I am very pleased to announce changes to the structure and make up of the RCMP's Senior Management Team. These changes follow broad consultations beginning last spring with contract partners and others, as part of our ongoing efforts to bring about positive change in the Force in order to better serve Canadians and better support our employees.
Two new senior executive positions are being created, Deputy Commissioner West and Deputy Commissioner East. Initially the Deputy Commissioner West will be located in Vancouver and the Deputy Commissioner East in Halifax. Effective immediately, Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass will assume responsibilities as Deputy Commissioner West and Deputy Commissioner Steve Graham will assume responsibilities as Deputy Commissioner East.
Once fully implemented, the important responsibilities of serving as the Commanding Officer for a Division will be separated from the responsibilities of Regional Deputy. This will allow each of our Commanding Officers across the country to focus on activities and issues within their Division, and to be supported by a Deputy Commissioner whose full time responsibilities are to support them and to contribute to the overall leadership of the Force as members of the Senior Executive Committee. The Commanding Officers of British Columbia ("E" Division), Alberta ("K" Division), Saskatchewan ("F" Division), Manitoba ("D" Division), Yukon ("M" Division), the Northwest Territories ("G" Division) and Nunavut ("V" Division) will report to the Deputy Commissioner West. The Commanding Officers of Ontario ("O" Division), the National Capital Region ("A" Division), National Headquarters, Québec ("C" Division), New Brunswick ("J" Division), Nova Scotia ("H" Division), Prince Edward Island ("L" Division) and Newfoundland and Labrador ("B" Division) will report to the Deputy Commissioner East.
The Deputy Commissioner positions Pacific Region, Northwest Region, Central Region and Atlantic Region have been eliminated. The responsibilities of the former Regional Deputy Commissioner positions are being assumed by the new Deputies East and West.
No further changes to our regional structure or reporting relationships are being made at this time, so for example, regional employees currently serving in the Northwest Region will now report to the Deputy Commissioner West.
Consultations with employees, contract partners and others on potential future changes to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the RCMP will be undertaken by the new Deputies. The Deputies will help strengthen links with Headquarters and between Regions and Divisions, and will champion and manage national and regional priorities and regional issues of national interest. The Deputies East and West will also play an important role in coaching and mentoring Commanding Officers and others. They will also facilitate and support Regional Councils of Commanding Officers to address common issues across Divisions, for example, in the Atlantic provinces or the three northern territories.
It is also anticipated that the Deputies will play a key role in the management of our Police Services Contracts and in our ongoing transformation activities.
I am also very pleased to announce the appointment of new Commanding Officers of "K" Division (Alberta), "F" Division (Saskatchewan) and "H" Division (Nova Scotia).
Assistant Commissioner Dale McGowan will assume responsibility as Commanding Officer of "K" Division, Chief Superintendent Russell Mirasty takes on the role of Commanding Officer of "F" Division, and Chief Superintendent Alphonse MacNeil will assume the duties of Commanding Officer of "H" Division.
Each of our three new Commanding Officers will be returning home to the province in which they were born and raised. Assistant Commissioner McGowan was born in Edmonton, Chief Superintendent Mirasty was born in La Ronge, and Chief Superintendent MacNeil was born in Glace Bay.
Each of these individuals brings a wealth and diversity of experience to their new positions. I know that we can count on each of our new COs for their outstanding leadership, relationship and consensus building, and strong contributions to our ongoing efforts to bring about positive change.
Change is an integral component of our everyday operations and critical to ensuring we continue to be the national police force Canadians expect and deserve. Today's announcement is one more important step in improving the way we do business. Further announcements with respect to the effective dates of the appointments of our new Commanding Officers, details of the implementation of our new structure and additional changes to our Senior Management Team will be made in the near future.
As we move forward on a broad range of initiatives aimed at achieving our Vision for Change for the RCMP to be an adaptive, accountable, trusted organization of fully engaged employees demonstrating outstanding leadership and providing world-class police services, I would like to once again recognize the dedication, professionalism and expertise of RCMP employees across the country in all categories and at all levels. It is only through your hard work, continued support, innovation and passion for improving the RCMP, that we will earn and maintain the trust and confidence of Canadians and the communities we serve. Thank you for your ongoing contributions to the RCMP and to Canada.
William J.S. Elliott
Commissioner
Deputy Commissioner Steve Graham joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in June 1975 in Halifax. His early service was spent on general police duties in British Columbia, serving at three central and northern interior communities, followed by a posting to the Musical Ride in Ottawa. He subsequently transferred to Nova Scotia, where he served in Sydney and Sydney Mines on Cape Breton Island. Mr. Graham also served in the Acadian District of Clare (Meteghan), Digby County. He was later posted to Headquarters in Ottawa, and then to "A" Division of the National Capital Region before moving to Prince Edward Island in 1997 as the Officer in Charge of Criminal Operations. He was then appointed Commanding Officer in 2001. During his career, Mr. Graham has worked in general policing, corporate and personnel management, protective and summit operations, corporate policy and planning as well as criminal operations.
Deputy Commissioner Graham served as Commanding Officer in New Brunswick from 2004 to 2008. In June 2008, he became the Commanding Officer in Nova Scotia and was subsequently appointed Deputy Commissioner, Atlantic Region, in June 2009 where he is currently serving.
Deputy Commissioner Graham holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University, an advanced Graduate Diploma in Management and a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University. Additionally, he has completed several programs from the Canadian Police College.
Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass joined the RCMP in New Brunswick in 1971 and, following training, was posted to Canada's East Coast where he worked in general duties, Underwater Recovery Operations, National Criminal Intelligence Section and General Investigation Section. In 1992, he was transferred to British Columbia's Provincial Serious Crime Section. Mr. Bass has investigated and overseen a multitude of complex investigations, including several hundred homicides.
Mr. Bass is currently serving as the Deputy Commissioner Pacific Region and Commanding Officer for the RCMP in British Columbia. He is responsible for all policing matters for the 5800 police officers serving hundreds of communities from 127 Detachments.
Deputy Commissioner Bass has a Master of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice as well as a Certificate in Criminology.
Deputy Commissioner Bass and his wife, Ruth, reside in Langley, B.C, and have two children.
Assistant Commissioner Dale McGowan joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1978 in Edmonton. He has served in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and all three northern territories. He has a wealth of operational, northern and First Nations policing experience. His career has included service in numerous operational units including general duty policing, serious and major crime sections, homicide units and as a Criminal Operations Officer. Mr. McGowan has been involved in and led a number of complex and high profile criminal investigations throughout his career. He is an accredited Emergency Response Team Incident Commander and Police and Public Safety Instructor.
Mr. McGowan has also held executive level positions in operations and corporate management positions within the RCMP. He currently is serving as the Commanding Officer in Saskatchewan.
Assistant Commissioner McGowan is returning to Edmonton where he was born and raised. He and his wife Sheila have three children, all of whom are members of the Force.
Chief Superintendent Russell Mirasty joined the RCMP in 1976 in the province of Saskatchewan. He has served in six divisions across Canada in various duties including general detachment policing, highway patrol, police dog services and divisional Aboriginal Policing Services. He worked in the Division Aboriginal Policing Services in Saskatchewan and was then posted to Prince Albert where he was the Operations Officer for the North District. He then accepted a posting to Prince Edward Island where he served as the Criminal Operations Officer. He left the RCMP for a short period to work in his home community and upon re-engaging was posted to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan as the North District Commander. In this position, he was responsible for overseeing 38 detachments with over 500 members and employees.
Since 2009, Mr. Mirasty has been serving as the Director General of National Aboriginal Policing at Headquarters in Ottawa.
Chief Superintendent Mirasty is returning home to Saskatchewan. He is a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band in northern Saskatchewan, the largest First Nation in the province. He maintains a strong relationship with his home community and is fluent in the Cree language. He and his wife, Donna, have two children, one of whom is a member of the RCMP.
Chief Superintendent Alphonse (Phonse) MacNeil joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1975 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He has served in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, as well as at Headquarters in Ottawa. Mr. MacNeil has served as the Officer in Charge of the Canadian Air Carrier Protective Program and in operational and strategic planning capacities in Ottawa and the Atlantic provinces. He has extensive operational policing experience and a strong background in consensus building among internal and external policing partners, government stakeholders and private industry partners.
He is currently stationed in Barrie, Ontario where he recently commanded the Integrated Security Unit responsible for providing security for the 2010 G8 and G20 Summits. These operations represented the largest deployment of security personnel in Canadian history.
Chief Superintendent MacNeil returns to Nova Scotia where he was born and raised. He is married to Patricia, who is also a member of the RCMP, and has 4 children.
