{"id":73561,"date":"2017-03-08T16:57:42","date_gmt":"2017-03-08T16:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/?p=73561"},"modified":"2017-03-08T16:57:42","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T16:57:42","slug":"next-rcmp-commissioner-will-have-to-tackle-low-morale-and-labour-strife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/political\/next-rcmp-commissioner-will-have-to-tackle-low-morale-and-labour-strife.html","title":{"rendered":"Next RCMP commissioner will have to tackle low morale and labour strife"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The federal government has four months to find someone to lead Canada&#8217;s national police force through even more tumultuous times.<\/p>\n<p>In his retirement announcement earlier this week, outgoing Commissioner Bob Paulson highlighted a number of pressing internal \u2014 as opposed to operational\u00a0\u2014 issues for his successor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Still,\u00a0retired senior deputy commissioner Bill Sweeney said stabilizing the organization was a very important part of Paulson&#8217;s tenure that began Nov. 2011.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In the late 1990s right up to 2010, the RCMP seemed to be faced with a number of inquiries where the confidence of Canadians was being tested,&#8221; Sweeney told CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">Bob Paulson set to retire as RCMP commissioner<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To be sure, under Paulson&#8217;s watch, there have been far fewer major controversies over how RCMP officers do their jobs, use force or handle sensitive intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Since Paulson&#8217;s appointment, much of that has quieted \u2014\u00a0and one would have to give him credit for that,&#8221; Sweeney said. &#8220;There are still issues that need to be attended to, but we&#8217;re not facing any huge crises that we were in the last decade.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Morale, though, <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">is poor<\/a> and eventually that takes a toll on frontline policing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">Psychiatrist says\u00a0<span>PTSD<\/span>\u00a0treatment for Mounties improving, but not fast enough<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Employees&#8217; mental and emotional health is an issue, which Paulson highlighted in his memo.<\/p>\n<p>Certainly, the RCMP has yet to come to terms with the <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">toll operational stress injuries are taking on staff<\/a>, as well as how to re-integrate people\u00a0into the workforce after they&#8217;ve been off sick for long periods of time.<\/p>\n<h2>Pay gap, unionization limbo<\/h2>\n<p>Next month, the RCMP will be tried on labour code charges related to the 2014 murder of Mounties in Moncton. To this day, officers complain about how many high-powered carbine rifles and pieces of hard-body armour\u00a0are available to them in the field.<\/p>\n<p>Mounties <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">haven&#8217;t had a raise in more than three years<\/a>, and top brass have signalled that\u00a0<a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">what the federal government is prepared to give<\/a> won&#8217;t bring them up to par with other Canadian police services.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">Big bonuses for RCMP top brass as front-line Mounties go without pay hikes<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And while the rank and file\u00a0won the right to unionize more than two years ago, the government bill to set out the framework and <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">process for RCMP unionization<\/a> remains in limbo.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, efforts to certify under another law are stalled. Those who have organized are largely split into two associations \u2014 the Mounted Police Professional Association and the National Police Federation \u2014 and the two can&#8217;t seem to get along.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/99814_rcmp-20120706-topix.jpg\" alt=\"RCMP 20120706 TOPIX\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Some Mounties say the next RCMP commissioner should have expertise in human resources and modern labour relations. A court-ordered bill to set out collective bargaining rules for the force is in limbo. (Jeff McIntosh\/Canadian Press)<\/p>\n<h2>Role of &#8216;stature and gravity&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a very formal process that&#8217;s established in order to select a person to fill this role of this stature and gravity,&#8221; Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said of the search for Paulson&#8217;s replacement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a process that will involve a very, very careful consultation to make sure that the leader of this distinguished national police force has the qualifications to provide exemplary leadership for Canadians.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"pullquote\"><p>\n <span class=\"pullquote-quotation\">&#8216;It&#8217;s a process that will involve a very, very careful consultation to make sure that the leader of this distinguished national police force has the qualifications to provide exemplary leadership for Canadians.&#8217;<\/span><br \/>\n <cite class=\"pullquote-source\">&#8211; Public Safety Minister Ralph\u00a0Goodale\u00a0<\/cite>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>CBC News has spoken to\u00a0rank and file members, including officers and those who&#8217;ve retired from the force, about what the government should look for in the next commissioner.<\/p>\n<p>Serving members of the RCMP are prevented\u00a0from commenting publicly, but in off-the-record chats, they said the force&#8217;s next leader should be someone with expertise in human resources and modern labour relations.<\/p>\n<p>Hopes are also high for someone with strong character who can stand up to government while also being a relatable, respected and understanding person who understands life on the front line.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s a tall order.<\/p>\n<h2>New leader and an overhaul<\/h2>\n<p>And that&#8217;s why Paulson&#8217;s predecessor believes it would be helpful to rethink the organization&#8217;s structure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I believe the new commissioner should, with the support of the government, renew governance initiatives \u2014\u00a0notably including making the RCMP a separate employer and an independent agency,&#8221; said William Elliott, the force&#8217;s first civilian commissioner.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0idea is that a board of civilians would take over administrative and managerial responsibilities in non-policing areas, such as awarding contracts, audits, personnel matters and property management.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">Goodale says civilian oversight of RCMP should be examined<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Meanwhile, operational matters would remain the focus of police. Most modern police agencies operate in a similar fashion.<\/p>\n<p>Elliott backed the idea back when he was commissioner, but the government wasn&#8217;t interested at the time. When the new commissioner took over, Paulson said a civilian board of management wasn&#8217;t necessary.<\/p>\n<p>That kind of structural change could finally put to rest the ongoing debate over whether the commissioner absolutely has to be a lifelong Mountie.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/99814_rcmp-commissioner-20111208-topix.jpg\" alt=\"RCMP Commissioner 20111208 TOPIX\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Former RCMP commissioner William Elliott, left, shakes hands as Paulson is installed as commissioner in 2011. Elliott says the next commissioner should consider changes to how the national police force is governed. (Sean Kilpatrick\/Canadian Press)<\/p>\n<h2>Contenders<\/h2>\n<p>Names that top the list of serving or retired contenders\u00a0include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Deputy Commissioner\u00a0Gilles Michaud.<\/li>\n<li>Deputy Commissioner Kevin Brosseau.<\/li>\n<li>Retired deputy commissioner\u00a0Janice Armstrong.<\/li>\n<li>Retired deputy commissioner\u00a0Peter German.<\/li>\n<li>Retired assistant commissioner and former Ottawa and Durham Region police chief \u2014 and current senator\u00a0\u2014 Vern White.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another idea that will surely gain traction with Paulson on his way out is that Mounties should be able to take complaints about workplace harassment to a body outside the RCMP.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, Mounties investigate their own, and the outcomes have often frustrated officers or not met the expectations of the public. One relatively recent example is how the Mounties decided to <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">dock pay from staff who had bullied their colleagues<\/a> and gone nude during office hours at the RCMP-run Canadian Police College.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sweeney said the next commissioner will have to take the baton from Paulson and run with it.<\/p>\n<p>And, despite the news some days, Sweeney\u00a0is confident change is underway at the RCMP.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve always believed that cultural change is more incremental,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s almost like watching your children grow: there are changes every day but you don&#8217;t necessarily notice it \u2014 and then all of a sudden they&#8217;re in school and high school and graduating and getting married.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p>Article source: http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/politics\/next-rcmp-commissioner-canada-1.4013529?cmp=rss<\/a>\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The federal government has four months to find someone to lead Canada&#8217;s national police force through even more tumultuous times. In his retirement announcement earlier this week, outgoing Commissioner Bob Paulson highlighted a number of pressing internal \u2014 as opposed to operational\u00a0\u2014 issues for his successor.\u00a0 Still,\u00a0retired senior deputy commissioner Bill Sweeney said stabilizing the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-73561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-political","tag-political"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}