SECU Committee Report

Supplemental Report

Canada is the most welcoming country on earth, accepting and affirming people of all ethnicities, religious beliefs, and sexual orientations. Canada’s Conservatives are proud of our country and we honour the men and women on whose shoulders this country has been built.

But Canada is not perfect. Racism exists in Canada and it must be rooted out. Racism must have no place in Canada, yet experiences clearly show systemic racism in the criminal justice system that has led to biased outcomes. This erodes public confidence in institutions like the justice system as well as places from the public service to corporate Canada.

Systemic racism exists in the institutional legacy of a somber chapter in Canadian history characterized by federal involvement in the tragedy of residential schools, forced relocations, and a failure to respond adequately to cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. One of the most recent examples of systemic racism is a policy that led to racial profiling, which was designed and executed by Public Safety Minister Bill Blair when he was the chief of the Toronto Police Services. This policy disproportionally targeted black Canadians living in Ontario and subjected them to arbitrary detention by the police. But despite his previous support for a systemically racist policy, Bill Blair still has his job as Public Safety Minister because the Prime Minister himself has engaged in what he acknowledges is racist behaviour, the wearing of blackface.

Racism can also be found in institutional structures that fail to root out racist elements within its ranks. It has left a continuing and understandable sense of distrust on the part of Indigenous communities towards the RCMP and law enforcement more generally.[1] As Professor Christian Leuprecht noted, “bureaucracies reproduce themselves; in the process, they also reproduce their institutional culture and problems.”[2]

The failures of an era in which racial and cultural biases were direct and intentional aspects of policy may therefore continue to be reflected in the inadequacies of present day structures and institutions in dealing with instances of individual racism that are now widely recognized as being unacceptable and in need of redress. While it would be wrong and inaccurate to describe the RCMP or all its individual officers as inherently racist or holding racist beliefs, we must also recognize that a failure to respond effectively to legitimate complaints or to adapt effectively to the needs and realities of Indigenous and racialized communities has often led to biased outcomes at multiple levels. Witnesses before the committee testified to the failings of the RCMP Commissioner in responding to reports from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) in a timely manner, with delays ranging to over 3 years in some cases, to a lack of accountability in implementing its recommendations.[3] They also repeatedly raised the need for greater training in cultural sensitivity, communications and responsiveness to the needs of particular communities. A notable example in this regard is the fact that only 5 of the 150 RCMP police officers in Nunavut are capable of speaking Inuktitut, a significant barrier for victims seeking to report violence and obtain police protection.[4] 

Canada’s Conservatives are committed to working with communities and doing the hard work of finding concrete solutions to these problems. We believe that the institutional failings that have led to these outcomes can and must be urgently addressed. It is imperative that we meet this challenge with practical policy changes that solve institutional and systemic problems. However, the Conservative members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security believe that a number of the recommendations of the committee’s main report on Systemic Racism in policing do not do so effectively or go beyond the scope of the study in service to ideological objectives which we cannot endorse, notably with respect to the idea of “defunding” police and the decriminalization of hard drugs. We are therefore opting to issue a brief supplemental report to make some of our more significant differences of opinion clear. 

Civilian Review and Complaints Commission

There is perhaps no clearer example of an institutional structure that fails Canadians than a review system that fails to hold the RCMP and its members to account. Therefore, we support recommendations ensuring greater responsiveness and accountability on the part of the CRCC and publication of disciplinary decisions. Impartiality and respect for Charter rights would require criminal actions by members of the RCMP to be dealt with by the criminal justice system, through independent law enforcement review and the appointment of a special, public prosecutor to whom complaints could be referred by the CRCC for assessment. 

General Oversight 

The need for an independent oversight body – free of political interference – in the form of a new RCMP Management Board distinct from the CRCC and existing management advisory board was reiterated by several stakeholders throughout the committee’s study, and is set forward in Recommendation 8. Because of the role the RCMP plays in Canadian society, this type of oversight is needed urgently, and Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security encourage the Minister of Public Safety to table corresponding legislation as soon as possible which Parliament should review thoroughly.

The committee also heard from witnesses that local input into the oversight of policing is critical for public trust in Canadian policing and the criminal justice system broadly. Local oversight is likely to provide greater accountability of police to their communities and identify unacceptable behaviour more effectively. 

While an enhanced role for the national Civilian Complaints and Review Commission is necessary it is not clear that it should become, as the report appears to suggest, the primary or exclusive vehicle for addressing institutional practices that lead to biased or discriminatory outcomes at either the national or local level when other structures may be more appropriate. In many instances the report seems to conflate its role in responding to complaints in a manner that can lead to disciplinary action and/or changes in policy with exercising direct, continuing oversight and developing and implementing overall policy. In our view, the CRCC cannot do both and retain its role and independence. 

The role of the RCMP

Addressing disproportionate outcomes in law enforcement, and Canada’s criminal justice system broadly, means addressing internal police issues, including police management and leadership standards, worker safety, and police oversight. It also means addressing Canada’s federal, provincial, and municipal policing structures. While Conservatives believe that both cases of individual racism and structural failures leading to biased outcomes must be denounced and dealt with, we do not subscribe to the ideological narrative that holds that the RCMP and its officers form an inherently racist body that must be dismantled, defunded and divorced from clear national standards of practice. Addressing disproportionate outcomes in police enforcement, and Canada’s criminal justice system broadly, means addressing the many contributing social challenges such as poverty, addiction, mental health, lack of opportunity, historical injustices, education, and general cultural awareness. The committee’s study and subsequent report did not consider these issues.

Canada requires a strong and effective national law enforcement agency, and the need to address racism in policing does not eliminate the need to deal with rising gang violence, cyber-crime, illegal firearms trafficking and other criminality. Nor does it make it a realistic prospect, even from a purely operational standpoint, to replace the RCMP as the primary local law enforcement agency for large areas of Canada with a patchwork of new community police forces. While some larger communities such as Surrey and Red Deer are heading in that direction, and the Federal Government needs to uphold these provincial decisions, it is far from clear that the many communities across Canada that depend on RCMP contract policing, particularly in less populous rural and northern areas would want to see it abandoned and replaced. Despite the more negative episodes of its history and the need for change in the present, the RCMP remains a national institution that has played a vital role in Canada’s development and the preservation of law and order Canadians can continue to be proud of the institution, and support the officers that serve their community with dignity and integrity. 

Police recruitment and funding 

The committee knows from reports by the RCMP, the federal government, and the National Police Federation that the RCMP are short staffed in many parts of the country. The RCMP continue annually to have fewer recruits entering the service than members retiring. The committee’s studies on both the Merlo-Davidson Report and Rural Crime further highlight the fact that unfilled police vacancies create additional stress and pressures on officers and contribute to a deteriorating workplace environment, which has a negative effect on the ability of RCMP officers to serve their local communities. This cannot possibly lead to improved interactions between the RCMP and the communities they serve. 

Despite nearly $1 billion in additional spending per year, the federal government has failed to address the recruitment shortfall in staff and RCMP officers. This has an acute effect on rural and smaller community detachments in particular. Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security believe the federal government must make increasing RCMP recruitment capacity a priority. If the RCMP is unable to recruit and train enough staff to address attrition, it is unlikely to be able to increase the diversity of its rank members as the report recommends. The government cannot simply tell the RCMP to meet diversity targets when it is critically understaffed. The “defunded”, community based patchwork RCMP the report recommends may be even less likely to be able to meet its staffing needs and targets. 

Training 

Other recommendations, especially 36 and 40 suggest replacing national standards and programs for the training and education of officers with local, community oriented programs in which officers would be trained and according to the needs and cultures of the communities they would serve. Paradoxically, recommendation 9 calls for the establishment of a National Police College. From an operational standpoint these two recommendations are in total contradiction and could never effectively coexist in practice. A patchwork of community police services trained differently for local needs can’t apply national standards. We believe that RCMP officers must continue to be trained according to a single coherent national program and set of standards, with community specific training to be provided subsequently. Such training should take into account the many legitimate concerns the study has raised. 

Use of Force 

Recommendation 32 notably suggests setting out new standards for reasonable use of force.

It is unclear, from testimony heard by this committee, whether it is the use of force guidelines, or if it is the training and enforcement of currently in place use of force guidelines, that is problematic and that is failing across the country.

Decriminalizing drugs 

As with the recommendations aimed at defunding the police, we strongly disagree with recommendations 24 and 25 which call for decriminalizing the possession of all illicit drugs and offering pardons for individuals convicted of simple possession. These recommendations represent an extreme, ideological approach out of step with those of most other jurisdictions. It should, in any case, not be included in a report focused on addressing racism in policing. 

Internal Challenges to future legislation 

Addressing disproportionate outcomes in police enforcement, and Canada’s criminal justice system broadly, means addressing internal police issues, including police management and leadership standards, worker safety, and police oversight. It also means addressing Canada’s federal, provincial, and municipal policing structures.

Addressing internal police issues cannot be done without a comprehensive understanding of current and future federal police frameworks. This requires full disclosure and access to information from the federal government. Unfortunately, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has not been forthcoming on planned legislation, regulations, spending, or timelines regarding Canadian policing. Notably, the Minister of Public Safety has announced his intention to table an Indigenous Policing Act but declined to provide a timeline or parameters for the legislation. Conservatives support the co-development of this legislation with Indigenous communities, and would urge the government to act quickly in this regard. However we would note that the committee’s report has failed to provide clear guidance in this regard, particularly as to whether an Indigenous policing program would be local or national in scope and whether it would be funded through new investments or a reallocation of funding from the RCMP. 

Conclusion 

Addressing racism in Canadian policing is a challenge that requires the continuing efforts of all members of the policing community, the criminal justice system, and leadership from elected officials. Without clear leadership from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Safety, any proposals put forward by the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security – which lacks the authority to implement legislative, regulatory and policy changes – will fail. Countless reports, expert witness testimony and our own history has made it clear there must be clear leadership from the Prime Minister and Minister to address challenges in the RCMP.

The committee’s report on systemic racism in policing notes many important issues within the RCMP, and some of the recommendations the report provides could have a positive impact on the performance of Canadian policing. However, there is a need for concerted political leadership in addressing the larger public policy challenges related to policing - this is a critical component in addressing these challenges. Identifying problems with policing is important, but more important is identifying real solutions to stamp out racism, increasing Indigenous and racialized Canadian participation, and regaining public trust. Defunding or arbitrarily dismantling institutions is not a solution but is evidence of allowing frustration to triumph over meaningful reform.