PART I : THE INVESTIGATION
I. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE INVESTIGATION
The RCMP Public Complaints Commission
The Processing of Complaints
A) Investigation by the RCMP
B) Investigation by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission
Jurisdiction of the Commission
Terms of Reference of the Current Investigation
I. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE INVESTIGATION
On May 2, 1997, the representatives of the communities of Saint-Sauveur and Saint Simon in New Brunswick received confirmation from the Minister of Education of the Province of New Brunswick that their respective elementary schools were to be closed as of September 1997.
On the evening of May 2, 1997, at a public meeting, the citizens of Saint-Sauveur decided to demonstrate their discontent on a public highway. The demonstration was interrupted by the arrival of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (hereinafter referred to as the "RCMP") tactical troop, which made every effort to put an end to the demonstration. The RCMP management called in the special unit (including the tactical troop, the Emergency Response Team, the police service dog teams and the helicopter) to deal with the situation.
The citizens of Saint-Simon met in Saint-Simon on the afternoon of May 4, 1997. Following the meeting, some people planned to light a fire on a public highway in the village of Saint-Simon on the evening of May 4 to demonstrate against the government's decision. A few hours after the demonstration began, the RCMP arrived at the site. The RCMP once again called in all the components of its special unit, with the exception of the helicopter, to put an end to the demonstrators' activities and clear the highway.
Between February 18 and April 6, 1998, the RCMP Public Complaints Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "Commission") received 170 complaints about the conduct of RCMP members with respect to the events that occurred in Saint-Sauveur and Saint-Simon in the Province of New Brunswick from May 2 to 4, 1997.
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1. The RCMP Public Complaints Commission
The Commission is a recently established agency that began operations on September 30, 1988. The Commission and its authority were established under Parts VI and VII of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R-10 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act"). The Commission is independent of the RCMP. Its operations and personnel management are the responsibility of the Chair. The Commission headquarters are in Ottawa. It also has a regional office in Surrey, British Columbia. The regional office handles complaints received by the Commission. Requests for review are, however, all examined at the Ottawa office.
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2. The Processing of Complaints
Part VII of the Act provides two procedures for processing a complaint by a member of the public against the RCMP. The two procedures are summarized below. This report stems from the application of the second of these two procedures.
A) Investigation by the RCMP
When a member of the public is dissatisfied with the conduct in the performance of their duties, of a member or any other person appointed or employed under the Act, that person may make a complaint directly to RCMP authorities, the Commission or the provincial or territorial authority responsible for receiving public complaints against the police. When a complaint is made to the Commission, this complaint must be referred to the Commissioner of the RCMP.
Normally, the investigation of a complaint about the conduct of a member of the RCMP is not conducted by the Commission, but rather by the Commissioner of the RCMP. Under section 5 of the Act, the Commissioner is appointed by the Governor in Council and has full authority over the RCMP and all matters connected therewith. The Commissioner is assigned authority to establish rules to govern the procedure to be followed in dealing with a complaint.
Following the investigation, the Commissioner must provide the complainant with a report setting out: a) a summary of the complaint; b) the results of the investigation; c) the action taken or to be taken to dispose of the complaint; and d) the complainant's right to refer the complaint to the Commission for review if dissatisfied with the RCMP's disposition of the complaint.
When a complainant asks the Commission to review the disposition of the complaint by the RCMP, the Chair is required to review the disposition of the complaint by the RCMP, unless the Commission has already investigated the matter or a hearing has already been scheduled by the Chair with respect to the complaint. The Chair may also ask the RCMP to conduct a more detailed investigation if it appears to be inadequate, undertake her own investigation, or institute a public hearing.
If the Commission Chair is satisfied with the investigation into a complaint, the Chair informs in writing the complainant, the members of the RCMP whose conduct is the subject-matter of the complaint, the Commissioner of the RCMP and the Solicitor General.
When the Commission Chair is not satisfied with the investigation, an interim report is sent to the Commissioner of the RCMP and the Solicitor General. The Commissioner of the RCMP is then required to state his position with respect to the findings and recommendations of the interim report to the Commission Chair and the Solicitor General. The Chair then prepares a final report, a copy of which is sent to the complainant, the members of the RCMP in question, the Commissioner of the RCMP and the Solicitor General.
B) Investigation by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission
When the Commission Chair receives or makes a complaint about the alleged conduct of one or more members of the RCMP, the Chair may bypass the regular procedure, if deemed necessary in the public interest, and conduct her own investigation or institute a hearing to investigate the complaint. To do so, it is not necessary for the RCMP to have already conducted an investigation or prepared a report concerning the complaint.
Following the investigation or the hearing, the Commission prepares an interim report setting out the findings and recommendations deemed appropriate. This report is given to the Solicitor General of Canada and to the Commissioner of the RCMP. The Commissioner advises the Solicitor General and the Commission Chair in writing of any action taken or to be taken in light of the findings and recommendations of the Commission. If the Commissioner is of the opinion that some of the findings or recommendations of the report will not be acted upon, the Commissioner must include, in the notice to the Solicitor General of Canada and the Commission Chair, the reasons for not so acting.
After considering the notice from the Commissioner, the Commission Chair sends to the Solicitor General of Canada, the Commissioner, the complainant and the police officers concerned a final report that contains the interim report, the Commissioner's notice and the Chair's final decision.
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3. Jurisdiction of the Commission
The Commission's jurisdiction is restricted to dealing with public complaints about the conduct of RCMP members in the performance of their duties. In the Saint-Sauveur events, all the police officers involved were members of the RCMP. In Saint-Simon, several members of the Caraquet Municipal Police force took part in the police action in addition to the members of the RCMP. The Commission has no jurisdiction to investigate or review the actions of the municipal police officers.
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4. Terms of Reference of the Current Investigation
By March 20, 1998, the Commission had received 84 complaints about the conduct of members of the RCMP in connection with the events involving the RCMP in Saint-Sauveur and Saint-Simon in New Brunswick. The Commission Chair decided, in the public interest, to conduct an investigation into the actions of members of the RCMP in these two communities from May 2 to 4, 1997. The Commission opted for the procedure provided in subsection 45.43(1) of the Act, which states:
Where the Commission Chairman considers it advisable in the public interest, the Commission Chairman may investigate, or institute a hearing to inquire into, a complaint concerning the conduct, in the performance of any duty or function under this Act, of any member or other person appointed or employed under the authority of this Act, whether or not the complaint has been investigated, reported on or otherwise dealt with by the Force under this Part.
The Commission Chair immediately informed the Commissioner of the RCMP of her decision to conduct an investigation. In addition, a copy of each complaint received by the Commission was forwarded to the Commissioner as prescribed by the Act. The Chair also decided that any new complaints received by the Commission in connection with the events at Saint-Sauveur and Saint-Simon would be dealt with in this investigation.
Four specific complaints with respect to the same events were previously investigated by the RCMP.
Although the complaints are described and summarized in the next chapter, they primarily concern the methods used and force deployed by members of the RCMP who attempted to put an end to the demonstrations that were paralyzing the flow of traffic in the communities of Saint-Sauveur and Saint-Simon on May 2 and 4, 1997. One purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the use of force was justified during these events and, if so, whether the amount of force, and in particular the use of certain intervention methods, were reasonable. It was therefore necessary to perform a detailed review of all the events that occurred on the dates indicated.
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