SURREY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, June 28, 2012 — Today, Vic Toews, Canada’s Public Safety Minister, met with law enforcement and policing stakeholders to discuss Bill C-42: Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act. The proposed legislation will advance the Government’s commitment to modernizing the RCMP and strengthen its accountability to Canadians.
“The RCMP has an extremely important mandate,” said Minister Toews. “The legislation introduced by our government is important in ensuring that the RCMP remains accountable to both its members and the public it serves, and that it remains a trusted and adaptive organization for generations to come.”
Participants in today’s discussion included provincial and municipal government officials and representatives from law enforcement and policing organizations.
The Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act will:
- Help modernize the RCMP’s discipline, grievance and human resource management framework, including new measures to create a single, seamless and comprehensive investigation and resolution process for sexual harassment complaints where the respondent is a member of the Force. It is also providing the Commissioner the direct authority to discharge members for various non-disciplinary administrative reasons.
- Create a modern and independent Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP to replace the existing Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and provide it with enhanced powers to carry out its mandate.
- Establish a statutory framework for handling criminal investigations of serious incidents involving RCMP members, which will improve the transparency and public accountability of these investigations.
“We must support the members and employees of the RCMP in fulfilling their mission—to enable them to focus on what they are trained and sworn to do: protecting Canadians from coast to coast to coast,” said Minister Toews.
C-42: Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act builds on the accountability mechanisms included in the new 2012–2032 Police Services Agreements recently signed by Contract Provinces and Territories, and which contribute to the broader modernization efforts of the RCMP.
Follow Public Safety Canada (@Safety_Canada) on Twitter.
