The chair of the RCMP’s management advisory committee has resigned after less than a year in the role, citing dissatisfaction with the federal government.
Kent Roach is a prominent critic of police and the author of the following books: Canadian police: why and how they must change He was appointed chair of the 13-member private organization in January.his appointment Track long-standing claims by critics The commission was too secretive at a time when major police issues were dominating the headlines.
In his September resignation letter, released to CBC through a Freedom of Information request, Roach said he was resigning “with regret.”
“We understand that the government has committed in the Minister of Public Safety’s mandate to ‘strengthen the Management Advisory Board and create an oversight role for the RCMP,'” he wrote in a letter to Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc. I have taken this position.”
“Unfortunately, I have not seen any signs of such efforts.”
According to the government, the Management Advisory Board (MAB) was established in 2019 to “provide expert external advice and guidance to the RCMP Commissioner on key modernization and management matters.”
In his partially redacted resignation letter, Roach questioned the board’s independence and authority.
“Four years after it was established through amendments to the RCMP Act, the MAB is still funded from the RCMP budget and dependent on staff working for the RCMP,” he wrote.
“MAB has no formal role in the selection of members or their senior leadership.”
MAB was left in the dark regarding contract policing: Roach
Roach also claimed he was left out of important conversations about the future of RCMP contract enforcement.
The federal government is reviewing the RCMP’s contract monitoring obligations. Some municipalities are considering abolishing cavalry units and hiring their own police forces.
Mounties are responsible for police contracts in about 150 municipalities in every province except Ontario and Quebec, and in all three territories. The RCMP’s current police agreements (city, province, territory) expire in 2032.
The federal contracting policy review comes amid growing concerns about the RCMP’s ability to carry out federal missions, including foreign interference, violent extremism and terrorism, organized crime and financial crimes.
a Special Intelligence and Security Committee recently He called on the federal government to change the functioning of the RCMP’s federal police division, warning that the alternative could lead to leaking national security files.
“This issue is urgent given that existing contracts expire in 2032, leaving both the RCMP and contract partners with uncertainty about the future direction of contract monitoring,” Roach said. wrote.
“Despite limited resources, I believe MAB can provide important advice on the future evolution of contract policing. There has also been little secrecy about the government’s efforts in the agreement.”
Roach, a law professor at the University of Toronto, also said there was an “incompatibility” between his role as an academic who studies and comments on police issues and “what my former colleagues see as my role as MAB chair.” mentioned “tension”.
During his tenure with the regulator, Roach helped launch a website to provide up-to-date information on the board’s activities and gave interviews to the media. Before Roach was appointed chair, MAB routinely rejected journalists’ requests for information and referred them to the RCMP.
But the website has also had its share of struggles, Roach said in the letter.
“While MAB has been able to launch its own website, it is currently unable to publish reports or written advice to the Secretary due to a lack of capacity to comply with the Treasury Board’s requirements regarding accessibility. “The ministry has not been able to do so,” the ministry said. .
Call for more transparency in reporting on NS shooting incident
One of the reports posted on MAB’s website reviewed the training cadets are receiving at the RCMP’s academy in Regina and raised serious concerns about the force’s recruiting status.
The committee also investigated the RCMP’s use of controversial neck restraints and concluded that the federal government’s request to ban the carotid control technique by mounted troops was not supported by evidence.
What the board is working on, even though before the website was launched, the Mounties were under intense scrutiny over allegations of systemic racism and their handling of the public in 2020. It was difficult to determine what advice was given to the RCMP. Shooting incident in Nova Scotia.
A public inquiry into the tragedy called on MAB to “hold the RCMP accountable.”
The final report of the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission, released in March, states that “the work of the RCMP’s Management Advisory Committee should be subject to principles of transparency and democratic accountability.”
In a statement posted on MAB’s website, the remaining members expressed their gratitude to Mr. Roach for his critical role in modernizing the RCMP and increasing board transparency.
Mr. Roach ended his letter by thanking the RCMP for their cooperation.
“I am truly impressed by the professionalism and dedication of all the RCMP members and staff I have been fortunate enough to work with, and I am deeply grateful to them,” he wrote.
Asked for comment, Roach said the letter says it all.
LeBlanc’s office also thanked Roach for his work in a media statement.
“The commission performs an important function in providing independent oversight of the national police, and we continue to support its work,” said spokesperson Jean-Sébastien Comeau.
