The rich and powerful need not fear RCMP
By STEPHEN MAHER Ottawa Bureau Chief
Sat. Dec 1 - 6:52 AM
IF IT WASN’T for the German justice system, Karlheinz Schreiber would likely never have whispered a word about his dealings with former prime minister Brian Mulroney to anyone.
He’s singing now only because he wants to stay in Canada and avoid the jail cell the German authorities have prepared for him.
Certainly Mr. Schreiber appeared to have nothing to fear from the RCMP, an organization that appears to never get its man, if the man has a nice suit and good lawyers.
In two decades of working as a journalist, I have often been impressed with the Mounties I’ve met, particularly in northern communities, where their work is nothing short of heroic.
But the rich and powerful seem to have little to fear from the boys in red serge.
They don’t seem to have been a bother to Mr. Schreiber, for example.
There are many other cases in the recent history that raise questions about the effectiveness of the RCMP and its independence from its political masters.
Here’s a greatly abridged list: The force seems to have bungled the investigation into the Air India bombing, the Maher Arar case, the investigation into Brian Mulroney’s dealings with Mr. Schreiber and an investigation into Jean Chretien’s business dealings in Shawinigan.
Consider the effects of these errors.
The Mounties appear to have done a bad job investigating the biggest terrorist attack in Canadian history. In fact, if they had put a bomb-sniffing dog on the plane, they might have stopped the attack, which killed 329 people.
The RCMP gave the Americans bad information on Mr. Arar, which led to him being tortured in Syria.
They screwed up a letter to the Swiss authorities that led to the Government of Canada having to give Mr. Mulroney $2 million, even though he was later shown to have taken $300,000 in cash from Mr. Schreiber. Instead of an investigation that ended in either charges or decisively clearing Mr. Mulroney’s name, this dismal saga continues to drag on, to the horror of the actors, some of whom are likely blameless.
In the Shawinigate affair, the RCMP failed to do much to investigate allegations of improper actions on the part of Mr. Chretien, who had lobbied the Business Development Bank of Canada to give a loan to a business associate. When bank executive François Beaudoin refused, he was fired and the bank set out to destroy his life, spending $4 million going after him. The Mounties helped, raiding his home and golf club. A Quebec judge found that the force was guilty of an "an unspeakable injustice."
The implication — that Canada’s national police force set out to destroy the life of a man who properly defied the will of the prime minister — is stunning.
The man at the head of the force for most of these fiascos, Giuliano Zaccardelli, is gone now, fired by Prime Minister Stephen Harper after he gave conflicting testimony at the Arar inquiry.
How loyal was Mr. Zaccardelli to Mr. Chretien? Did he have anything to do with the decision to announce, in the middle of the last election campaign, that the RCMP were investigating Finance Minister Ralph Goodale’s office for the possibility of a leak of tax information to Bay Street? The Liberals believe that cost them the election, although the sponsorship scandal may have had something to do with it as well. Mr. Chretien appears to have hoped Paul Martin would lose that election.
Speaking of the sponsorship scandal, three crooked ad firms got $1.3 million in federalmoney to help the Mounties celebrate their 125th anniversary. Because of this conflict, the Mounties asked Quebec provincial police to handle the investigations into much of the sponsorship scandal.
The Quebec cops have managed to get convictions of several of the crooks involved, including Charles Guite and Jean Brault. Meanwhile, the RCMP have yet to lay charges in their investigations. The force says that’s because of the massive complexity of the files, but given their recent track record, it is fair to be skeptical of anything they say.
This spring, a federal investigator looking into an internal Mountie scam involving the force’s pension fund found big cultural and structural problems in the force. The Tories have appointed a panel of experts to release a report this month with recommendation for restructuring. They may recommend that the Mounties should be governed, like Canada’s spy agency, by an arm’s-length body.
To supervise the cleanup of the Mounties, the Tories replaced Mr. Zaccardelli with William Elliot, a longtime public servant who once worked as chief of staff to Don Mazankowski, Mr. Mulroney’s deputy prime minister.
I wonder if this former Tory staffer is urging his members to pursue the Airbus file with everything they have.
A lot of people wiser than me believe that Mr. Harper has made a big mistake launching a public inquiry into Mr. Mulroney’s business with Mr. Schreiber, because it will enrich a bunch of lawyers and further alienate Canadians from federal politics. The Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal brought politics into disrepute, strengthened the separatists and destroyed the Martin government.
Members of the political class in Ottawa see inquiries much the way china shop proprietors see bulls: as a threat.
Mr. Chretien is one advocate of this view.
"Inquiries are not the best way to solve problems," he said. "We have police for these things."
I wonder if Mr. Beaudoin would agree.
(
smaher@herald.ca)
© 2007 The Halifax Herald Limited
Who polices the police? Who should?
IAN BAILEY
Kyle Harland
December 1, 2007
The Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER -- When he was last in Vancouver, André Marin found one key thing in the province "very primitive."
Months later, the Ontario Ombudsman continues to think that British Columbia is a bit backwards in the oversight of policing.
"It's as if B.C. were still in the era of the horse and cart while in Ontario we're bringing it from the car to the hybrid vehicle," Mr. Marin said from his Toronto office .
"There's no such thing as a perfect system, but in terms of evolution, your system in B.C. is primitive while ours is light years ahead."
Two aspects of Mr. Marin's career are relevant to his views, which are in sync with critics of the status quo in B.C.
From 1996 until 1998, he was the head of the Special Investigations Unit, a civilian law-enforcement agency that answers to Ontario's attorney-general as it investigates shootings, in-custody deaths and other incidents involving police that lead to serious injuries or death. (He left to become ombudsman for the Canadian Forces.)
SIU investigators can be former police officers, but can't be involved in probes of departments where they used to work. Before the SIU was launched, police investigated themselves or had other forces look into incidents. In 2006, the SIU laid two charges after 226 investigations.
As Ontario Ombudsman, Mr. Marin has completed a report aimed at reforming the 17-year-old organization. As he launched the review in January, he referred to a "troubling" increase in complaints about the SIU that "cannot be ignored" such as slow investigations, a lack of impartiality, and not enough thoroughness.
But he said this week that he remains a supporter of the organization, and is intent on improving it.
"The main question: Is there a way in which we can make the SIU even more functional, more responsive?"
The SIU has fans in British Columbia as an alternative to current models in which police investigate cases of death involving officers, such as the case of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died in October after being tasered during a confrontation with four Mounties.
"[The SIU] is certainly a model that we point to as at least a precedent in Canada for the ability of a civilian agency to undertake these investigations," said Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
"It would be something that's useful in B.C.," he said. "It takes the model from a internal 'rely-on-police to investigate themselves' [model] to a model in which, at least in theory ... [is] a civilian agency under the auspices of civilian authorities."
In B.C., the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner acts on complaints about 15 municipal police forces. Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld uses police officers as investigators, where necessary. Complaints about the RCMP are handled by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, which also uses police investigators.
"Police investigating the police when there are serious injuries or death should just not be happening, full stop," Mr. Marin said.
"History has shown they don't investigate themselves the way they investigate civilians."
Mr. Marin suggested the SIU approach is better for police officers because it provides thorough investigations. A spokeswoman for the Toronto Police Association declined comment.
Mr. Marin made this case in Vancouver last fall during a visit to the province. Solicitor-General John Les sounded yesterday as if he had not forgotten the slight.
"[Mr. Marin] had what I thought were some rather silly things to say about system here in British Columbia. I am not even sure he was particularly well informed," Mr. Les said.
But Mr. Marin had more material this week, referring to the Dziekanski affair, now under investigation by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team - a mix of Mounties and officers from other forces.
And there's the report of Paul Kennedy, the head of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, that cleared a rookie Mountie who shot 22-year-old Ian Bush during a fight two years ago in the detachment in the northern B.C. community of Houston. Mr. Kennedy's probe had RCMP investigators.
Police in New Westminster reviewed the work of the RCMP's Northern B.C. Major Crime Unit. Al Macintyre, acting deputy commissioner for the Pacific Region, noted that Mr. Kennedy found that the RCMP conducted a "highly professional, impartial, unbiased and timely" investigation.
Nathan Cullen, New Democrat MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, called for a review. "I don't think the force should be investigating itself," he said in Ottawa. "I have many officers who are friends of my family and they also quietly don't believe it either."
Mr. Marin scoffed when asked about the view that only police are qualified to investigate police.
"The SIU when I was there had highly trained civilian investigators that, in fact, brought that skill," he said.
The organization was launched in 1990, after concerns about the way two shootings of black males involving police were investigated. Mr. Marin wondered if events could lead to similar reforms in B.C.
"Your Solicitor-General was very, very defensive at the mere thought of civilian oversight," he said, "... so I don't see the situation changing unless the Premier gets involved."
Premier Gordon Campbell is on a trade mission. Mr. Les said the current system is acceptable, although tweaks will likely come after a report released this year called for measures to enhance the powers of the police complaints commissioner.
Mr. Les said he is familiar with the SIU. "I have thought about that particular model in Ontario and am not sure it offers much, if anything, beyond where we're going as a province," he said yesterday.
Mr. Les rejected the idea that police can't investigate police without bias.
"I am not sure what type of civilian would have the skills necessary to do a forensic investigation or a homicide investigation," he said. "Sometimes I think the whole attitude against police investigating police incidents, sometimes, there seems to be a bit of an anti-police bias in some of those commentaries."
Mike Farnworth, New Democrat solicitor-general critic, said an NDP government could look at an SIU option for B.C.
"All I know is I think we need something different," Mr. Farnworth said.
Mr. Ryneveld said he once thought he would like his own investigators.
"All you would be doing is, with respect, creating another police force," he said. "I have thought about this long and hard, and I have flip-flopped on it."
The RCMP's Role Across Canada
British Columbia
The largest contractor of the RCMP, B.C. has nearly one-third of the force providing federal, provincial, and municipal policing services. The province has implemented many initiatives to integrate RCMP and other police forces, including those in the Greater Vancouver area.
Prairies
The RCMP provides federal, provincial, and municipal policing services. Major centres have their own forces. Alberta is the second-largest contractor of RCMP services. Sheriffs recently took over some duties, including courtroom enforcement and highway traffic violations, to take stresses off of the RCMP. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the third- and fourth-largest contractors of RCMP services, respectively.
Central Canada
The RCMP operates with only a federal mandate. That includes investigating major organized-crime groups, associated criminal activity, terrorism and other threats to national security. Ontario has the Ontario Provincial Police, and Quebec has the Sûreté du Québec.
Atlantic provinces
The RCMP provides federal, provincial and municipal policing services. About 15 per cent of the country's RCMP forces are stationed here. Most major cities have their own police forces. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary operates in major cities.
The territories
The RCMP provides all police services. The territories have about 2½ per cent of the country's RCMP forces for less than ½ per cent of the country's population.
Kyle Harland
Timeline of the Ian Bush case
Oct. 29, 2005 Ian Bush is shot and killed by Constable Paul Koester while in police custody. The two were alone in the Houston RCMP interview room.
Oct. 30, 2005 Constable Koester provides a handwritten mandatory statement to the RCMP.
Nov. 7, 2005 The B.C. Civil Liberties Association calls for Paul Kennedy, chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, to immediately conduct a review.
Nov. 17, 2005 Constable Koester provides a 20-page supplementary statement to the RCMP.
Feb. 8, 2006 The RCMP conducts their first interview with Constable Koester. The questions were preapproved by Constable Koester's lawyer.
May, 2006 Linda Bush, Ian's mother, files a lawsuit against Constable Koester, the Solicitor-General and the Attorney-General.
May 8, 2006 The completed RCMP investigation file is sent
to the New Westminster
Police Service for that force to review.
June 19, 2006 The New Westminster Police Service completes its review, approving the RCMP's investigation and the decision not to charge Constable Koester.
June 26, 2006 The investigation file is submitted to Crown counsel for review.
Sept. 5, 2006 The Crown confirms that no charges will be laid against Constable Koester.
Sept. 28, 2006 The BCCLA is told that their complaint has been officially ended. Mr. Kennedy then initiates his own complaint to find if the investigation was adequate.
October, 2006 The BCCLA launches a federal court action challenging the termination of their complaint. Mr. Kennedy later applied to stop this challenge.
May 22, 2007 Coroner's inquest beings.
July 5, 2007 A blood-spatter expert testifies that Constable Koester's story of events is incongruent with the crime scene. However, this is contrary to an earlier testimony from another blood-spatter expert.
July 6, 2007 The inquest concludes. The five-person jury gives non-binding recommendations to the RCMP. They say no officer should be alone with a suspect unless the suspect is in a cell, and that audio-visual equipment should be made mandatory in interview rooms.
September, 2007 The Federal Court of Canada throws out Mr. Kennedy's application to stop the BCCLA judicial review. This is continuing.
Nov. 29, 2007 Mr. Kennedy releases his final report, agreeing that Constable Koester's use of force was necessary.
