ERC Service Standards

Section 28.1 of the RCMP Act requires the RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) to establish and publish service standards with respect to the time required for the ERC to review appeals and grievances.

Section 28.1 of the RCMP Act states that:

It is of the highest importance to the ERC to prepare meaningful and objective findings and recommendations in cases under its charge. Equally important is that the cases be dealt with in a timely manner. Due to a historic lack of resources to deal with the caseload, certain cases have not been answered in a timely manner. At times, this has generated issues of mootness, or at the very least, affected the manner in which cases are adjudicated by an RCMP Final Adjudicator. For example, some of the harassment cases forwarded to the RCMP recommending that an investigation be done resulted in an apology being given due to the passage of time as the issues could no longer be properly investigated.

The ERC service standards will be phased in over a period of time. They are:

Fiscal Years 2020-2022
85% target for all files coming into the ERC will be prescreened within 30 days of receipt.

Fiscal Year 2022-2023 and beyond
75% of files coming into the ERC will be completed within 12 months.
85% of files will be prescreened within 30 days of receipt.

The ERC will always strive to meet its service standards, but there are situations that are beyond its control that cause delay. Section 28.1 of the RCMP Act requires the ERC to identify those circumstances. They typically include:

• The ERC has received incomplete documentation for the case to proceed.
• The parties are required to send further clarifications or submissions for the case to be properly assessed.
• The ERC has approved a party's request for an abeyance.

The ERC will make every effort to shorten these delays.