Speaking Remarks by David Brown at the Release of the Report of the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP
December 14, 2007 – Check Against Delivery
Good afternoon.
As the Chair of the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP, I'm joined today by the other Task Force members: Richard Drouin, Linda Black, Norman Inkster and Larry Murray.
During the past five months, my colleagues and I have been privileged to meet with over 2,000 of the men and women who serve the RCMP. As we travelled across Canada and into the far North, we witnessed fierce pride in the Force, incredible dedication to the people they serve and a powerful determination to provide the policing services that they know are required to keep our communities and country safe.
But we also witnessed despair, disillusionment and anger with an organization that is failing them.
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.
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.
These and many other issues came tumbling out through poignant stories of personal experiences related to us personally and in over the 500 confidential emails we received.
What emerged was a picture of an honourable and revered Canadian institution with rank and file members and employees struggling to do their best under the tremendous burden of an inefficient and inappropriately structured organization.
Our first reaction was to craft solutions to each of these problems – some of which were blindingly obvious. But as the issues piled up, we realized that these were merely symptoms of a much larger issue encompassing the organization, governance and culture of the institution; that treating the symptoms alone would not provide a lasting cure.
To meet this challenge, we engaged experts and academics. We met with federal departments and agencies, federal and provincial Solicitors and Attorneys General, deputy ministers, mayors and city councilors.
Our report today makes recommendations for three fundamental changes to the structure and governance of the RCMP.
A modern-day police force cannot spend its days mired in endless bureaucracy and administration with the federal government. The RCMP is not just another federal department – nor should it be. Members of the RCMP have the authority to make life and death decisions every day – they fight organized crime and infiltrate terrorist cells - but they don't have the authority to make simple expenditures or hire a new person without hours of paperwork and process.
Therefore, the first recommendation of this Task Force is to establish the RCMP as a separate entity from government with separate employer status. It should be granted full authority to manage its financial affairs and human resources within broad parameters pre-approved by Parliament.
This major new level of responsibility leads us to the second recommendation in our report.
It quickly became clear to us that today's RCMP does not have the capacity to exercise the responsibilities it will acquire as an entity separate from government. It's going to require building new capacity at every level throughout the RCMP to take on the weight of these new responsibilities.
A central element to building this capacity will be a new civilian Board of Management of the RCMP that is responsible for the overall stewardship of the organization and its administration. This will include the oversight of financial affairs, resources, services, property, personnel and procurement. The level of independent responsibility being recommended for the RCMP must come with accountability. As such, this Board would be ultimately accountable to the Minister – and through the Minister to Parliament.
On the issue of accountability and transparency, it became apparent that radical changes were also required in the way that the RCMP accounts to the public, to elected officials and to its members and employees. The current separation of complaints between the External Review Committee and the Public Complaints Commission is inadequate and neither body has sufficient authority to compel real action.
This led to the Task Force's third fundamental recommendation – the creation of an Independent Commission for Complaints and Oversight of the RCMP (ICCOR). This new Commission will incorporate the functions of the existing bodies – but provide for expanded responsibilities and authorities consistent with an Ombudsman.
The Commission will have official independence, be established by legislation, report publicly on recommendations and findings, have the capacity in appropriate circumstances to consider complaints and initiate and conduct investigations with the power to summon witnesses and compel testimony.
The Commission will allow for the tracking and evaluation of all complaints in order to identify and better address systemic issues, trends or deficiencies in policies and procedures; it will have the authority on its own initiative to review any aspect of policing operations.
The findings of this new independent Commission relating to discipline or grievance situations would be binding on the Commissioner – unlike the current process. Recommendations relating to police operations or policy would be made public and be put before the Commissioner or the Board of Management.
We believe that these three fundamental changes: making the RCMP a separate entity, with a professional Board of Management and a single, enhanced oversight and complaints body will allow for the kinds of structural, cultural and governance changes that are needed for all other detailed recommendations to have real effect.
We also address the symptoms that make these fundamental changes so necessary.
In our report, we make recommendations on a full spectrum of issues, including: human resources, funding, culture, governance, ethics, capacity, administration, bureaucracy, compensation, safety, health, wellness, disclosure, discipline, recruitment, training, education, promotion, transparency and communication.
We also note the recommendations that have recently been made by other committees and investigators on many of these same issues. But none of these changes will be sustainable without the fundamental changes to structure that we are proposing.
In many ways, the RCMP's approach to governance has been based on a model and style of policing developed from – and for – another era. We believe that our reforms will produce a modern RCMP, well equipped to meet today's – as well as future – challenges.
A modern-day RCMP will have the tools to do their job properly, free from unnecessary government constraints - while being driven by a professional management team and maintaining accountability to Canadians through independent civilian oversight. The RCMP will ensure that funds exist to support the responsibilities it takes on. It will eliminate layers of useless bureaucracy and focus on critical policies that protect citizens, police officers and the integrity of the RCMP.
A modern-day RCMP will shed its cloak of secrecy while protecting the fundamental rights of Canadian citizens. It will build on its world-class expertise fighting organized crime and terrorism. It will better inform Canadians about its activities and in turn, rebuild trust through greater transparency.
A modern-day RCMP will attract new, young Canadians who want to serve their community and country. It will be an institution steeped in education and training for the entire duration of their careers. It will focus on the safety and professional growth of its members. It will promote leaders who have been trained in strong management and ethics. Existing and new leaders will run the RCMP as an organization that combines good policing, good governance and good business.
A modern-day RCMP is not simply an aspiration – an ideal. It is the only acceptable destination from where we are. We now have a plan to fundamentally fix the RCMP and restore trust in this institution – but the path we have laid out is not for the faint of heart.
Our years of collective experience have taught us that the best plans – without a detailed implementation plan – can often get shelved or go awry.
In this case, the Task Force believes that a rapid but orderly implementation of our recommendations is essential to enable the RCMP to provide the effective policing services expected of it. The scope of the changes we have recommended is substantial. New entities must be created and new capacities must be built within the RCMP to manage its human resources and financial affairs. New authorities must be delegated from existing governmental entities to the RCMP.
We have recommended, therefore, that an Implementation Council be formed as quickly as possible with a mandate to advise the government and the RCMP on all aspects of the change process.
We have recommended that a public update report be issued by June 30, 2008 – with regular six month update reports to follow. We want to see the board of management and independent commission fully in place and operating no later than December 31, 2009 – two years from now.
We also suggest that required legislative changes be sped along as quickly as possible in Parliament.
We realize that the implementation of our recommendations may require special one-time funding from the federal government and in fact, may require additional funding going forward. Sufficient resources must be dedicated to the implementation of these recommendations so that no additional burden is placed on an already overburdened workplace of the RCMP.
In releasing my previous report this past June, I said the Force has a culture, management structure and corporate governance that isn't working. Five months later and with the benefit of my colleagues on this Task Force – I can confirm that the problems facing the RCMP today are deep and fundamental. But I am heartened – and I am confident that the recommendations we have made today will rebuild this national icon into a modern-day police force. I believe that lost trust among rank and file members will be restored. I believe that shaken trust among Canadians will be regained.
I have talked about core problems in the RCMP. But we also have a cornerstone to build from – 27,000 dedicated rank and file members and employees.
These men and women, who in the face of tragedies – in the face of intense public scrutiny – in the face of report after report slamming their work and their bosses – still come to work every day to do their job the best they can.
Everywhere we went in the last five months, we met people who shared their vision for improving the RCMP, sometimes forcefully, sometimes with great passion. We believe that this energy can be harnessed to implement the changes we recommend, and more. People throughout the organization are ready to be engaged, but it will take leadership and sheer determination from leaders at all levels.
The Task Force's plan – "Rebuilding the Trust" – identifies the core and fundamental issues facing the RCMP today and recommends clear, decisive – and definitively tough – solutions to fix these problems – once and for all. Failure is not an option. We will now take any questions you may have.