The Most Powerful Symbol You Will See This Election

I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind. John Diefenbaker

On January 6, 1941, Franklin Roosevelt, in his State of the Union Address; put forward four tenets of freedom that every citizen should enjoy:

Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Worship
Freedom from Want
Freedom from Fear

I watched a short Canadian newsreel recently, that would have been shown in movie theatres as propaganda.  It was made in 1943, at a time when Canadians were growing weary of war.

Lorne Greene of Bonanza fame, narrated, and started out by showing victorious battle scenes in an attempt to convince the movie goers that we were winning.  They just had to hold on a bit longer.

He then repeated those four tenets of freedom, one at a time, with all the passion he could muster.

It was very moving, and they were not just empty promises.  On behalf of the Government of Canada, Social Scientist, Leonard Marsh, prepared a report that was presented to a House of Commons committee that year:  Report on Social Services for Canada; as part of the plan for post-war reconstruction.

It wasn't enough to just bring soldiers home, They had to come home to a country committed to making that country, not only worth coming home to, but with visible signs of the things they had fought for. Their sacrifices were not in vain and the welfare state was born.

Initially, the term was used to describe an industrial capitalist society, in which the state manipulated the market, but in 1967, British historian Asa Briggs, in The Welfare State, laid out revised provisions of what the welfare state should look like:

- Provision of minimum income
- Provision for the reduction of economic insecurity, resulting from sickness, old age and unemployment
- Provision to all members of society a range of social services

Not just the freedom from want but the freedom from need.  If we were expected to make sacrifices during wartime, we needed to be taken care of at times of peace.

Then in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, turned the whole thing upside down.  Forget all that.  There was no such thing as society and no need for social services.  Give more money to the wealthy and the resulting economic boost would trickle down to everyone.

The corporate welfare state was reborn.

Conservatives will take every opportunity to use the word "freedom",  but clearly have no idea what it means.  Chest thumping and carnivorous nationalism is not freedom.  

Instead of freedom from want, they leave society wanting, and use fear, attacks on religious groups and stifling of free speech, so they can have us participate in perpetual war.

Photo-ops with soldiers, first responders, or anyone in uniform, might make you look good, but you can't remove them from the picture once the cameras are turned off.

Those who risk their lives for us, deserve better.  Indeed, all Canadians do.

Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die.  Pierre Trudeau

This election campaign, we're hearing a lot about the middle class.  There's no denying that a strong middle class is tantamount to economic security.  However, even with a strong middle class, there was still poverty. 

There was still want.

Instead of a higher minimum wage, that will only force small businesses out, we need a living wage guarantee for everyone. We need a strong social safety net, that includes a housing strategy, so terms like "homelessness" and "food banks" are removed from everyday conversation.

Courage, my friends; 'tis not too late to build a better world. Tommy Douglas

George Bush referring to corporations as "job creators" is a myth.  Corporations only create jobs when it's convenient to do so, and will shed jobs anytime they threaten their bottom line (as we're seeing now in Alberta).  And despite the fact that the public has subsidized these corporations for years, shareholders take priority over stakeholders.

Enough is enough.

A recent Nanos poll indicates that 2/3 of Canadians are ready for a change.  It's up to us to make sure that that change, is not simply more of the same.

If a picture speaks to us, the image of the crest above is speaking volumes.  It's not only a reminder of what freedom was supposed to look like, but also a reminder that we are failing our heroes and heroines.

Patriotism is not dying for one's country, it is living for one's country, and for humanity. Perhaps that is not as romantic, but it's better. Agnes MacPhail

China Must be Called to Task Over Human Rights Violations

Stephen Harper is visiting China for trade talks, and many believe that as the heads of the two countries meet, human rights issues must be addressed.

Warning:  These stories may be disturbing.

 - A vocal opponent of the government and an advocate for human rights, is routinely questioned.  They also target his associates and friends warning them that the man is an anarchist, despite the fact that he is merely a vocal opponent of the government . (1)

 - A popular U.S. journalist is stopped at the border and held for 90 minutes as officials search her papers and computer then demand to know what she will be speaking about when in the country. (2)

- Foreign lecturers are routinely banned if it is deemed that their views contradict government policy (3)

- Without even engaging in protests, citizens are harassed on the chance that they might. (4)

- The government regularly monitors newspapers, broadcasts, and websites. (5)

- Policing at protests is militarized. (6)

- Journalists are silenced (7), arrested (8), intimidated by police (9) and held hostage (10).

- Books are banned (11), scientists (12), whistle blowers (13) and police (14) are silenced.

- University professors are targeted. (15)

- Anyone protesting government policy is automatically deemed to be an enemy of the state. (16)

- The country is even being investigated for possible war crimes. (17)

And things are not much better in China.

The media is criticizing Stephen Harper's down on his knees begging for Chinese exports, as being hypocritical.  For years he purposely shunned them, saying that some things were more important than the "almighty dollar".

However, I think the real hypocrisy is coming from the Canadian people.  We are demanding that China be held to account for its human rights abuses, while ignoring the growing number of human rights abuses at home.

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see." -  Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sources:

1. When CSIS rings your doorbell: With the G20 Summit approaching, political activists accuse the federal spy agency of trying to undermine democracy and freedom of speech,  by Catherine Solyom, The Gazette June 11, 2010

2. U.S. journalist grilled at Canada border crossing

3a. Too Dangerous for Canada
3b. Banned From Canada for a Year for War Protest,  by Ann Wright, October 30, 2007
3c. U.S. anti-war protester barred from Canada: And Peace Activist Alison Bodine was banned for     two years, The Chronicle, October 30, 2007

4.  RCMP Deny Harassing Olympic Protesters 

5. Ottawa spends nearly $40 million on media monitoring

6a. May Toronto's G20 be the last
6b. Amnesty International calls for review of security measures at G8 and G20 summits in Ontario
6c. 'I have lived in Toronto for 32 years. have never seen a day like this'
6d. Young protester not backing down
6e. Diversion possible

7. Controlling The Message
7b. PM Harper's iron message control working

8. WHO GAVE THE G20 COMMANDER HIS COMMANDS?
8b. Canadian journalist arrested, possibly beaten

9. Cons Order RCMP to Block Media  Media have no flight plan on PM's plane

10. Media have no flight plan on PM's plane

11. Tories muzzle environmental scientist: Catch a fire

12. Federal scientist unfairly silenced, union says

13. Effectively silencing Canada’s whistleblowers
 
14. Federal government has no business micromanaging RCMP commissioner

15. Tories accused of digging up dirt on ‘Liberal’ profs

16. Affidavit accuses Prime Minister's Office of threatening environmental charity
 
17. Could Canadians be charged with war crimes? If public inquiry not called, Canadians may be charged at International Criminal Court

Stephen Harper Inches Canada Even Closer Toward a Dictatorship

Within weeks of being elected in 2006, Stephen Harper limited access to his government, by both the media and the public.  He closed down a searchable database that provided easier access to information, and forbid any questioning of his ministers, without his approval, and even then questions had to be presented in advance.

Time magazine found Harper's actions so disturbing that they published an article on it:  Controlling the Message.  In the piece, Alasdair Roberts, a Syracuse University public-policy professor, asks, "How can the average Canadian make a judgment about whether their government is being well run if they don't have access to the information?"

A very good question, but what Roberts may not know is that since that time, things have only gotten worse.

Harper's office has been taking their own press photos, creating their own videos (Taxpayers on hook for $1.7-million as PMO rolls out video, By Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press, December 08, 2009), and have made most media events by "invitation only". 

They scripted their response to accusations of detainee abuse as early as 2007, causing one NATO official to suggest that Stephen Harper's office used a "6,000-mile screwdriver" to oversee the denial process.  Canada became the only country with troops in Afghanistan, not to have an independent media, and all news of the war, was directed from the PMO.

They have created a 200 page manual that caucus members must use to disrupt Parliamentary committees and a Purple File where embarrassing information requests are kept and dealt with directly by Harper's team.

None of this is surprising to those of us who have tracked Stephen Harper's career from Reform Party policy wonk to leading the National Citizens Coalition.

The annual gathering of the Writers' Union of Canada took place in Ottawa in June, with many former chairs on hand to offer memories of their time in office. Susan Crean remembered encountering a young, blue-eyed politico at a constitutional conference in Calgary in 1992. When the man learned that she had co-authored a certain book about American domination of Canadian and Quebec politicians, the man responded: "You should not have been allowed to write that book."

The man: Stephen Harper. Crean never forgot his words, but especially the word allowed. The room full of writers in Ottawa issued a gasp. Crean later elaborated on the encounter. "Harper spoke to me first and asked if I had written 'that book.' I asked which one, and he mentioned Two Nations, which I wrote with Quebec activist/sociologist and well known independentiste Marcel Rioux. ... Harper was clearly still angry about having had to read it at university. In his view, I took it, the book was treasonous. I was so shaken by his words, and his open hostility, that I immediately left the dining room." (A less proud country, By Lawrence Scanlan, Straightgoods, August 9, 2010)

We recently learned that Harper has added another very disturbing element to his message control.  He will now be censoring the RCMP.  Our RCMP.

The Star obtained a copy of a new communications protocol that requires the RCMP to flag anything that might “garner national media attention” to Public Safety Canada.  Everything from “media advisories, news releases, background info, media lines and talking points for spokespersons and senior officials/members” must be vetted.

Statements by RCMP members who appear before parliamentary committees would likely be massaged by the federal government beforehand, as the document clearly defines a “major event” as “an incident, event, announcement, and/or speaking engagement likely to garner national media attention.”

Is there anything left that would make Canada not a totalitarian country? If you know of something please share it with me, because this is very frightening.

Ursula Franklin -- the celebrated physicist, pacifist, author and Companion of the Order of Canada -- recently spoke to CBC Radio's The Current. She had survived a Nazi death camp and come to Canada hoping for better. Now 88, Franklin is "profoundly worried about the absence and erosion of democracy in Canada." (Scanlan 2010)

Why are the RCMP so Good at Routing Out Michael Ignatieff's Facebook Friends, But Can't Spot a Criminal at 50 Feet?

During the Maxime Bernier scandal, when he left sensitive documents in the apartment of his girlfriend, an ex-biker chic, the media focused on the sex angle.

What they should have focused on was her criminal past and why she was granted access to our foreign minister. Harper allowed the RCMP to take the blame, but given his control, it's rather doubtful that he didn't know who she was.

Now in the words of Yogi Berra, "It's Deja Vu all over again".

Bruce Carson was granted unprecedented access to Stephen Harper, despite a criminal past that included ties to money laundering.

Convicted fraudster Bruce Carson’s past should have raised red flags that he was a security risk to government, even if he may not have been a likely target for blackmail, some former CSIS experts suggest. “Any investigator in my 33-years’ experience, nobody would have recommended to keep that guy. Nobody,” former CSIS intelligence officer Michael Juneau-Katsuya said about Carson being green-lighted for a secret-level security clearance.

A secret clearance is given to many federal employees and is the second-lowest security clearance level. Carson, a former senior aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, obtained a secret clearance despite having been convicted of five fraud charges in the early 1980s and 1990s.

And Harper is not explaining how Carson was given the contract to sell us on the tar sands. Millions of taxpayer dollars.

And worse still why he became the point man on the Afghan file, a place where screening is of the utmost importance.

Stephen Harper now says he never would have hired Carson had he known all the details of his criminal past. But starting in 2007, Carson was a regular participant in daily telephone briefings on Afghanistan involving senior officials from departments such as foreign affairs, defence, RCMP, justice and corrections.

“It was evident to all the departments that he was the main player, Harper’s point man on the file,” said one source familiar with the briefings. “He was given the most sensitive file to work on . . . it’s not like he was working in the mailroom.”

The media has also been focusing a lot on the sex angle, but this is a very serious breech, that could be a threat to national security.

We could ask Harper but we know what he'll say. Absolutely nothing. Or at least not anything that isn't a lie.

Remember May 2. Our last best chance.

If the RCMP Want to Poke Me They'll Have to Buy me Dinner First

There is a funny column in the Globe, relating to the RCMP now screening and removing dissidents (NDP or Liberal supporters) from Harper's staged rallies.

If Harper's Mounties want to poke me, they'll have to friend me first

I usually vote Liberal. I'm putting that up front, to save any RCMP officer burdened with the task of Googling me from having to search long. Also, my Facebook page is set to Private, guys. I think I did you a favour there, because I imagine that you've seen the cute video with the twins talking to each other a lot now, and I'm not on Facebook often anyway. If I had a party affiliation and it changed, I might not update it for weeks. If you can access my page, fine. Just don't “poke” me or send me multiple invites to your one-man show, Man Without Horse.

It's funny and a good read, though it would be funnier if it wasn't true. Now it's just frightening.

So what will it cost the RCMP if they want to "poke" you?

What is the Role of the Police in the Country Now Known as Harper?

In his book Duty: The Life of a Cop, Julian Fantino praises Guiliano Zaccardelli, the disgraced former RCMP commissioner, who interfered in the 2006 election, helping to win it for Stephen Harper. Of course an endorsement from Fantino is dubious at best. He rose up the ranks because of his friendship with Mike Harris.

He was a terrible cop.

The late James Travers had been writing frequently of the politicizing of the RCMP, and now Tim Harper has picked up the issue. We can't let it go until we are given answers from Stephen Harper himself. (as likely as his ever balancing the books)

But what Zaccardelli did was a very serious offense in a democratic country.

During the 2008 election campaign, Conservative Rob Clarke had a uniformed RCMP officer delivering his lawn signs.

Conservative MP Shelley Glover, told Evan Solomon that "it's a known fact that all criminals vote Liberal and all cops vote Conservative."

And the RCMP often use physical force against journalists daring to ask Stephen Harper a question.

So who do they work for now?

The hiring of Conservative insider Bill Elliot, is only one questionable decision in a long line of questionable decisions.

And learning that the RCMP are screening those attending Conservative rallies, shows that they no longer even pretend to be independent of the Conservative party.

If Stephen Harper gets another mandate, this will only get worse. Lawrence Martin may tell Harper that Canada is not a police state, but our votes or lack thereof, could confirm that it indeed is.

We will be giving him permission to continue this course. Are we really prepared for this?

Vote and vote wisely.

RCMP: The Illegitimacy of Democracy and the Erosion of Public Trust

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

"Whenever justice is uncertain and police spying and terror are at work, human beings fall into isolation, which, of course, is the aim and purpose of the dictator state." Carl Jung

When William Elliot was named as new RCMP Commissioner in July of 2007, it raised more than a few eyebrows. (1)

And it was not simply for the fact that he was a career bureaucrat, with no police experience, but because he was a Conservative insider, an old crony from Brian Mulroney's days. In fact his brother Richard was married to Brian Mulroney's sister. It's hard to get anymore inside than that.

He was around during the days of the Giga Text scandal, that helped to bring down the Saskatchewan government, something I've written about before. Stevie Cameron, in her book On the Take: Crime, Corruption and Greed in the Mulroney Years, identifies Elliot's position and also reports on a real estate deal that she included as part of that scandal.

It was at this point that Montpetit and GigaText entered into an interesting real estate deal. Bill Elliott, the Regina lawyer, was a senior partner at McPherson Elliott and Tyreman, a leading law firm in the city. The firm's offices occupied a two-storey building in a suburb. The wealthy Hill family wanted to build an office tower in downtown Regina and went to Elliott for a large loan because he was chairman of the provincially run Saskatchewan Pension Funds. Elliott helped them win approval for the loan, and as soon as the tower was up, Elliott's law firm leased two floors. Sixty per cent of the building was rented to the provincial government for offices. Then the law firm sold its old two-storey building to the Hill family for $1.75 million, an excellent price for the firm. The Hill family needed tenants for the old building, too, and fortunately GigaText appeared just in time to fill the space. The lease arrangement made everyone happy. (2)

Nothing illegal, but the optics were damaging none the less, and lent itself to an overall distrust.

Stephen Harper appointed him "to clean up the RCMP", after the damaging tenure of Giuliano Zaccardelli, who not only tampered with the 2006 election, but was also named in pension fraud allegations. The Harper government went well beyond the limits of their powers, to protect Zaccardelli, the man who had handed them their election victory.

But it soon became clear that Elliot was not appointed to "clean up" anything. He was there to go after those who blew the whistle, and what he created was chaos. As James Travers reports:

Controversial when announced in 2007, Harper’s choice of a bureaucrat with no policing experience and a Tory background is now an embarrassment with implications stretching beyond Canada. Elliott’s dictatorial management style and the resulting mutiny are focusing unwanted domestic and international attention on the shaky leadership of this country’s security services. (3)

And what was also clear, was that Stephen Harper was politicizing the RCMP and bringing them under his control. A dangerous act in a democracy, as a letter by David Hutton of Ottawa suggests:

Only tinpot Third World countries — and Canada — have their national police force reporting directly to the government of the day. ... Most developed countries ensure that the police have an arms-length relationship with politicians, in order to uphold the law impartially, without political interference or favour. Yet our Mounties report to a minister and brief him regularly on what they are doing — just as if the RCMP were a government department. No doubt the Mounties also receive regular guidance on their priorities — just like a government department does. (4)

And the RCMP has become a political nightmare, as Elliot played the role of a partisan politician, and not as an officer of what should have remained an arms length agency.

There is a shakeup at the top of the RCMP as senior officers who complained about Commissioner William Elliott's style last summer are quitting or being forced out, CBC News has learned. Deputy commissioner Raf Souccar has been asked to leave the force, with trust cited as the reason. And deputy commissioner Tim Killam has given notice that he will retire in December.

Assistant commissioner Mike McDonell, who left the RCMP in August, wrote to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews last week, saying those who came forward last summer "have simply become sacrificial lambs." Senior RCMP officers complained about Elliott to some of the highest levels of the federal government on two occasions in July. They accused Elliott, who became the first civilian to head the Mounties in July 2007, of being verbally abusive, closed-minded, arrogant and insulting. (5)

Which brings us to why Elliot showed up at the G-20. Was it he who instructed the troops to make security a secondary consideration? Were they told that their primary job was to stifle dissent? To attack peaceful protesters?

After all, he works for Stephen Harper, and learned how to play the game as a Mulroney crony.

A senior Mountie commander told the federal government that RCMP Commissioner William Elliott “disrupted” the federal government’s billion-dollar security operation for the G8 and G20 summits – simply by showing up for the events. “Despite being advised not to attend the summit command centres on June 25, 2010, the commissioner chose to attend, and in doing so, completely disrupted operations,” Mike McDonell, then an RCMP assistant commissioner, wrote in a letter to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. (6)

"There are only two choices: A police state in which all dissent is suppressed or rigidly controlled; or a society where law is responsive to human needs." William Orville Douglas

Sources:

1. New RCMP boss vows to rise above lack of police experience, CBC News, July 6, 2007

2. On the Take: Crime, Corruption and Greed in the Mulroney Years, By Stevie Cameron, Macfarlane Walter & Ross, 1994, ISBN: 0-921912-73-0, Pg. 254

3. Failed experiment dooms RCMP boss, By James Travers, Toronto Star, October 21, 2010

4. Politicized RCMP represents danger, Letters to the Editor, By David Hutton, Toronto Star, October 20, 2010

5. Top RCMP officers forced out or quitting: They complained about Commissioner Elliott's leadership style, CBC News, October 18, 2010

6. RCMP boss hurt G20 security efforts: letter from senior Mountie, By Colin Freeze and Daniel LeBlanc, Globe and Mail, October 19, 2010

The Politics of Opportunity: Election Tampering

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

A vote of non-confidence on November 28, 2005, resulted in the fall of Paul Martin's government and the beginning of an election campaign. At the time the Liberals were running about 10 points ahead of Harper's Conservative-Alliance coalition.

On the same day, NDP finance critic, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, sent a letter to the RCMP requesting an investigation into allegations that some people had made stock market gains through advance knowledge of the federal government's decision not to tax income trusts. "The media has reported a sharp and unusual increase of trading in income trust investments in the hours immediately preceding the Finance Minister's [Ralph Goodale] announcement. There has been speculation in the press that a leak about the government's decision could be responsible."(1)

What happened next continues to remain a mystery, but what is clear is that members of the RCMP were involved in election tampering, that went straight to their former boss, Giuliano Zaccardelli.

Zaccardelli responded to the NDP MP's inquiry, suggesting that they had already started an investigation. But her offices were closed for the holidays so he took the unprecedented step of calling her personally to make sure that she read the letter. Wasylycia-Leis not only posted it on her website, but also called a press conference to announce that the Liberals were the subject of an RCMP investigation. This caused an immediate drop in Liberal popularity (2), a surge in Conservative momentum, and was instrumental in Harper becoming prime minister.

And to make matters worse, the RCMP actually mentioned Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale by name, a man with a squeaky clean reputation, and though he was cleared of any wrong doing, that cloud continues to hang over his head, as evidenced by comments posted now and then by Harper supporters.

So Why Did Giuliano Zaccardelli Do It?

Lawrence Martin believes that the RCMP chief had an axe to grind with Paul Martin.

The Mountie intrusion into the election campaign led to accusations that the force was biased against the Martin Liberals. This was a telling piece of irony for the Conservatives, who had long suspected the Mounties of being too close to Jean Chretien. During the uproar over alleged conflicts of interest in the Shawinigate controversy, Conservatives had howled in protest at how the Mounties appeared to be backing Chretien at every turn.

Giuliano Zaccardelli, then the RCMP commissioner, enjoyed a close working relationship with Chretien. One time at an American embassy reception he told a journalist just how that relationship had benefited him. He described how he was now a celebrated figure in his Italian home town because of his status as commissioner. What had helped him succeed, he explained, was that he had backed the right Liberal horse. His fellow Italian, Liberal MP Maurizio Bevilacqua, didn't enjoy the same status in his home country, Zaccardelli said, because he had sided with the wrong guy—Paul Martin. (3)

Paul Martin recognized the animosity but believed that it was because Zaccardelli was upset when he called an inquiry into the Arar affair that put him him right in the thick of it. He describes the events:

The decisive moment in the campaign came three days after Christmas. I was in a hotel room in Halifax when Alex Himelfarb reached me by phone with the news. I realized the significance right away. What had happened was unbelievable and built on a falsehood, as subsequent events have proven. It was nonetheless devastating.

Guiliano Zaccardelli, the then still-respected commissioner of the RCMP, had written a letter before Christmas to the NDP'S finance critic, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, saying that the RCMP had launched a criminal investigation into the possible leak of a planned change on the taxation of income trusts announced by Ralph Goodale the previous month.

There is no doubt in my mind that what Zaccardelli did was improper. The only question there can be about the incident is whether it was an act of ineptitude or of malice aforethought. My own view is that no one can be that inept ... Was it my decision to call the Arar inquiry? (4)

He also hints that the Conservatives may have been involved, which gains credibility given the actions of the Harper government when they came to power. Maybe they just owed Zaccardelli a debt, but they went well beyond simple gratitude, raising even more questions about the entire affair.

Following the election, there was no immediate call for an inquiry. For the defeated Liberals to have demanded one would have appeared self-serving. The NDP had played the role of willing enabler for the RCMP plan, so it was not keen to demand accountability. And Prime Minister Stephen Harper, unlike Paul Martin and his zeal to appoint Judge Gomery to uncover his own party's scandal, had no interest in investigating a scandal that had helped the Conservatives win.

On September 18, 2oo6, the inquiry Paul Martin had launched into the illegal rendition of Maher Arar to Syria by U.S. authorities, headed by Mr. Justice Dennis O'Connor, reported its findings. Maher Arar was completely exonerated, but the O'Connor Commission found that the RCMP had passed incorrect information about Arar to the Americans. It found that Commissioner Zaccardelli had misinformed the solicitor general both about the likelihood that Arar was tortured, as well as darkly hinting that Arar had real terrorist links. Heads should have rolled, but Commissioner Zaccardelli kept his and he was not asked to submit his resignation when the report was issued. (1)

Instead the Harper government built a wall around the commissioner, and went to extraordinary lengths to protect him.

Within days, there were allegations that the Prime Minister's Office and the office of Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day had ordered the commissioner not to appear before the Commons Public Safety and National Security Committee. In the House of Commons on September 24, 2006, interim Leader of the Opposition Bill Graham repeated former RCMP Commissioner Norman Inkster's claim that Zaccardelli was being muzzled by the Harper government. It was a subject of much media speculation when Zaccardelli refused to appear before the House Committee. A confidante of Zaccardelli approached the media to assert that Stockwell Day had written Zaccardelli to instruct him to avoid the House Committee. (1)

When it was later determined that he had lied under oath he was forced to resign but never really punished. (5) And even after that his name came up once more in a criminal investigation over the misuse of pension funds. And again the Harper government stepped in:

The next troubling scandal was over the misuse of RCMP pension funds. A month before Commissioner Zaccardelli resigned, an RCMP whistle-blower, Staff Sergeant Ron Lewis, sent a package to every member of the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons. The package documented allegations of RCMP senior officers misusing RCMP pension funds. (1)

And when a House Committee was formed to look into the matter:

The members of the committee voted down proceeding with an investigation. To be more precise, the five Conservative members of the committee acted as a group to block any investigation. And they did so repeatedly from the fall of 2006 until they lost by one vote and the RCMP whistle-blowers finally appeared in April 2007 ... At every key point when the committee voted to deal with the issue, they [the Conservatives] blocked it or tried to block it. The Conservative committee members also blocked pursuing reports from the auditor general that all was not well within the RCMP. (1)

In a column Don Martin wrote:

It's incredible and inexplicable why a government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which wraps itself in the uniform of aggressive law and order, would vote repeatedly to deny RCMP officers access to the spot-light when they were willing to risk their careers telling a disquieting truth . . . there's no sensible explanation for why Conservatives, who usually act in unison in committees, would circle the wagons against RCMP insiders seeking to blow the whistle ... (6)

This was a very serious situation. We have our national police force getting involved in an election campaign, essentially winning it for the Conservatives. And we have those same Conservatives breaking every rule in the book to make sure that the head of that police force does not have to answer to serious allegations against him in both a torture case and the possible misappropriation of funds. (7) Things like this happen in third world dictatorships, not western democracies.

And where is Giuliano Zaccardelli now? Someone obviously pulled some strings because he is now a senior official with Interpol in Lyons, France, heading its “OASIS Africa” program which aims to help African police forces more effectively combat international crime.(8) Unbelievable.

Previous:

The Politics of Contempt: The Nixon-Harper Ticket

The Politics of Hate: Where Will it Lead?

The Politics of Conceit: "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better"

Sources:

1. Losing Confidence: Power, Politics and Crisis in Canadians Democracy, By Elizabeth May, McClelland & Stewart, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-7710-5760-1, Pg. 132-147

2. Income trust a major campaign turning point, Canadian Press, January 22, 2006

3. Harperland:The Politics of Control, By Lawrence Martin, Viking Press, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-670-06517-2, Pg. 30

4. Hell or High Water: My Life in and Out of Politics, By Paul Martin, McClelland & Stewart, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-7710-5692-5

5. RCMP's Zaccardelli resigns over Arar testimony, By CTV News Staff, December 6 2006

6. Block Party? No Clear Explanation Why Tories Obstructed RCMP Whistle Blower, By Don Martin, National Post, April 3, 2007

7. RCMP officers accuse top ranks of coverup, CBC News, March 28, 2007

8. Wikipedia

Conservative Meddling in Gun Registry Could Cost Lives

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

On March 5, 2001, RCMP Constable, Jurgen Seewald, 47, was killed with one blast from a shotgun, while responding to a domestic dispute in Cape Dorset, Nunavut. The 26-year veteran of the force had only moved to the northern community a few months earlier. (1)

On December 21, 2001, RCMP Constable Dennis Strongquill, 52, and his partner stop a truck near Russell, Manitoba, intending to cite the driver for failing to dim his high beams. A passenger gets out of the truck and starts shooting. The two officers jump back in their RCMP SUV and start driving toward a nearby RCMP detachment. In the parking lot, the pursuing truck smashes the police SUV into a fence, trapping Strongquill inside. A passenger of the truck gets out and fires a shotgun at Strongquill, fatally wounding him before fleeing the scene. (2)

On February 28, 2004, Martin Ostopovich, after a four-hour standoff with the police, got into his truck with two hunting rifles. Two constables used their cruiser to plow into the truck as a tactical move. When Corporal James Galloway then got out of his vehicle, Ostopovich fired his rifle, killing the officer. (3)

On March 3, 2005, four RCMP officers are ambushed and shot to death on a farm near Rochfort Bridge, Alta. They were investigating reports of stolen auto parts as well as a small marijuana grow operation. They were shot by a man armed with with a high-powered rifle. The suspect, identified as 46-year-old Jim Roszko, also shot himself. (4)

On July 7, 2006, two RCMP officers answered a domestic abuse call in Mildred Saskatchewan. The suspect ran out of the house and fled in a pick-up truck, causing the officers to follow. Another RCMP cruiser joined in the chase, when the driver of the truck, began firing a rifle at his pursuers. Const. Robin Cameron, 29, and Const. Marc Bourdages, 26, were both hit and died later in hospital. (5)

Just before midnight, on November 5, 2007; 20-year-old RCMP constable, Douglas Scott, responded to a domestic dispute in the tiny hamlet of Kimmirut, Nunavut. Reports of a drunken man, Pingoatuk Kolola, who had threatened his girlfriend and was now driving around recklessly, caused the officer to proceed with caution. He became even more cautious, when he realized that the man was holding a baby. Koloa, "with a child in one arm and a .30-06-calibre hunting rifle in the other", fired into the passenger window of Scott's vehicle, the fatal bullet going through his head. He died instantly. (6)

So when the RCMP and other police organizations tell me that the gun registry is an important tool, I listen.

With Parliament set to vote on the fate of the long gun registry next month, the RCMP report argues that the “full registry” be maintained, calling it a valuable tool that has helped reduce gun deaths nationwide. “A high level of compliance of the long gun registry is necessary to provide the enhanced value to investigators utilizing the firearms registry. It is important for officer and public safety and is a legislated requirement for all firearm owners,” the report notes.

... And the RCMP report notes that the majority of firearms are long guns and the “majority of firearm deaths in Canada are caused by long guns.” [my emphasis] It also notes that over the last decade, long guns were used to kill ten out of thirteen police officers. “Without registration there is a failure of accountability on behalf of the owner, and it is registration that drives accountability. Without registration, anyone can buy and sell firearms privately and there would be no record". (7)

And when Garry Breitkreuz complains that the police oppose an armed populace, I dismiss his insanity.

Why are the police chiefs so strident in their quest to keep the registry in place? They won’t admit it, but it appears they don’t want Canadians to own guns. To that end, they need a database that will help them locate and seize those firearms as soon as a licence or registration expires. (8)

And when the police tell us that meddling by the Harper government hinders their ability to promote gun safety, I agree.

The Conservative government's decision to introduce amnesty provisions for long-gun owners has "contributed to confusion" over firearms control in Canada, says an internal RCMP evaluation that strongly backs universal registration. Employees of Canada's firearms program told evaluators that licensing compliance "has been affected by political messages," says the report, officially released Tuesday by the Mounties after being leaked Monday.

At the same time, those running the program said they had trouble getting out their message: That firearms regulation makes society safer. They complained about having to jump through government hoops to get signoff on communication notices, a general lack of public outreach, and widespread misperceptions about the firearms program. (9)

I outlined a history of gun control in Canada recently, to show that it is not a Liberal gun registry, but a Canadian gun registry, that evolved as both Conservative and Liberal governments responded to the wishes of Canadians. Now our first Reform government, is threatening to undo more than a century of progress.

And Jack Layton seems determined to help them.


C'mon Jack. Do the right thing. Be the man I thought you were. Do you really want this to be your legacy?

Sources:

1. Officer's widow weeps as Jaw gets life: "A very difficult time for the community, the family and the police officers", By Greg Younger-Lewis, Nunatsiag News, February 20, 2004

2. Mountie shot 4 times while pinned in cruiser: Crown, CBC News, April 22, 2003

3. Gunman kills cop: Armed man also dead as standoff turns ugly when suspect tries to leave, By Lori Coolican, Edmonton Sun, February 29, 2004

4. Four Alberta RCMP officers killed during raid, CTV News Staff, March 3, 2005

5. Curtis Dagenais guilty on all charges: Dagenais to be sentenced Friday morning, By Betty Ann Adam, The Star Phoenix, March 12, 2009

6. Trial over death of Constable Douglas Scott throws spotlight on RCMP's staffing practices in remote areas, By Adam McDowell, National Post, February 22, 2010

7. Gun registry effective but misunderstood, says RCMP, By Richard J. Brennan and Bruce Campion-Smith, Toronto Star, August 31, 2010

8. Why the Gun Registry Needs To Go, By Garry Breitkreuz, Mark News, August 30, 2010

9. Political meddling triggered national confusion over firearms safety: report, By: Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press, August 31, 2010

This One's For You Stevie: "Lies, Lies. I Can't Believe a Word You Say"

As one of Stephen Harper's latest victims, Marty Cheliak of the RCMP, is learning that even the police are not safe in a police state. They must also learn to Goose Step to Herr Harper's command or they are never heard from again.

And what was Cheliak's crime? Are you ready? He supported the gun registry. Yep. Fire shot from Harper's eyes, his head spun three times counter clockwise, and he began to froth at the mouth. It was not pretty.

How convenient. Not four months ago Chief Supt. Marty Cheliak of the RCMP sang the praises of Ottawa’s tough gun registry to the House of Commons public safety committee. This week, as Stephen Harper’s Conservatives move to gut the registry, Cheliak was dumped from his high-profile job as head of the Canadian Firearms Program and shuffled off to brush up on his français, of all things. Not to worry. RCMP Commissioner William Elliott’s decision to unhorse a vocal Mountie is just a routine “staffing decision,” the Prime Minister assured the nation Wednesday. Nothing “political” about it.

Of course not. Nor was there anything “political” about Tory efforts to attack, hobble or dump Pat Stogran (veterans ombudsman), Munir Sheikh (StatsCan), Kevin Page (parliamentary budget officer), Paul Kennedy (RCMP watchdog), Peter Tinsley (military complaints) and others who had the temerity to question the government’s wisdom. Apparently, this government has nothing but respect for independent-minded public servants.

And for the record, the "Lies, lies..." being told about the gun registry are mounting faster than Harper's empty grey hair dye bottles.

1. The Firearms Registry is a financial boondoggle & costs billions to run. Wrong: In 2009, it cost $4.1 million to operate the long gun registry.

2. There's too much red tape in registering a long gun. Wrong: Registrations or transfers are done over the phone or online in a matter of minutes.

3. It's expensive to register/transfer a long gun. Wrong: It's free.

4. The gun registry targets the wrong people. Wrong: As of 2009, 111,533 firearms were seized by police for public safety reasons or after criminal use. 87, 893 were long guns.

5. Criminals use handguns. Long guns are used by law-abiding hunters and farmers. Wrong: Not always. Of the 16 police officer shooting deaths since 1998, 14 were committed with a long gun. In 2007, about 15% of known firearm homicides in Canada were committed with a long gun.

6. Police don't support the CFP. Wrong: All of the major Canadian organizations representing police support the registration of all firearms in Canada.

7. Police don't use the gun registry or the CFP's other services. Wrong: Police across Canada access the Firearms Registry online on average 11,076 times a day, 2,842 of those queries for addresses involving community safety incidents.

8. The Firearms Registry online has no impact on Police. Wrong: It does impact officer safety as evidenced by the fact that police used it 4,042,859 times last year.

9. The CFP does not save lives. Wrong: The CFP does more than register guns. It's another tool that assists police in making informed decisions that contribute to community safety.

10. The "gun registry" database has been breached over 300 times by hackers - our information isn't safe. Wrong: The CFP's national database has never been breached by hackers. Information is safe and secure.

Authoritative and Bossy. Oh really? I Hadn't Noticed.

Susan Riley has a great column today about Stephen Harper and his handling of the RCMP controversy.

By the way, you can buy the T-Shirt here. It is part of Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper, so be sure to join and show your support.

Apparently Stephen Harper is on vacation. Poor boy is tired out from watching replays of the mess he made in Toronto. Too much excitement watching innocent civilians being pounded to the ground.

But Riley is speaking of the mess he made of the RCMP.

Is it too late for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to make an emergency booking at that Arizona company that provided troubled RCMP commissioner William Elliott with leadership coaching a couple of years ago?

Canadian taxpayers would probably be happy to pay the $44,000 fee, if the prime minister would sacrifice some well-earned holiday time. It would be a bargain, if it produced mature and effective national leadership -- instead of the petulant style on display in recent weeks.

... But he is not the central problem in Harper's Ottawa; Harper is. Anyone even vaguely familiar with the vast literature of management studies will recognize the prime ministerial style: bossy, bullying, cold -- or, in academic jargon, "exploitative-authoritative."

This kind of leader, say the experts, "has low concern for people and uses threats and other fear-based methods to achieve conformity. Communication is almost entirely downward ..." Examples abound.

Thank you Susan. That was awe inspiring.

To Harper's Base. The RCMP Are Not Infallible

With people like John Snobelen, Michael Den Tandt, Monty Solberg and Tim Hudak, all coming out in defense of the police, this is something they might want to think about:

An internal RCMP report shows that 56 members of the force were formally disciplined during the 2008-2009 fiscal year for a range of code of conduct violations, including soliciting a prostitute, sexual assault, masturbating in a vehicle and impaired driving.

Four officers — all constables — were ordered to resign. Others received reprimands and forfeitures of pay for up to 10 days.

Another 231 members of the force were informally disciplined for less serious cases. They typically result in reprimands, transfers or some form of counselling.

One more reason why we need a full public inquiry into the G-20 violence, to help restore their good name.

The RCMP to Undergo Name Change to Better Fit With the Times

Late breaking news. The RCMP have finally decided to cut to the chase and adopt a name more fitting to their new mandate.

The Reliable Conservative Mudslinging Pawns

Their motto is no longer "we always get our man", but "we always get our Liberal".

And borrowing from the postal service, that is being sold to some unknown country for a handful of beans and a year's supply of hair gel for Gary Lunn (as soon as they find enough transports to haul it in), they claim that "neither rain, nor snow, nor hail, will keep them from beating up any reporter who tries to ask Herr Harper a question".

As David Climenhaga asks:

Are taxpayers screaming at you because summit security is costing them $1 billion a day? Does threatening talk of a Liberal-NDP coalition just refuse to go away? And are ordinary voters telling pollsters they like the idea? Are you worried what the Auditor General's examination of your MPs' expense accounts might reveal?

Have you just fired a minister because her husband, fresh from wiggling off the hook for drunk driving and drugs possession, was hanging around with unsavoury characters and saying something about his past friendship with you? Has your fake lake leaked $2 million worth of red ink? Worse, have the Liberals made a funny TV ad about it? Who's a prime minister gonna call? Why, Gritbusters, of course!

Gritbusters, otherwise known as trusty Horsemen of the RCMP: They're not much for getting their man nowadays, it would seem, unless he's cowering in a corner at an airport or a jail cell. But they sure can be depended upon to always get their Grit if he happens to pose a danger to a Conservative politician anywhere.

And as he reminds us:

So, back in the day when the Horsemen were supposedly mounting a criminal investigation of a leak of income trust information during the 2006 federal election campaign, then RCMP Commissioner Dudley Zaccardelli made sure that the
press release named Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale. The Mounties' toothless complaints commissioner later admitted this was "not in keeping with past practice" -- which I guess in laymen's terms means it was malicious politically motivated horse-pucky without a whiff of justification. But, hey, who knew?

So, reported the Globe and Mail, way back in the mists of forgettable time, "polling numbers from late 2005 and early 2006 show what the complaints commissioner described as a 'dramatic shift' of support from the ruling Liberals to the Conservatives consistent with the timing of the RCMP disclosures on the income trust file."

The rest, as they say, was history. Unfortunately, it was our history.

James Travers has written extensively on the corruption within the RCMP ranks and their undying loyalty to the Reformers, but I must admit they've outdone themselves this time. In the midst of all the bad press for King Steve , they suddenly remembered a ten yer old warrant that they "forgot" to deliver that was related to the sponsorship scandal.

Now how do you suppose that happened?

Shows how desperate he is when he's still flogging that dead horse ... pun intended.

Harper Appoints Party Insider to Act as RCMP Watchdog

So our dictator came down from the top of the mountain today to announce that he had replaced our legitimate RCMP watchdog with a Conservative insider who can't spell RCMP.

He needn't worry though. The job is a token patronage appointment and anything he has to say will be written by other unelected people.

Voters are involved however, because we get to pay his salary. Never let it be said that democracy isn't working.

Ottawa names interim RCMP watchdog
Lack of experience with Mounties raises skepticism of estate lawyer with ties to Tories
Colin Freeze
Globe and Mail
January 25, 2010

The new man in charge of holding the Mounties to account is a Toronto estate lawyer who describes himself as “collegial.” But his predecessors question whether a “neophyte” with that mindset is up to the job.

Ian McPhail, who has spent most of his career focusing on wills and real estate, acknowledges he has much to learn about the RCMP. While he has worked as a Conservative organizer and chaired Ontario government bodies, he has never before tried to police the police.

“Look, you probably know more about the background there than I do,” Mr. McPhail said in an interview last week. “I'm going up Monday, it will be my first day on the job.”

The federal government appointed him last week as “interim chair” of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP. He is to hold the job for at least a year.

This appointment raised eyebrows, given that Mr. McPhail has no background in policing, criminal law or in federal oversight agencies. Past chairs – even ones with long histories in security and oversight – have left the job in abject frustration.

They've complained that Parliament's laws render them toothless watchdogs, allowing the Mounties to remain a stubborn culture unto themselves.

The RCMP Complaints Commission consists of a group of 90 civil servants who try to keep tabs on a sprawling police service with some 30,000 members across Canada. The office has lately hammered home some chronic issues – including the RCMP's use of tasers.

Mr. McPhail, who started his Toronto estate-law firm 37 years ago, said no one need be unduly concerned about his lack of background in police issues. “There's perhaps a misunderstanding in the role of the chairman, which is not to be expert in those fields,” he said. “But rather to understand how an administrative agency should operate.”

His predecessors wish him well, but question his description of the job and his credentials Criminal law “isn't something you pick up on the fly,” Paul Kennedy, whose term finished in December, said in an interview. “If you don't know the law, I don't know what value you can bring to the job.”

Mr. Kennedy spent 35 years inside the federal security agencies before becoming the Mounties' watchdog in 2005. He issued some scathing reports until the Conservatives opted to not renew him last fall.

Mr. Kennedy is to appear on Parliament Hill tomorrow as part of a forum organized by the Liberal party. He'll be joined by other federal watchdogs whose
terms have not been renewed.

Shirley Heafey, the RCMP Complaints Commissioner from 1997 to 2005, spent two years inside the agency as a vice-chair before taking the helm. Prior to that, she worked for the Security Intelligence Review Committee, the oversight body of CSIS, Canada's spy agency.

Asked about Mr. McPhail's appointment, she said the Mounties “are going to love to have him there.”

“He's just a caretaker. There's no power to do anything unless you really push the envelope,” she said. “He's coming in cold. There's no way he can do anything in a year … he's a complete neophyte.”

The two previous complaints commissioners had been appointed to the job by Liberals. While Ms. Heafey said she had once dabbled in Liberal politics, Mr. Kennedy described himself as non-partisan.

“And that's the way it should be,” he said. Mr. McPhail said he has been active in Conservative riding associations in Toronto since the 1970s. The provincial government of premier Mike Harris appointed him chair of TVO for one year in the 1990s. He was later put in charge of the province's environmental-review board and its alcohol and gaming commission.

Past RCMP watchdogs have publicly agitated for change, complaining the Mounties ignore recommendations otherwise.

But Mr. McPhail said he isn't greatly concerned by that. “I don't know a lot about their style,” he said. “I just know about my style. My style tends to be collegial.”

Reformer Garry Breitkreuz Has Suggested That the RCMP Have Fallen From Grace

In opposition, Steven Harper and the Conservatives relentlessly attacked RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli as a Liberal appointee doing the bidding of the then government.

In government, the Conservatives have muted their criticism and side-stepped demands for a public inquiry into problems with the force.

Pension fraud, internal repression, bungled operations in BC and Alberta, the Arar Affair, and the timing of the income trust "leak" investigation have shaken Canadians' confidence in the most sacred of Canadian symbols: the Mounties. (The Harper Index, June 24, 2007)

Well back in the day when Garry Breitkreuz was just another gun nut Reformer, he also found fault with the RCMP, suggesting they lied and misled the Canadian people.

NEWS RELEASE

April 27, 1999

RCMP NOW ADMIT THEY HAD FOUR SNIPERS ON THE HILL DURING GUN LAW PROTEST"

Documents prove officers had four .308 rifles and seventeen sub-machine guns on the Hill that day."Ottawa - Today, Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, released RCMP documents listing the firearms that were signed out on the day of the Fed-UpII Rally on Parliament Hill last September 22nd. The documents verify that RCMP officers signed out the following firearms for security on Parliament Hill that day: Four (4) .308 rifles and seventeen (17) - MP5, H&Ksub-machine guns. In addition to these firearms, ten (10) Emergency Response Team (ERT) members had their special SIG 9 MM handguns and all regular RCMP officers had their standard issue side arms.

"During the rally everyone was talking about the snipers on the roof-tops of the Parliament buildings. While many were a little surprised at the display offirepower for a peaceful demonstration, I thought it was probably standard operating procedure for any rally with such a huge attendance,"said Breitkreuz.

This was a rally of gun enthusiasts. What did he think the RCMP was going to do? Hand out ammo.

Breitkreuz notified The Ottawa Citizen of their mistake on April 21st and had the documents hand delivered to the Managing Editor on Friday, April23rd. "Now that we have the documented proof, what we're left with is four unanswered questions: (1) Why did RCMP Inspector Nause make the statement she did to a reporter when the Operational Plan he signed included details of the ten Emergency Response Team members? (2) Why did The Ottawa Citizen reporter take the word of one RCMP Inspector over the word of many honest, peaceful people attending the rally? (3) Why did the RCMP not correct the story as soon as it appeared in The Ottawa Citizen? And finally, (4) Is it standard operating procedure for the RCMP to have sniper rifles and machine guns at peaceful rallies on Parliament Hill or is this type of welcome reserved only for law-abiding, responsible firearm owners?" asked Breitkreuz. "It's time for the RCMP and The Ottawa Citizen to tell Canadians the truth."

Yes Garry. It certainly is time for a little truth.

Robert Dziekanski, the RCMP and the Destruction of the Public's Trust

Since this government has politicized the RCMP they are gradually losing the respect and the trust of Canadians. That's a shame because they have always been such an important part of our national identity. There is even a blog called RCMP Watch.

A few of the headlines

Day rebuffs call for full national review of Taser use
NDP concerned RCMP are investigating their own officers

RCMP fire Tasers multiple times despite health hazards: probe

RCMP watchdog abruptly delays release of final Taser report

RCMP watchdog to release report on Dziekanski's death

A Few of My Postings on the RCMP

Harper Using RCMP to Control the Media While He Controls the Message. Why are we Allowing This?

Conservative Rob Clarke Abuses RCMP Connections

Have the Conservatives Tainted the RCMP for Political Gain

Conservative Blake Richards Tells Watchdog to Lie Down

Did RCMP Boss Giuliano Zaccardelli Meddle in 2006 Election

Recent Globe and Mail Column

Left in the dark
Globe and Mail
December 11, 2009

By giving out false information on the fatal tasering of the Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, and refusing to correct the errors for more than a year, the RCMP persisted in the destruction of the public's trust in their national police force. Two years earlier, a Mountie spokesman said, "The public doesn't have a right know anything," after a British Columbia officer shot and killed a 22-year-old man in unusual circumstances. The RCMP shows by its actions it still seems to believe the public is best left in the dark.

These were not minor errors, as documented yesterday by Paul Kennedy, an independent complaints commissioner on RCMP matters. A Mountie spokesman, Sergeant Pierre Lemaitre, had told a news conference that the Mounties tasered Mr. Dziekanski twice on Oct. 14, 2007: "We know for a fact that there were two pulses." The real number was five.

Sgt. Lemaitre said Mr. Dziekanski may have had drugs or alcohol in his system (an autopsy later showed he had neither). He said there were three Mounties involved - there were four - and that, after the second charge from the taser, Mr. Dziekanski was still "erratic, violent," and therefore had handcuffs placed on him.

In fact he was not resisting. Sgt. Lemaitre had seen a bystander's video. Even worse, Superintendent Wayne Rideout made the decision not to correct the errors for 14 months because, he said, he feared compromising the integrity of the Mounties' investigation into the tasering. So errors help integrity, and truth hurts it?

This was the force that had killed a man needlessly, as the bystander's video made clear, and as Mr. Kennedy found yesterday. It was investigating itself. The RCMP made people think they weren't conducting a fair and impartial investigation, Mr. Kennedy said.

Moreover, it held on to that videotape for a month, and gave it back only when the bystander sued to get it back. That contributed to an impression that the RCMP wished to cover up what had happened. Mr. Kennedy said it had no right to keep the tape.

Mr. Kennedy said the evidence does not allow him to conclude that the RCMP lied. But he does say, "Although I cannot state categorically that media releases were provided to protect or enhance the image of the RCMP, I have concerns that some of the information provided to the media did just that."

The RCMP brutally killed a newcomer to Canada, put out false information into the public sphere while investigating themselves, then refused to correct the record and held on to a video that showed the horrible truth. The loss of public trust is no mystery.