PACP Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Public Accounts |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent des comptes publics |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
Restoring the honour of the RCMP
Ottawa, December 10, 2007 -
The government needs to take strong action to restore the honour of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the trust of Canadians in their national police force, according to a report tabled in the House of Commons today by Chair Shawn Murphy, MP.
During its study of the Auditor General’s November 2006 audit, Pension and Insurance Administration—Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts heard from 61 different witnesses over 15 hearings. The Committee heard allegations of fraud, abuse of authority, contracting irregularities, and harassment by senior members of the RCMP.
In order to address the serious wrongdoing that occurred during the outsourcing of the administration of the RCMP’s pension and insurance plans, the Committee’s report makes 31 recommendations, which include: improving procedures for disclosing wrongdoing, tightening the rules for contracting, strengthening the authority of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and the RCMP Ethics Advisor, and creating an independent police accountability board.
The Committee was disappointed by lack of leadership shown by the former Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli and the former Chief Financial Officer, Paul Gauvin, who should have acted more swiftly to prevent these abuses and to punish wrongdoers. The Committee was also disturbed the contradictory evidence provided by many witnesses, who need to take the issue of providing truthful testimony to parliamentary committees more seriously.
Along with the report of the Brown Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP, the Committee believes that its report points the way to restoring the RCMP’s high ethical standards, the honour of its members, and its reputation amongst Canadians.
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