Head of RCMP's advisory board resigns, citing frustrations with federal government

Pointing to his frustrations with the federal government, the head of the RCMP's Management Advisory Board has resigned after less than a year in the chair.

Kent Roach, a well-known critic of policing and author of Canadian Policing: Why and How it Must Change, was appointed chair of the 13-member civilian body in January. His appointment followed years of claims by critics that the board was too secretive at a time when major policing issues were dominating headlines.

In his September resignation letter, released to CBC through an access to information request, Roach said he was stepping down "with regrets."

"I took this position on the understanding that the government was committed in the minister of public safety's mandate letter to 'enhancing the Management Advisory Board to create an oversight role over the RCMP,'" he wrote to Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

"Unfortunately, I have seen no signs of such a commitment."

According to the government, the Management Advisory Board (MAB) was created in 2019 "to provide expert external advice and guidance to the RCMP Commissioner on key modernization and management matters."

In his partially redacted resignation letter, Roach questioned the board's independence and powers.

"Four years after its creation by amendments to the RCMP Act, the MAB is still financed from the RCMP's budget and relies upon staff that work for the RCMP," he wrote.

"The MAB has no formal role in the selection of a commissioner or its senior leaders,"

MAB kept out of the loop on contract policing: Roach

Roach also argued he was left out of a crucial conversation about the future of RCMP contract policing.

The federal government is reviewing the RCMP's contract policing obligations. Some municipalities have been considering ditching the Mounties for their own police forces.

Mounties are assigned to contract policing in roughly 150 municipalities, all three territories and in all provinces except Ontario and Quebec. The RCMP's current policing agreements — municipal, provincial and territorial — expire in 2032.

RCMP officers gather before the start of the B.C. Law Enforcement Memorial march towards a ceremony at the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on September 24, 2023. (Chad Hipolito/Canadian Press)

The federal government's contract policy review comes as concerns mount about the RCMP's ability to carry out its federal mandate, which includes foreign interference, violent extremism and terrorism, organized crime and financial crime.

A special intelligence and security committee recently urged the federal government to change how the RCMP's federal policing wing functions, and warned that the alternative could amount to letting national security files fall through the cracks.

"The matter is urgent given that the existing contracts expire in 2032 and both the RCMP and contract partners suffer from the uncertainty about the future direction of contract policing," Roach wrote.

"I believe that despite its limited resources, the MAB can offer vital advice to the future evolution of contract policing. The MAB has also been kept largely in the dark on the government's work on the future of Indigenous policing and the future of the tripartite policing agreements."

Roach, a professor of law at the University of Toronto, also cited "irreconcilable tensions" between his role as an academic who studies and comments on policing issues and "what my former colleagues see as my role as MAB's chair."

During his tenure with the oversight body, Roach helped to launch a website to post updates on the board's work and granted media interviews. Before Roach was appointed chair, the MAB routinely rejected journalists' requests for information and referred them to the RCMP.

But even that website came with struggles, Roach said in his letter.

"The MAB has been able to launch its own website, but at this time has still been unable to post its reports or written advice to the commissioner because of a lack of capacity to comply with Treasury Board requirements with respect to accessibility," it says.

N.S. shooting report called for more transparency

One of the reports posted on the MAB website reviewed the training cadets receive at the RCMP's academy in Regina and raised serious concerns about the force's recruitment situation.

The board also examined the RCMP's use of a controversial neck restraint and concluded that the federal government's demand that the Mounties ban the carotid control technique was not backed up by evidence.

Before the website was launched, it was hard to get a sense of what the board was working on or what advice it had given to the RCMP — even as the Mounties came under intense scrutiny over allegations of systemic racism and their handling of the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc. (Shane Magee/CBC)

A public inquiry into that tragedy urged the MAB "to hold the RCMP accountable."

"The work of the Management Advisory Board for the RCMP should adhere to the principles of transparency and democratic accountability," says the final report from the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission, released in March.

In a statement posted to the MAB website, the remaining members thanked Roach for playing an instrumental role in modernizing the RCMP and increasing the transparency of the board.

Roach ended his letter by thanking the RCMP for its co-operation.

"I have been truly impressed by the professionalism and dedication of all RCMP members and staff that I have been fortunate to work with and I offer them my sincere thanks," he wrote.

When reached for comment, Roach said the letter speaks for itself.

In a media statement, LeBlanc's office also thanked Roach for his work.

"The board serves an important function in conducting independent oversight of our national police force — and we will continue to support its work," said spokesperson Jean-Sébastien Comeau.