RCMP says it implemented 22 watchdog recommendations but status of dozens of complaints still unknown

The RCMP says it has implemented about 22 recommendations made by the civilianwatchdog agencyover the last fiscal year, but the status of dozens more recommendations regarding Mountie misconduct is notknown.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC)is called upon hundreds of times a year to investigate public complaints aboutRCMPactivity, ranging from claims ofbad behaviour to allegations ofbotched investigations. If the CRCC concludesa finding of wrongdoing is founded, itcan make recommendations to the RCMP, although they are not binding.

Citing a need for more transparency, the national police force has started to post the status of some of those recommendations online.

So far, the RCMP has posted 101 recommendations stemming from about a dozen different cases reviewed by the CRCCduring the last fiscal year. The RCMP claims that about 21 per cent of those recommendationsare "completed"; most of the remainder are recorded as"in progress" whilea handful are said to bepartially completed.

"As part of our commitment to strengthening trust, transparency and accountability, the RCMP is providing an overview of all commitments we have made in response to CRCC recommendations," says the text on theRCMP's webpageon civilian complaints.

In one case involving a strip search, the RCMP was asked to consider amending RCMP policy regarding what to do with bras and other undergarments. That recommendation is marked as "in progress."

The RCMPitself not the CRCC decides whether the recommendations are logged as completed.The watchdog has in the past objected to its lack ofverification powers and its inability to weigh in onwhetherthe RCMP actually followed through on a complaint.

Mostof the CRCC's recommendations to the RCMP in response tocomplaints about how Mountiesmonitored Northern Gateway pipeline protesters in 2012 and 2013 have been deemed complete by the police force.

All of the CRCCrecommendations coming out of the investigation into the handling of the death of Colton Boushie who was shot and killed after he and four others from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan drove onto a farmer'sproperty near Biggar, Sask., in August 2016 are still recorded as in progress, according to the RCMP.

The CRCC concluded that the force racially discriminated against Boushie's mother in the course of its investigation.

The status of dozens of other recommendations remainsunknown. According to its website, the CRCC has completed at least 117 final reports on RCMP activitysince 2020. Those reports covered a wide range of complaints including claims of warrantless arrests andmishandledsexual assaultsand all presented recommendations.

A spokesperson later added there have been additional recommendations completed in addition to the 22 completed recommendations on the website.

"As part of the phased approach to publishing the implementation of Commissioner supported recommendations, the RCMP will be updating the implementation status on a regular basis," said Robin Percival.

"The RCMP is working to having an update completed by Nov. 30, 2021."

A spokesperson for the CRCC said the move to publish the reportsis a positive onebut the process still lacks accountability because the agencycan't confirm the extent to which the RCMP actually implemented itsrecommendations.

'This is a major gap'

"The information provided on the 'RCMP commitments on responses to public complaints' web page is a step in the right direction," said CRCC spokesperson Kate McDerby. "However, it does not adequately address the CRCC's call for accountability when it comes to the status of its recommendations.

"While existing legislation requires that the RCMP Commissioner respond to reports and indicate whether the recommendations are accepted, there is no statutory requirement for the RCMP to confirm the degree to which the CRCC's recommendations have been implemented. This is a major gap."

The chair of the CRCC has been calling on Parliament to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Actto include a statutory reporting requirement.

The Liberal government has introduced legislation three timesto expand the CRCC's mandate to include border officials, but each attempt failed to pass before the dissolution of Parliament.

The latest version of the bill, which the government hinted would also strengthen the CRCC, was introduced just weeks before the election was called in August.