RCMP Reform Implementation Council: Third Report
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Table of Contents
September 30, 2009
The Honourable Peter Van Loan
Minister of Public Safety
Ottawa
Dear Minister Van Loan:
We are pleased to submit the third report of the RCMP Reform Implementation Council, as required by the March 17, 2009, Order
in Council under which we were reappointed.
In pursuing our mandate of guiding and assisting the RCMP reform process and at the same time monitoring and reporting on
its progress, we have worked closely with the Commissioner and the RCMP Change Management Team and have received their
entire cooperation.
In this interim report, we have chosen to focus on three themes we consider to be, in their separate ways, critical to the success
of RCMP reform. The first is the recruitment and management of human resources, on which depends the capacity of the RCMP
to deliver effective police services. The second is the development of a new kind of leadership deeply committed to openness,
accountability and continuing change. The third concerns how the RCMP can become more transparent in its dealings with
Canadians and communicate better what it is accomplishing and where it is headed. We have witnessed the RCMP’s commitment
to progress on all these matters but we are also aware of the challenges it faces in moving forward.
We look forward to providing you with a further progress report in March 2010.
Respectfully submitted,
David McAusland
Jean-Claude Bouchard
Beverley A. Busson
Kevin McAlpine
Jocelyne Côté-O’Hara
Introduction
Context of the Report
This is the third report of the RCMP Reform Implementation Council. Its purpose is to offer to the Minister of Public
Safety, the Commissioner and employees of the RCMP, and Canadians generally, the Council’s assessment and advice
regarding the current progress of RCMP reform.
The impetus for reform of the RCMP came in part from the December 2007 report of the Task Force on Governance
and Cultural Change in the RCMP. This report concluded that major changes were “essential for restoring the
Force to the position of confidence and respect it had enjoyed since its inception.”
The findings of the Task Force remain an important reference point for reform, and for the work of the Reform
Implementation Council, but they are by no means the exclusive focus of RCMP change management efforts, or of
this Council’s interests. For a number of years the Force has been pursuing a wide range of initiatives designed to
improve its effectiveness in serving its federal mandate as Canada’s national police force, as well as its responsibilities
for delivering policing services to many of Canada’s provinces, territories and municipalities.
The RCMP Change Management Team was created by Commissioner William Elliott in early 2008 to coordinate
the many initiatives associated with reform. The team, headed by Assistant Commissioner Keith Clark, was given a
mandate to develop, coordinate, and execute a plan for RCMP Transformation.
To drive the Transformation, the RCMP senior management team, with input from the Reform Implementation
Council, articulated a Vision for Change that would see the RCMP become:
“an adaptive, accountable, trusted organization of fully engaged employees demonstrating outstanding
leadership and providing world-class police services.”
In this interim report, we have chosen to focus on three themes that are critical to the long term success of RCMP
reform in achieving this vision: human resources, leadership, and communication.
The Reform Implementation Council
Our Council was established by the government in March 2008 in response to a recommendation of the Task Force
on Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP. The Council’s mandate is:
- to provide advice to the Minister of Public Safety on implementation of reforms approved
by the Government;
- to provide advice and assistance to the Commissioner of the RCMP respecting the RCMP
implementation plan;
- to monitor the progress of reforms approved by Government and undertaken by the RCMP; and,
- to submit regular progress reports to the Minister of Public Safety.
The Council is chaired by David McAusland, a lawyer and corporate director from Montreal. The other members are:
- Jean-Claude Bouchard, a former federal deputy minister and career public servant.
- Beverley A. Busson, former Commissioner of the RCMP.
- Jocelyne Côté-O’Hara, a corporate director and former government executive.
- Kevin McAlpine, a professor and former Chief of the Durham Regional Police Service.
In March 2009, the Minister of Public Safety, the Honourable Peter Van Loan, announced the extension of the
Council’s term to March 18, 2010.
The Council has met regularly with the Commissioner and members of the RCMP Change Management Team, as
well as with other RCMP senior managers. Support for our work has been capably provided by the RCMP Change
Management Team.
We have visited RCMP operations across Canada and met a wide range of employees, both uniformed and civilian.
We have met representatives of the provincial, territorial and municipal jurisdictions for which the RCMP supplies
policing services. We have also been briefed by officials of Public Safety Canada regarding their work on a new
complaints and review mechanism for the RCMP.
As a Council we see our first role as offering the Minister of Public Safety an independent, informed view of the
challenges facing the RCMP and the effectiveness of the steps being taken to address them, and suggesting how the
government can best ensure the success of this vital enterprise.
We also see our responsibility as overseeing the process of reform, as well as advising and challenging the
Commissioner, the RCMP Change Management Team and members of the Senior Executive Committee involved in
the reform process. This requires us to understand the larger context and goals of reform, including the perspectives of
employees, contract partners, and other stakeholders, in addition to those of Canadians generally. Council members
bring an external perspective that can help to sharpen the focus and to assess the success of RCMP reform.
This Report
Over the past 18 months the Council has closely observed the progress of RCMP reform and participated actively
in some of the most important and far-reaching developments. Our previous reports, while giving special attention
to those areas of reform we considered to be most critical, sought to cover the whole range of the Transformation
process. This time, we have chosen to concentrate on three areas in which the RCMP is currently engaged:
- Strengthening the management of human resources. This is an area where modernization is
proceeding rapidly and there have already been major accomplishments.
- Renewing RCMP leadership. Critical steps to be taken in coming months will redefine leadership and
determine how the process of renewal will proceed.
- Communicating more transparently and effectively. Progress is being made in reaching out to the
public and to RCMP employees but further change is still needed.
First, however, we offer some comments on the overall progress of reform since our last report. And we conclude
our report with some observations on next steps and the challenges to be faced in the short-to-medium term if the
RCMP is to achieve its Vision for Change.
Current Progress on Reform
The first point to make about the progress of RCMP reform is one we have made before: transforming the RCMP
to fulfil the Vision for Change is not a short-or even medium-term effort. There will never be a point at which
victory can be declared and the Force can move on to other things. Rather, reform must result in a Force that is
continually striving to improve its performance and is not satisfied with being anything less than a world leader. Such
a commitment to continuous improvement must be accompanied by enhanced accountability within the RCMP.
The next few months will mark an important transition, as the Change Management Team (CMT) shifts its focus
to creating an environment in which continuous improvement is a day-to-day reality. The principal measure of the
Team’s success will be whether purposeful change becomes a normal part of the management process throughout
the RCMP. The current approach, where the CMT provides overall leadership to a series of distinct reform projects
and initiatives must give way to a broader process of continuing reform and renewal, in which all parts of the RCMP
are committed to change based on consultation, self-examination, measurement of results and accountability.
This is not just a goal for RCMP Headquarters or senior management. The Council has been favourably impressed by
progress made across Canada at the detachment level in establishing Annual Performance Plans that are based on
consultation with the community and stakeholders. The key to success here is that leaders in RCMP detachments
have become fully accountable for achieving results in relation to agreed targets.
At the level of the whole organization, we have noted the work done by the RCMP over the past several years to
develop a sophisticated system for measuring progress and reporting results to management. The Balanced Scorecard
system, as it is called, has recently received a very positive assessment by the Conference Board of Canada. The Scorecard is an excellent tool for performance measurement; the challenge now is exploiting it to the full in moving
the organization forward.
Another important area of reform is what in our previous reports we referred to as the status, governance and
oversight of the RCMP. Work is continuing on the development of proposals for a new relationship between the
RCMP and the government, one that would establish the right balance between the authority needed by the RCMP
to carry out its unique mandate and the increased accountability for achieving results and using public resources that
is expected by the government and Canadians. We remain of the view that a new organizational status reflecting this
more appropriate balance between authority and accountability should ultimately be reflected in legislation.
With respect to governance, we are convinced that a Board of Management would enable the government to
enhance the effectiveness of the RCMP by strengthening management and improving accountability, thereby opening
the way to increased delegation of authority. Work is under way, in consultation with central agencies, to develop
concrete proposals for such a Board. We are closely watching this effort and hope to see proposals presented for
consideration by the government in the near term.
Oversight of the RCMP through external review is being addressed separately by Public Safety Canada, while the
RCMP is currently revising the rules under which internal investigations are conducted. We look forward to seeing
the results of this work and helping to harmonize it with other aspects of RCMP reform.
The current period is also an important one with respect to the development of new agreements with the provincial,
territorial and municipal jurisdictions for which the RCMP provides policing services, a role that involves nearly twothirds
of all RCMP officers. The Force is working closely with Public Safety Canada to develop new agreements
and at the same time to engage the contract partners in a new relationship that reflects the spirit of reform. The
Council is not directly involved in this process but has nevertheless participated in meetings of the Contract Advisory
Committee that coordinates work among the partners.
Progress on RCMP Transformation is being measured using the Balanced Scorecard mentioned above. This should
provide a clear sense in coming months of how well the various initiatives are moving forward. We would also hope
to see an independent evaluation of the reform process take place within the next year or so. We want to emphasize,
however, that important as the many specific projects may be, reform must be fundamentally about changing the
whole outlook and approach of the RCMP, preserving what is best in its culture while adopting the new behaviours
and ways of operating that are inherent in the Vision for Change. This includes communicating more openly and
effectively with the public and with employees.
1. Strengthening Human Resources Management
Over half of the reform projects undertaken as part of the RCMP Transformation, whether in response to a recommendation
of the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP or as an internal initiative, relate to the
management of the Force’s human resources. Problems addressed have included attracting sufficient numbers of suitably
qualified recruits for uniformed positions and retaining experienced employees, both regular members and civilians.
Other issues have included a promotion system that was not sufficiently reliable and transparent, and a discipline system
that was slow, ineffective and inconsistent. The administration of human resources needed overhaul in areas such as the
payment of supplementary health benefits, while not enough attention was being paid to the wellness of employees
and their families. Staffing delays were blocking needed reform. And best use was not always being made of scarce
human resources, particularly the front-line officers who deliver police services directly to Canadians.
The Council is pleased to observe that since our last report on this area progress has continued on many fronts, and
further results have become apparent. Success is particularly striking in the area of recruitment, but there is ample
evidence that other initiatives are continuing to move ahead. As we said previously, there are difficult challenges yet
to be met and momentum could be lost if a major effort is not sustained. But the signs are very encouraging.
Recruiting New Members
Recruiting to fill vacancies in the ranks of regular members is one of the notable success stories of RCMP reform to
date. In 2006-07, only 1417 cadets were enrolled at Depot, falling short of requirements by 145. By 2008-09, the
situation had changed so much that there were 1783 cadets, the highest annual total on record, and for 2009-10
recruiting numbers are on a similar track.
The Force’s capacity to recruit and train has now reached the point where, for the first time in recent years, it
expects to be able to meet all requests from its contract partners for additional officers. This increased capacity to fill
vacancies has a positive impact on the wellness of employees while significantly improving service to the public. At
the same time, it increases the pressure on the financial resources of both the RCMP and its contract partners.
This turnaround in recruiting has been brought about in large part by an effective advertising campaign and by
cutting the waiting time for applicants substantially. Another major factor was the introduction in June 2008 of a
$12,000 Cadet Recruitment Allowance, one of the first actions taken under the heading of RCMP reform.
With a critical shortage of recruits averted, the Force can turn its attention to other priorities in this area, including
continuing the improvement of the recruiting system with, for example, the introduction of an electronic testing
system for applicants.
The Council considers the RCMP’s success in meeting its recruiting goals to be a very positive sign that real change
is under way.
Performance Evaluation and Promotion
The RCMP is in the midst of changing its system of employee performance evaluation to simplify the process and
link it much more closely to learning and career development. A single standard performance evaluation form,
much shorter than the previous one, will be used for all employees. The focus will be on the development of core
competencies, with the evaluation starting from the results of the previous year’s learning plan and looking ahead
to the coming year and beyond.
Annual evaluations, with a mid-year review, will be required for all employees, while supervisors will be held accountable
for completing the evaluations on time. For commissioned officers there will be an annual performance contract.
The promotion system for non-commissioned members is also being overhauled to reduce delays, improve consistency,
and make sure potential candidates are identified and encouraged to apply. Increased opportunities for advancement
will be opened up for those who meet the requirements.
Managing Human Resources
Work on the reform of the RCMP grievance and discipline systems has been under way for several years and appears
to be now making a significant difference to these critical aspects of human resource management. In both cases,
emphasis is being put on reducing unnecessary delays, ensuring greater consistency in approaches and decisions
across Canada, and getting to the root causes of the issue.
The discipline system had grown excessively legalistic in recent years. Cases were being submitted for formal discipline
that should have been dealt with simply by providing good guidance. This is now being corrected, in part through
management training. Where formal discipline is needed, the whole process is being simplified and centralized to
reduce delays and improve consistency.
The grievance situation has also been improved by dealing wherever possible with the underlying problem. A review
of cases identified a substantial number where the grievance was justified and the issue was resolved by a change in
policy. In other cases, a third party can help resolve the dispute or managers can be trained to deal more effectively
with potential problems. Programs to promote a respectful workplace and to assist in informal conflict management,
among others, are being mounted.
A different area of human resource management where significant progress is being made is that of staffing. Filling
positions in any government organization can be a slow process and the RCMP is tackling this problem at several
stages. One is to reduce the time taken to classify positions by using generic job descriptions wherever possible. In
this way, one classification action can serve for many individual positions. The RCMP has moved recently to a generic
approach to many of its civilian positions, thus drastically reducing delays.
Treating People Right
The work of the Task Force and other reports showed that the RCMP was not paying enough attention to the wellbeing
of its own employees. This was compounded by weak administration that created unnecessary problems in
delivering services and benefits. Major efforts have since been made that could be described as “treating people
right” and “doing things right.” By focusing on employee needs and simplified procedures it has been possible to
overcome a number of the problems that were both lowering morale and costing money through administrative
inefficiency.
For example, longstanding problems in the payment of supplementary health and dental benefits have been resolved
by updating payment schedules, including a wider range of services, and eliminating the need for RCMP review of
payments in most cases. Direct billing to the insurance company is also being introduced, helping both employees
and RCMP administration.
Another sense in which the RCMP is moving to treat people right is the inclusion of family members in wellness
programs and helping them with issues such as moving. Counselling services following work-related incidents are
also being extended to civilian employees where necessary.
Using People More Effectively
From the outset, Council members have been interested in RCMP efforts to use human resources more efficiently by
reducing the administrative burden on front-line officers. The RCMP has made a major effort to encourage initiatives
that can contribute to this objective, with the intention of then disseminating the best of these practices for wider
application.
One particularly promising initiative is aimed at reducing the workload of data entry for officers in the field. Eliminating
the entry of unnecessary data, while still feeding essential information into the modern information-based tools that
are vital to policing, will enable officers to maximize the time they spend on core police functions.
Conclusion
The Council sees accomplishments to date in human resource management as encouraging signs of progress in a
critical area of RCMP reform. The Force has made important strides in transforming what was a rigid and outdated
system of people management into a modern, flexible regime that will serve emerging needs and respond to new
challenges. Notwithstanding these successes, there is much more to be done. To maintain the momentum of change,
it will be essential to push current initiatives to successful completion and set new goals for further strengthening the
human resource system. The obvious key to doing this is strong leadership.
2. Renewing and Redefining Leadership
A New Kind of Leadership
It goes almost without saying that fundamental reform requires a new kind of leadership. This has been, from the
beginning, the Council’s view with respect to RCMP Transformation. The recent infusion of new leaders into the Force,
from the Commissioner on down, demonstrates that this need has been understood. The new generation of leaders is
already playing a key role in driving the Transformation process at headquarters and across the country. But we believe,
with the RCMP, that if reform is to achieve sustained success the Force’s concept of leadership must itself be redefined,
and ways must be found to embed the new approach into the Force’s management culture and systems.
The new leadership must not only be open and accountable, it must be passionate in its commitment to making the
RCMP the kind of world-class organization that Canadians expect and that is described in the Vision for Change.
Leaders, including managers at all levels, must enthusiastically promote change as a permanent feature of RCMP
management and operations, and they must inspire others to do likewise. Leadership must be based on the idea of
enhanced accountability — managers and employees must accept full responsibility for their actions and their impact
on other people.
Lasting reform of the RCMP requires that leadership come from the top. The Commissioner and his senior managers
must exemplify and communicate the ethos and culture of the organization, both by their actions and by explicitly
requiring a similar approach from those who report to them.
The new RCMP approach also recognizes that leadership matters at all levels of the organization. While senior
management determines the overall direction of the Force, other managers and staff must, through effective
leadership at their respective levels, turn strategic directions into the delivery of high-quality police services. On the
front line, well-trained and accountable operational leaders are essential for efficient police work and are critical in
time of emergency. We note that RCMP training is placing ever-more emphasis on all these kinds of leadership; the
next challenge is to situate these efforts more firmly within a clearly articulated leadership strategy.
This fall, RCMP senior managers and others from inside and outside the organization will come together to define
the new philosophy of leadership, identify essential leadership behaviours and values, and begin designing ways to
impart these throughout the management cadre. The Council fully supports this approach, though we caution is
that it will be equally important to define unacceptable behaviours on the part of leaders and to design strategies to
deal with them.
The work planned for the next six months will be critical to redefining RCMP leadership. It will provide the basis
for launching a strategy to identify and develop new leaders while reinforcing the strengths of those already in
leadership roles. This effort will require its own strong leadership and we are therefore pleased to see that the RCMP
has appointed a senior executive dedicated to this task. We look forward to working with the leadership development
team in the months ahead, as its success is essential to the long-term future of the RCMP.
Developing New Leaders
With respect to the identification, training and development of new leaders, the Council notes that increased efforts
are being made to enhance opportunities for the promotion of qualified non-commissioned officers and that several
new modules of leadership training, executive development and change management skills are being offered at
Depot and elsewhere. These are welcome developments. The next task will be to combine these elements into a
unified system closely integrated with the new leadership strategy.
Managing Executive Talent
Maintaining corporate continuity and building capacity is a key part of continuous improvement. We understand that
the RCMP is currently developing a new Talent Management approach to succession planning, to be in place in 2010.
This could be very helpful in addressing the need to replace retiring managers over the next several years.
Over the same period, the RCMP faces a special challenge in retaining its best senior managers. This will be a
time when their knowledge and experience will be particularly needed to contribute to the success of reform.
Many members of the current senior management cadre will soon be eligible for retirement, while others could be
attracted away to opportunities elsewhere. Delaying the departure of some who can contribute the most could prove
invaluable for the transition.
Likewise, we believe the Force must also be prepared to bring in additional talent from outside, whether from the
federal Public Service or elsewhere, to assist with specific aspects of the reform process and to strengthen capabilities
wherever required. We are pleased to see that the RCMP has recently received approval for such flexible hiring at the
most senior levels and we encourage it to take full advantage of this possibility.
Conclusion
The period to March 2010 should see major developments in the RCMP’s approach to leadership. Getting this
dimension right will be one of the tests for the future of reform. The Council is committed to assisting in this essential
undertaking.
3. Communications and Transparency
Respect for the RCMP as an institution remains high, and opinion of the Force at the community level is generally
positive. Yet in recent years the public’s overall level of confidence in the Force appears to have declined. The vision,
challenges and accomplishments of the RCMP have not been well understood, and its reputation has been tarnished
by negative incidents. An important part of the answer to these problems lies in strengthening communication with
the public.
In addition, the results of staff surveys show that while a strong majority of employees are committed to change in
the RCMP, only a minority claim to understand the current reform process or to see how it will improve their lives or
their ability to serve the public effectively. More effective internal communication is clearly needed.
The Council has stressed the importance of reinforcing the communications capacity of the RCMP and of developing
an effective strategy for explaining the Force both to the public and to its own staff. We acknowledge the steps that
have been taken in this direction, and we consider the plans we have heard to be promising. But they are only a start.
A great deal needs to be done in this area over the next few months, a period which is likely to pose considerable
communications challenges for the RCMP.
It is our strong view that communication is not a function separate from the rest of the organization or something
to be done as an afterthought. It is an integral requirement of most RCMP operations, and certainly of all those that
affect individual Canadians and society at large.
Effective and open communication is the essential requirement in dealing with problems. Even with the most able
leadership, any organization that is as large, complex and involved in people’s lives as the RCMP will, inevitably, make
mistakes and attract controversy. Such organizations build strong relationships with the people they serve not by
ignoring problems but by dealing with them quickly and transparently.
The RCMP is in the process of implementing a new approach based on these ideas. To make this cultural shift, it must
welcome ideas and feedback from both outside and inside the organization. It must be prepared to tell Canadians as
much as possible about the events in which it is involved, consistent with legal constraints and legitimate operational
needs. Managers at all levels must learn to operate on this basis, taking a more direct role in communications where
appropriate. And they must impart these values to their staff.
What needs to be done over coming months and years, we believe, is the following:
- The RCMP Communications division should receive the funding necessary to acquire additional
top -notch professional resources and to provide an effective external and internal communications
function, both at the national level and throughout Canada.
- High priority should be given to developing a comprehensive communications strategy that clearly
identifies objectives, challenges and stakeholders, as well as target audiences to be reached, messages
to be conveyed and the means of doing so.
- The RCMP must develop the capacity to anticipate communications opportunities and issues wherever
possible and to react quickly and effectively to unforeseen events.
- The RCMP should be prepared to obtain additional professional advice from the best outside
communicators.
- Efforts to reach the public through the media should continue and be strengthened.
- Divisional annual reports and other regional and local communications materials should be more widely
distributed.
- The idea of producing a national RCMP Annual Report should be examined as a way to inform both the
public and RCMP employees about what the RCMP is doing and how it is evolving through reform.
- Difficult issues, such as policy on the use of conducted energy weapons and incidents of death or injury,
should be dealt with as openly and explicitly as possible on the basis of close cooperation among policy
people, senior management and communications staff.
The Council believes that strengthening the RCMP’s approach to communicating with the public and its own
employees is critical to the success of reform and to rebuilding the image of Canada’s national police organization.
Conclusion
The Council considers that RCMP reform has already achieved significant successes in some areas and is making
good headway in a number of others. In the human resources field, important steps have been taken that will ensure
the future supply of new blood into the RCMP, while helping to train, develop and promote existing employees to
meet new challenges and do traditional jobs better. The main need here is to sustain the momentum of change and
avoid complacency: there is much still to be done on the current agenda, and new tasks will soon emerge.
The effort to introduce a new leadership ethos into the RCMP appears to be on the right track, but we will know better
when the results of this fall’s round of discussions and planning are put into practice. The RCMP needs leaders who are
more than just highly competent. Its leadership cadre must be passionate about the future of the Force and dedicated
to realizing the Vision for Change. They must be capable of inspiring a similar enthusiasm in those they lead.
Turning concepts like “continuous improvement” and “enhanced accountability” into accepted ways of working, and
embedding new values and behaviours into the RCMP culture, will require a sustained effort and strong leadership.
In the longer term, this must be seen as a key legacy of Transformation. Managers at all levels must show not only
that they accept the need for change and accountability but that they fully support it and are themselves committed
to making it happen. And they in turn must enlist the support and active participation of all employees.
Rebuilding the image of the RCMP with the public and with its own employees is an effort that has just begun. Some
useful initiatives have been launched, including the very effective recruiting campaign that has brought in thousands
of applications and reached a broader audience of Canadians. But there is a long way to go in changing perceptions.
This is partly a challenge of better communication – explaining what the RCMP stands for and how it is changing.
The RCMP must at every level become more open and transparent to the public and to its own employees. Effective
communication, however, can only be built on a firm base in reality.
It should be no surprise that much remains to be done. The RCMP is a large organization with a complex mandate
and huge territory to police. Typically, in both the public and private sectors, the major results of the kind of reform
to which the RCMP is committed would take several years. The important questions today, therefore, are whether
significant progress is being made and whether there is a real commitment to continuing change in the directions
defined by the Vision for Change. We believe that the answer to both these questions is positive.
Challenges
The next six months will be a critical period of transition for RCMP reform. Key challenges will include:
- Moving forward with proposals on governance for consideration by the government.
We believe that granting the RCMP additional management authority while creating a Board
of Management to strengthen guidance and accountability will be important not only for the planning
and day-to-day administration of the RCMP, but also as a way to ensure the continuity of reform.
- Taking the next steps in defining and implementing a new approach to leadership, including
identifying and fostering the values and behaviours that are to be part of a new RCMP culture. Nothing
could be more important to the long-term success of reform than passionate and effective leadership at
all levels of the organization.
- Implementing a more open and transparent approach to dealing with both the public and
employees. This must include fundamental changes in the way the RCMP manages difficult issues
such as those emerging in connection with the tragedy that gave rise to the Braidwood Inquiry.
- Addressing the financial dimension of long-term reform. Up to now, the RCMP has been able
to fund the various reform initiatives from within its existing budget, largely by using money made
available by persistently vacant positions. However, the success of recent recruitment efforts and better
retention of experienced employees mean that these annual surpluses have disappeared. Since
reform cannot be achieved simply by doing things more efficiently, the RCMP will need to look
to the government for financial support to sustain the reform process over time.
In reflecting on the way ahead, it is evident that many of these challenges fall squarely on the RCMP. The Force
has shown its commitment to reform and must now demonstrate the passion and enthusiasm for change that will
sustain this process into the future.
But for reform to achieve sustainable success the government too must be actively engaged. Not only is it the source
of the financial resources essential to sustaining the reform process, it must also address issues such as governance
and external review, where ultimately a legislative solution will be required. Only in this way can the RCMP acquire
the authority and flexibility needed to deliver services more effectively and efficiently.
The RCMP is thus at a critical point in the process of reform – well-launched in almost every area, able to see definite
results on some issues that are central to its needs, yet still needing to cement its cultural commitment to change
and renewal. We look forward to working closely with the Force and to reporting back on what has been achieved.
The next six months will be a crucial window for progress on reform.
Measuring Progress at the RCMP, A Case Study by the Centre for Public Sector Service Delivery, The Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa, April 2009.