RCMP needs overhaul really bad

TORONTO — A federal task force convened to help overhaul the RCMP recommended major structural changes for the 133-year-old force today, including granting the Force separate employer status from the government, the adoption of a civilian oversight board and the creation of a new, more powerful complaints authority.

The task force, led by Toronto lawyer David Brown, set a strict two-year deadline for the changes to be fully made, and asked that a special civilian body be set up to oversee their implementation, which will set the foundation for an additional 45 recommendations outlined in his task force's report, titled “Rebuilding the Trust.”

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott quickly embraced the report, saying he would use it to launch a necessary renewal of the federal force, including changes in its senior levels.

“It's an important document that will serve as one of the key drivers of change as we go forward. The report is, I believe, an important turning point,” he said.

“With remarkable but disturbing consistency, we heard of chronic shortages of people and equipment, of overwork and fatigue, of issues of wellness, health and even safety,” said Mr. Brown.
 
“We learned about basic human management systems that haven't worked for years: mandatory unpaid overtime; discipline and grievance systems that don't work; a promotion system with little or no credibility; a sometimes embarrassing record of accounting to the people they serve.”
 
Mr. Brown said he found that rank and file members are “struggling to do their best under the tremendous burden of an inefficient and inappropriately structured organization.”
 
The task force's recipe for remedies begins, Mr. Brown said, with changing the relationship between the government and the RCMP, allowing the force to become a separate entity with separate employer status. Mr. Brown said the RCMP is not “just another federal department” and should be “free from unnecessary government constraints.” The force must be allowed to control its own finances and manage human resources decisions instead of being forced to contend with the federal bureaucracy, the task force suggests.