RCMP should be updating the nation on reform efforts, head of watchdog body says

The head of the RCMP's watchdog body says she wants the national police force to start tablingannual reports explaining how it has succeeded or failed in following her reform recommendations.

The requestfrom the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission(CRCC) comes as the federal government promises to shakeup oversight of the RCMP sometime in 2021.

As head of the team of investigators and lawyers that probes public complaints against the RCMP, CRCC chairMichelaine Lahaieissues around 100 to150 recommendations every year.

But making recommendations can be easier than finding out whetherthe RCMP actually followed through on them.

"Part of the accountability profile is that they need to indicate when those recommendations have been implemented. And if they haven't, they need to be able to indicate why," Lahaie toldCBC News.

"My recommendation is that an annual report on the implementation of our recommendations be produced by the commissioner [of the RCMP]. I'm not tied to who that report needs to go to."

Just a few weeks ago, the CRCC released a report that expressed concerns about the RCMP's use of strip searchesand specifically called out the detachment in Iqaluit, where members have removed bras during body searches.

That followed a 2017 reportwhichfound "significant shortcomings" in the RCMP's personal search policies, which cover strip searches.

"We had no way of verifying that those recommendations had actually been implemented. So we undertook a second review and in the process of that review, we found out that some of those recommendations had been implemented, but not all of them," said Lahaie.

Over the summer, Lahaie told a committee of MPs that the RCMP hasn't been listening to the recommendations her agency has made in recent years regarding Mounties' behaviour on wellness calls when police officers check up on individuals after someone has expressed a concern about their health or safety.

She alsowarned the committee that theCRCC lacks theresources to follow up on the RCMP's implementation of its recommendations.That's part of the reasonwhy she sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair this fall callingfor more powers and resourcing.

Two bills that would have extendedthe CRCC's authority toincludepublic complaints againstthe Canada Border Services Agencydied in Parliamentdue an election and prorogation.

Statutory timelines a top demand

Lahaie has urged the minister to modify thosebills before reintroducing them. For starters, she wants the legislationto include statutory timelines for the RCMP commissioner to respond to theCRCC's reports.

While the RCMPis legally boundtorespond toCRCC reports, there are no statutory deadlines. It takes, on average, 17 months for the RCMP to reply to a CRCC report.

As of Dec. 15, there were 158 complaint review files still awaitinganRCMP response. One has been waiting more than four years, while 21 files have been in the queue for three to four years.

The force has insistedrepeatedlyit tries to respond in as timely amanner as possiblewhile also making sure the recommendations are assessed thoroughly.

The CRCC and the RCMPeven drafteda "memorandum of understanding"to set service standards on the release of the commission's reports,but it's not binding.

A number of high-profile CRCCinvestigation reportsincluding one onthe RCMP'sprobeof the 2016shooting death ofColten Boushiein Saskatchewanare still waiting public release because the commissioner's office was slow in providingthe requiredofficial responses to the watchdog.

"Right now the RCMP's responsiveness to public complaints is not up to the mark that I believe it needs to be,"Lahaiesaid. "Canadians have a right to receive timely responses to their complaints and right now that's not happening.

"A public complaints process is credible when it's responsive to the needs of Canadians. Our findings and recommendations are made at the time that those reports are written and in some cases,because there's such an incredible delay in the responses, those findings and recommendations are no longer relevant. And that is my greatest concern."

More resources needed, says chair

Lahaie's letter to Blair, obtained through an access to information request, also stressed the need for "adequate resourcing in order to ensure the commission continues to meet its core mandate."

Themain spending estimates for 2020-21show the commission,which employs 76 staffers,will see a dip in its budget, from $11.1 million inthe previous fiscal year to $10.19million.

Even as its funding drops, thewatchdog is reportinga 22 per cent increase in the number of complaints it receivedin 2019-2020 compared to the previous year. That rising workloadis eating away at the commission's discretionary funding, said Lahaie.

"We're just looking for an increase in our funding that's commensurate with the rise that we've seen in public complaints," she said.

"There is a great desire by the public to see police held accountable. They have extraordinary powers. They need to be held accountable for their actions."

The commission's larger investigations can be resource-intensive. The probe of the RCMP's response to anti-frackingprotests in New Brunswick, for example,cost more than $1.7 million, according to the CRCC'sletter to Blair.

The commission's pot of discretionary funding is used to fund systemic reviewswhich coverwider issues of policing. The commission has taken on workplace harassment in the past,and an investigationofthe RCMP's use of street checks is slated for the new year.

"I think systemic reviews are a great way of fixing policing before the incidents happen and right now, because of funding constraints, I'm not able to take on as many systemic reviews as I would like," Lahaie told CBC.

"I believe that, really, that's where we can effect great change in policing."

September's speech from the throne promised to move "forward on enhanced civilian oversight of our law enforcement agencies, including the RCMP."

A spokesperson forBlair said a bill concerning the CRCC will be coming in 2021, but it's not clear when.