Our Process

Complaints:

Complaints arise as follows:

• complaints from members of the public, directly to the RCMP;

• complaints from members of the public, to the CPC or to provincial policing authorities; and

• complaints initiated by the Chair of the CPC.

Each complaint is dealt with as follows:

• first, the RCMP conducts an investigation;

• then, the Commissioner of the RCMP reports the results of the investigation to the complainant.

Reviews:

If the complainant is not satisfied with the RCMP report, and has asked for a review by the CPC:

• the CPC Chair may ask the RCMP to investigate further, if the investigation seems to be inadequate;

• the CPC Chair may initiate his own investigation; or

• the CPC Chair may hold a public hearing.

If the Chair of the CPC is satisfied with the RCMP's disposition of a complaint, the Chair reports this finding in writing to the complainant, the RCMP members involved, the Commissioner of the RCMP and the Minister of Public Safety.

If the Chair of the CPC is not satisfied, he sends an interim report to the Commissioner of the RCMP and to the Minister of Public Safety. This report is treated as follows:

• the Commissioner of the RCMP informs the Chair and the Minister of Public Safety in writing of any action to be taken in response to the Chair's findings and recommendations, including the rationale for decisions not to take any action; and following this

• the Chair prepares a final report that includes the text of the Commissioner's response, as well as the Chair's final recommendations, and sends it to the complainant, the RCMP members involved, the Commissioner of the RCMP and to the Minister of Public Safety.

Hearings:

The Chair of the CPC has the discretion to institute a public hearing or to inquire into a specific complaint at any time. However, this usually happens after information gathered during an RCMP or CPC investigation has been weighed. The CPC Chair can also exercise his discretion, when he deems it advisable in the public interest, to inquire into a complaint about conduct whether or not there was a prior investigation by the RCMP - this is called a public interest hearing. A hearing panel of one or more members of the CPC is established to conduct the hearing.

Each panel seeks to establish the facts of a complaint by questioning all those involved in the complaint, including witnesses and experts who may help the panel better understand the information being presented.

A hearing report by the panel sets out its findings, and makes recommendations to improve RCMP operations or to correct inadequacies that may have led to the complaint. The Chair then sends the panel's findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP, the Minister of Public Safety, the complainant, the RCMP member(s) complained against, and members of the public who ask to be informed.

The RCMP Commissioner is required to respond to the report indicating whether the RCMP will act on the report's findings and recommendations. If the Commissioner decides not to act on the recommendations set out in the report, the Commissioner must include the reasons for not doing so.  After considering the Commissioner's response, the Chair of the CPC issues a final report.