Charles Dale

Part VII of the RCMP Act requires that any member of the public may make a complaint concerning the conduct, in the performance of any duty or function under the RCMP Act, of any member of the Force or any other person appointed or employed under the authority of the RCMP Act. The Force has the initial responsibility to investigate complaints and to respond to complainants. Where a complainant is not satisfied with the Force's disposition of a complaint, the complainant may refer the complaint to the Commission for review.

Where, after reviewing a complaint, the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Commission is not satisfied with the disposition of the complaint by the Force or considers that further inquiry is warranted, the Commission Chairman or Vice-Chairman may, among other things, institute a hearing to inquire into the complaint. In such a case, the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Commission assigns the member or members of the Commission to conduct the hearing and gives a notice in writing of the decision to institute a hearing to the Solicitor General of Canada, the Commissioner of the RCMP, the member whose conduct is the subject-matter of the complaint and the complainant. The members assigned to conduct the hearing must include the member of the Commission appointed for the province in which the conduct occurred.

Part VII of the RCMP Act requires that a hearing be held in public. At a public hearing the complainant, the member who is the subject of the complaint, and the Force itself through an officer known as the "appropriate officer" are, in person or by legal counsel, entitled to present evidence, to cross-examine witnesses, and to make representations. In addition, any other person who satisfies the Commission that they have a substantial and direct interest in the complaint is entitled to the same procedural rights. The hearing is an inquiry. It is not a civil or criminal trial.

On completion of a hearing, the members of the Commission conducting the hearing are required under the RCMP Act to prepare and send to the Solicitor General and the Commissioner of the RCMP a report in writing setting out such findings and recommendations with respect to the complaint as they see fit. These reports are characterized in the RCMP Act as "interim reports". The Commission has adopted a practice, in the case of public hearings, of making these interim reports available to the parties to the hearing and the public.

The Commissioner of the RCMP is required to review the complaint in light of the findings and recommendations set out in the Interim Report. The Commissioner of the RCMP must then notify the Solicitor General and the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Commission, in writing, of any further action that has been or will be taken with respect to the complaint. Where the Commissioner of the RCMP decides not to act on any findings or recommendations set out in the Interim Report, the Commissioner is required to include the reasons for this decision in the notice.

The notice received from the Commissioner of the RCMP is considered by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Commission. The Chairman of the Commission is required to prepare and send to the Solicitor General, the Commissioner and the parties to the hearing a final report in writing setting out such findings and recommendations with respect to the complaint as the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Commission sees fit. The Commission is adopting the practice, in the case of public hearings, of making these final reports public.

2. Background to the Final Report

Mr. Dale's complaint was made by letter to the Commission. By Notice of Decision to Institute a Hearing dated December 8, 1989 the Chairman instituted a hearing into the complaint. The hearing convened in public on February 6, 1991. The interim report of the hearing panel dated March 12, 1991 was submitted to the Solicitor General of Canada and the Commissioner of the RCMP. The Commissioner responded by notice dated June 18, 1991.

The present report is the final report of the Acting Chairman. It contains as Appendix I the Interim Report of the hearing panel. It also sets out the text of the Commissioner's notice of June 18, 1991.

II. THE COMMISSIONER'S NOTICE

The Commissioner's notice of June 18, 1991 reads as follows:

I have reviewed your report on the public hearing into the complaint of Mr. Charles Dale, as well as the Force material relevant to the complaint, references 2000-PCC-89108 and 89G-0386.

The investigation as conducted by the Force appears to have been very thorough. All parties concerned were interviewed and the gleaned information supports the statements provided by Sgt. Hunter and Cpl. Crevier.

I share your finding that the complaint insofar as it was directed against the conduct of Sgt. Hunter and Cpl. Crevier was unsupported by any evidence. I therefore consider this complaint resolved.

I thank you for your advice and I look forward to receiving your final report.

III. FINAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

I therefore have no findings or recommendations to present in this report and am entirely satisfied with the Commissioner's notice.

This report has been prepared by the Acting Chairman as authorized under subsection 45.3(2) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act.

Fernand Simard
Acting Chairman

OTTAWA, August 14, 1991

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APPENDIX I

ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE PUBLIC COMPLAINTS COMMISSION

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act

Part VII

Subsection 45.45(14)

Public Hearing

Into the Complaint

Charles Dale

COMMISSION REPORT

Graeme T. Haig, Q.C.

Gisèle Côté-Harper, Q.C.

Judith Mac Pherson

March 12, 1991

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TO: THE HONOURABLE PIERRE CADIEUX, SOLICITOR GENERAL OF CANADA

TO: COMMISSIONER NORMAN INKSTER, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE

The undersigned were appointed on December 8, 1989, by Dr. Richard Gosse, Q.C., Chairman, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Public Complaints Commission, pursuant to the authority invested in him under Part VII of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, to conduct a public hearing to enquire into the complaint of Charles Dale.

We have the honour to submit our report in accordance with subsection 45.45(14) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

Graeme T. Haig, Q.C.

Gisèle Côté-Harper, Q.C.

Judith Mac Pherson

1. HEARING PROCESS

By Notices of Decision to Institute a Hearing and Assignment of Hearing Members dated December 8, 1989, Dr. Richard Gosse, Q.C., instituted hearings into one complaint of Charles Dale in accordance with the authority contained in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act 1986.

In the Notices of Decision, Dr. Gosse identified, as parties, Sergeant Brian Hunter and Corporal Jean Crevier.

The Notice assigned Graeme T. Haig, Q.C., Gisèle Côté-Harper, Q.C., and Judith Mac Pherson as members of the Commission to conduct the hearing.

The hearing convened and was held in public at Montreal, Quebec, on February 6, 1991.

Throughout the hearing the Commission was assisted by the following counsel:

Counsel for the Commission - Simon Noel

Counsel for Sergeant Brian Hunter and Corporal Jean Crevier - Luc Carbonneau

Counsel for the RCMP - A Morin.

2. ALLEGATIONS OF COMPLAINT

Mr. Charles Dale, President of the Newspaper Guild, an organization representing news industry employees in Canada and the United States, by a letter to the Chairman of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Public Complaints Commission, complained of the treatment accorded to a visiting British journalist, Mr. Gordon Thomas, by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Security Enforcement Division.

It was alleged that Mr. Thomas, a reporter from the London Sunday Express of London, England, was detained by members of the National Security Enforcement Division of the RCMP at Mirabel Airport in Quebec upon his arrival from London on the 15th of October, 1988. It was further alleged that he was questioned for a period of between one and two hours by the officers who had detained him before being permitted to proceed. Mr. Dale complained that such behaviour by the RCMP National Security Enforcement Division constituted an unwarranted harassment of Mr. Thomas.

3. THE COMPLAINT

The Commission upon convening its hearing at Montreal on the 6th of February, 1991, was advised by Commission counsel, Simon Noël, that Mr. Gordon Thomas, the gentleman whose detention was the subject of the complaint by Charles Dale, was unwilling to appear as a witness in the proceedings before the Commission. Mr. Noël indicated that the Commission could receive evidence from Sergeant Brian Hunter and Corporal Jean Crevier of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police if they chose to tender evidence in the matter voluntarily.

Mr. Noël also raised the question before the Commission as to whether or not the complaint was, in fact, receivable in the absence of direct evidence in support of the complaint. The Commission concluded that the complaint was properly founded and could be received by the Commission at its hearing. The Commission further concluded that the members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were under no obligation to volunteer evidence relating to the complaint and, finally, the Commission concluded that in the absence of any admissible evidence in support of the complaint, the complaint must be set aside. The Commission recommended that the file on this complaint be closed and that no further action be taken by the Commission with respect thereto.

The Commission finds that the complaint insofar as it was directed against the conduct of Sergeant Brian Hunter was unsupported by any evidence receivable by the Commission and that no further evidence was necessary or desirable by the Commission with respect to Sergeant Brian Hunter.

The Commission finds that the complaint insofar as it was directed against the conduct of Corporal Jean Crevier was unsupported by any evidence receivable by the Commission and that no further action was necessary or desirable by the Commission with respect to Corporal Jean Crevier.


	Date Created: 2003-08-11 Date Modified: 2003-08-11	Important Notices