Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is using some of his last hours in office to ask for a drastic and controversial shaking to one of the most emblematic institutions in the country: the RCMP.
In an exclusive interview, Trudeau presented why he believes that the Mounties should leave the surveillance of the boots on the land they provide in the provinces throughout the country and, on the other hand, focus on challenges such as national security, violent extremism and terrorism, money laundering, cyberrimic and organized crime, including fentanyl rings.
“We know that we have an extraordinary institution. But I know for having seen that the RCMP is tense, we have all seen it, when treating the level of threats and the new reality of a much more dangerous world,” he told CBC News.
The prime minister is taking out a white paper later on Monday that describes a brave and controversial vision for the RCMP to focus only on federal police priorities.
As it is, the RCMP also serves as a jurisdiction police in most provinces, three territories, 150 municipalities and around 600 indigenous communities.
The Prime Minister would see that the Police Service finally ends its contracts, which the reports have said that it absorbs resources and funds to the detriment of its federal wing of surveillance.
Trudeau argued that the “gap between making the necessary first -line application in a rural community through the grasslands or in the north, to persecute the most modern cybercounts that you can imagine that they threaten our children” is so vast that “it may not be the best use of our resources.”
“As politicians, as leaders, we have the responsibility to step back and say: ‘But is this suitable for the purpose in the 21st century?'” He said.
The government has faced pressure for a long time to reform RCMP
The Quid of the White Paper, a report that describes the government’s proposal for legislation or explanation of a political problem, is not new.
The calls to reform the RCMP have been increasing for years, maybe never as intense as after the mass shooting of 2020 in Nueva Scotia that left 22 people dead, the worst in Canadian history.
The resulting public investigation denounced the RCMP response to the crisis at almost every level and requested a radical change.
In 2023, a Special Intelligence and Security Committee warned the Trudeau Government that needed to pay urgent attention to federal surveillance or the risk that national security archives are not cracks.
The time of the newspaper, which came the day after the Federal Liberal Party chose its next leader and in recent days before Trudeau annuls the work he has carried out for nine years, he will probably obtain criticism.
“I have been trying to do this from the beginning. So this is not trying to touch something through the door,” he said, when asked about the moment of the proposal.
“This is me realizing that we are at a time when we have to bring the Canadians, all Canadians, to this conversation.”
Trudeau did not respond if he has discussed his vision with his successor, saying that following his vision would probably track multiple mandates from different prime ministers.
The White Paper is a guide to advance, but to continue through a legislative review, a new training academy, budget updates and negotiation rounds.
He argued that this plan is for a future prime minister, “if you want to take national security seriously, if you want to take advantage of the responsibility of keeping Canadians safe.”
Proposal not supported in all areas
The previous iterations of the idea of abandoning contractual surveillance have not received general support, and Trudeau’s proposal will probably find detractors with the Union of RCMP, the National Police Federation and some provinces.
While places like Alberta have discussed the elimination of mounties over the years, and cities such as Surrey, BC, have already done so, others say that the cost of doing so is only too high.
According to existing contractual agreements of the RCMP, the provinces and territories pay 70 percent of the cost of the RCMP services and the federal government covers the rest.
The agreements will expire in 2032. The White Paper suggests that it could be a good transition point and requires the provinces to start thinking about their “now” needs and solutions.
The RCMP Commissioner, Mike Duheme, speaks with the power and policy on arrests made in the murder, the drug decriminalization of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and what he must change within the RCMP to prepare it for future challenges.
“I think, frankly, that 70-30 are divided, and the fact that the federal government delivers a value of $ 800 million in the value of the surveillance that the provinces do not pay every year, is something that we are looking to fix anyway,” Trudeau said.
The prime minister said that could mean that the provinces are alone or, for example, to have a police force of the Atlantic or an agency that covers all the prairies.
The White Paper, which was shared with CBC News before its public launch, says that the government should work with territorial leaders and indigenous partners to “define a new police model to support just access to adequate and effective police services that reflect their unique needs and circumstances.”
The outgoing leader said that he is not saying how long this process should take or how the provinces should turn, but that the conversation must happen.
“Every time one of those arises, it is like, ‘oh, well, the RCMP will decrease.’ Well, no, the RCMP with the Stetsons and the musical journey and the history and the bison, but also that extraordinary international reputation of which Canadians must be proud and can be proud, they must be equipped with people,” he said.
The shaking is personal for Trudeau, who, as he pointed out, was raised surrounded by the RCMP when his father was prime minister.
“I was raised in the Loco River Trampist Stories, Mounties always get their man, this idea of the mounties as something iconic and core of who Canada is, “he said.
“One of the things I wanted to do when I was chosen prime minister was to make sure that RCMP structures and abilities and skills were worthy of the incredible men and women that are useful.”
The last day of Trudeau in office is not yet clear, but he told the journalists last week that he would make the transition to his successor in the next few days.
