RCMP. The Chair now awaits the Commissioner's response to her findings and recommendations. On receipt and after consideration of the Commissioner's Notice, the Chair of the Commission will prepare her final report. Each complainant and each member of the RCMP whose conduct was under review will be given a copy of the Chair's final report. It is the Commission Chair's intention to make this final report publicly available.

On September 23, 1998, the Chair of the Commission initiated a public interest investigation into the conduct of members of the RCMP during the detention of Mr. Kim Erik Nielsen of Kamloops, British Columbia, on May 21, 1997. In this incident, Mr. Nielsen was found apparently highly intoxicated and taken into custody by an RCMP officer. Approximately four hours after being delivered to the local detachment by the officer, Mr. Nielsen was discovered unconscious and not breathing. He was then taken to hospital, where he died 10 days later.

The Commission's investigation focused on alleged omissions or failure by members of the RCMP in the care and handling of Mr. Nielsen between the time he was initially detained and the point at which he was placed in a "drunk tank" at the Kamloops RCMP detachment.

The Chair of the Commission completed and sent her interim report on this matter to the Solicitor General and the Commissioner of the RCMP on February 17, 2000. On receipt of the Commissioner's Notice, the Chair of the Commission will prepare her final report. Each member of the RCMP whose conduct was under investigation will be given a copy of the Chair's final report. It is also the Commission Chair's intention to make this final report publicly available.

The following examples demonstrate changes to RCMP policies, practices and procedures resulting from recommendations made by the Commission in 1999-2000:

Recommendation: On finding that an RCMP officer had failed to properly identify a vehicle that had been previously reported as stolen, the Commission recommended that the RCMP detachment in question create a policy to ensure that all vehicles seized under its authority be adequately checked for identity.

Result: The Commissioner of the RCMP agreed and advised that the RCMP detachment in question had changed its policy to address deficiencies in the proper identification of vehicles.

Result: The Commissioner of the RCMP agreed that an apology be extended and that information regarding corrective action against the officer be provided to the complainant.

Since the Commission has been in operation, there have been a number of complaints about high-speed police pursuits and their often tragic outcomes. An analysis of the incidents giving rise to these complaints raised serious questions about the threat such pursuits pose to public safety. As a result, in 1998 the Commission undertook an in-depth review of this aspect of police conduct. The Commission's report on its review, entitled Police Pursuits and Public Safety, was completed in the fall of 1999, as scheduled.

Police Pursuits and Public Safety is available from the Commission on request and is also accessible on the Commission's Web site.

RCMP Public Complaints Commission

Planned Spending $4,878,000

Total Authorities $8,586,000

1999-2000 Actuals $7,716,000

In 1999-2000, the Chair and the management team of the Commission determined that it would be timely for the Commission to objectively examine its current activities and rethink its priorities for the next few years. The Commission therefore turned to Consulting and Audit Canada (CAC), an agency of Public Works and Government Services Canada, to design and implement a review and strategic planning process.

Between December 1999 and March 2000, CAC consultants conducted a series of individual and group interviews with Commission staff and management, and key stakeholders. In addition, CAC conducted "best practice" interviews with experts in police oversight and staff of two provincial civilian oversight agencies. They also reviewed relevant documentation, including legislation governing the Commission and that of similar federal agencies.

Commission staff and management held a strategic planning retreat to consider the CAC findings and to develop the core elements of a working vision for the Commission. These core elements are being refined into a series of statements that will guide Commission work in the future. They can be summarized in a preliminary fashion as follows:

• The public will be aware of and confident in the Commission and the public complaints process.

• Excellent practice and behaviour on the part of the Force will be reinforced, while negative behaviour will change.

• The Commission will be responsive to the service expectations of the public and RCMP members.

• Canadian policing policies will change over time, as a result of findings and recommendations of the Commission and other agencies.

• The Commission itself will be a workplace of choice, characterized by high staff morale, teamwork and efficient processes.

Commission staff and managers also identified key initiatives for the Commission over the next five years. In 2000-2001 the Commission will:

• eliminate any remaining backlog in reviews;

• create internal standards for reviews, including time standards and a complexity matrix for assessing the nature of the review required;

• develop a communications and consultation plan, with special emphasis on internal communications in the first year; and

• develop a strategic plan for information management that will deal with
  (a) Commission management information,
  (b) information on complaints received by the Commission, and
  (c) rapid retrieval of information from previous Commission reviews, decisions and recommendations.

For subsequent years, the Commission will:

• develop, in consultation with the RCMP and other key stakeholders, common standards for internal police investigation of complaints - Commission staff will be able to refer to these standards when a complainant requests a review;

• implement the Commission information management plan on public complaints, including a database of complaints received by both the Commission and the RCMP, which will be of significant value to policy-makers reviewing national and regional trends; and

• implement a public communication program, especially targeting ethnic minorities or groups who do not speak one of Canada's two official languages. Members of these minorities, who, for various reasons, are frequently the subject of RCMP investigation, do not always understand the public complaints process.

The Commission is now developing work plans for these priorities and will report on the results in future reports to Parliament.

During 1999-2000, an amount of $60,091 was received from Vote 15 to cover the increase in salaries negotiated through collective bargaining. In addition, the Commission received a carry-forward amount of $47,472 and $3,116,040 through Supplementary Estimates to cover expenses related to the APEC hearing.

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

1. Summary of Voted Appropriations
2. Comparison of Total Planned Spending to Actual Spending
3. Historical Comparison of Total Planned Spending to Actual Spending

Total Authorities are Main Estimates plus Supplementary Estimates of $3,163,512 and Vote 15 $60,091 and $55,000 for Employee Benefits Plans.

Total Authorities are Main Estimates plus Supplementary Estimates of $3,163,512 and Vote 15 $60,091 and $55,000 for Employee Benefits Plans.

The mandate of the Commission is set out in Parts VI and VII of the RCMP Act. Its main activities are: receiving complaints from the public about the conduct of RCMP members; conducting a review when complainants are not satisfied with the RCMP's disposition of their complaints; and conducting investigations and hearings.

The RCMP Public Complaints Commission has jurisdiction to accept complaints only with respect to RCMP members and not about members of other police forces. The Commission does not have the authority to make binding recommendations, impose discipline or to make monetary awards to complainants.

The Commission has one business line: the receipt of complaints and the review of the RCMP disposition of complaints.

  Legislation Administered by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission

The RCMP Public Complaints Commission 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 1999-2000

RCMP Act (Commission consolidation)
March 1990

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

Police Pursuits and Public Safety
December 1999

**********