Commission finds long list of problems with Nunavut RCMP’s public complaint process
Four-year investigation finds complaints can’t be made in Inuktut, recommends better cultural training for staff
A commission tasked with investigating Nunavut RCMP’s public complaints system, found that that some complaints went years without being investigated and that proper documentation procedures were often not followed. (File Photo)
A commission investigating Nunavut RCMP’s public complaints process has found the service takes too long to investigate complaints and more than two-thirds of complaints filed were “deemed inadequate” because they were missing information.
In some cases, it said, it took three to five years to complete an investigation into a complaint.
The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission released the results of its four-year investigation Thursday, issuing nine recommendations and detailing 14 problems it found with the complaints process.
“The [commission] is dedicated to working with its Nunavut partners to expand public education efforts to ensure that citizens are aware of their right to file a complaint whenever they have a concern about RCMP member conduct,” chairperson Michelaine Lahaie said in the report, released Thursday.
The commission is an independent organization that reviews complaints against the RCMP to ensure they are handled fairly and impartially.
In its report on the Nunavut RCMP, it found:
- Some investigations of public complaints took close to two years to initiate after the complaint was received;
- Reasons for delays were rarely documented, even though the rationale for exceeding 90 days must be provided on a monthly basis;
- Nearly two-thirds of complaints were withdrawn or informally resolved — a percentage much higher than the national average. Nunavut’s complaint withdrawal rate was 27 per cent; the national average is 11 per cent;
- Allegations were not investigated or reviewed when a complaint was withdrawn.
The report examined 75 complaint files from April 1, 2018, until March 31, 2022 — a number the commission said was lower than expected. It attributed the low number in part to the public’s lack of trust and lack of awareness of the public complaints system.
To build trust in the system, the commission recommended using Inuit special constables to investigate complaints received from the public.
The RCMP should work to better tailor the public complaints process to the unique circumstances of Inuit, the commission said.
“The current model in the North mirrors that of the south, with the expectation that communities will work within that system,” it said.
The commission found that letters sent to update individuals on the status of their complaint “were vague and provided little information.”
The report also stated public awareness of the complaints system is lacking, despite previous efforts to provide information via pamphlets and posters in Inuktitut.
The report states a local policy is needed that considers the ways Nunavut RCMP is distinct from other divisions, including consideration of the vastness of the territory and its large Inuit population.
New RCMP members do not “receive training on cultural awareness, local knowledge, and the history of the RCMP in Nunavut,” it said.
“This type of training should be added at the earliest opportunity.”
It also found Nunavut RCMP cannot respond to complaints in languages other than English and that the public could not file a complaint in Inuktut.
It said non-professional translators, such as family members, were used to a help file a complaint.
It also found there is insufficient Inuit representation within the RCMP.
“Recruiting and retaining Inuktut-speaking members needs to be a priority,” the report said.
In an email to Nunatsiaq News on Friday, Nunavut RCMP spokesperson Cpl. George Henrie said, “The [Nunavut] RCMP respects the finding of the report and have made improvements to address the public complaints process.”
Henrie said the RCMP has a dedicated a full-time employee to investigate public complaints and will endeavour to find ways to continuously make improvements to the public complaints process in Nunavut.
Looks like GN needs to make a public complaints department so that the RCMP can be held accountable.
But they should be transparent. If the RCMP are at fault release the findings, but if the people who made the complaint is at fault, release those findings as well. Remove the names
What role does the GN have in the RCMP?
The GN is responsible for policing in Nunavut. They have a contract with the RCMP to enforce the law within the territory. The GN can create a civilian review board like many jurisdictions in Canada instead of the RCMP investigating the complaints made against them. This would create transparency.
So, currently they have zero oversight role and would need to develop that?
Basically, yes they have no oversight. All complaints made against Nunavut RCMP are handled by RCMP in Nunavut. If it involves injuries or death, Ottawa Police Service is called in to handle the investigation.
If there is a complaint against police, let’s say in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, etc, the investigation is handled by the civilian review board.
Almost every “complaints” process seems to have many problems.
In actuallity, the problem is that the organization does not want complaints and wants the people who complain to just go away.
As for it taking 4 years to find that there are “many problems”, where do I file a complaint about the length of time taken? Where do I request improvement in the investigation process?
I apologize, however, would it not be better to ensure there might be more than one single 40hr/wk employee inquiring about the complaints for a Territory that spans 1/5 of Canada and has only 40, 000 occupants?
It may be a prudent endeavor to ensure timely processes and to ensure communities have a voice to air their concerns over incidents that occur in their home. That being said though, I appreciate the difficulty it can be for an individual ignorant of the customs of the north endeavoring to meet the standard of an “authority” figure and how that may weigh on the decision-makers ability to provide a sound and objective argument that respects the goals of the NLCA.
Who else can we turn to for justice? My aunt attempted to submit a formal complaint against the school principal and vice principal due to their unacceptable behavior towards her grandson, but unfortunately, the RCMP in Sanikiluaq declined to take action, allegedly due to personal connections with the principals. Are the RCMP in Nunavut genuinely dedicated to upholding the law and protecting the rights of all individuals, or do they prioritize their own interests?
If the RCMP fail to help, Social services should be able to help, the school board members should be aware and it should be reported to the school leaders and superintendent and perhaps the Human Resources. If you want the contact number the school secretary should be able to provide you with the contact information.
The problem is that the school secretary and both VP and the Principal refuse to give out contact information, biggest problem is that the principal will consider the person who wants to make a complaint has mental health problems, every person who has tried to complain gets reported to the rcmp and be Considered as suicidal for speaking out about what’s happening.
RCMP need to get those school employees accountable and not Just look at them as Qallunaat.
Exit interviews for Inuit RCMP officers should reveal a lot of important info. Do they leave the RCMP because they get better paying jobs with the GN or NTI? Do they leave because they don’t like having to police their own? Do they leave because of the stress and being overworked? This information should help build a better RCMP in Nunavut and help the RCMP hire and retain more Inuit police officers.
Lol. A commission took 4 years to figure out people can’t make complaints in the First language of the territory.
But it finds that the complaints process is too long.
Find me a government process that is either just right, or too short. Government is out of touch on every conceivable level.
There is not a person dedicated full time to respond public complaints. There is person who is a full time employee and they respond to public complaints. The commission took 4 years to investigate and complete the report? That seems quite long, that is almost 2 full turn overs of RCMP in the division. It would be interesting to see what the total number of calls for V Division would have been during the same time to get the percentage of complaints to calls and then compare that to the national number.
Well spoken about all the truth they’ve been hiding with the health workers are doing all along. But I go to judge my self and ask to file. I’ve been trying to apply but trying to be so hard to apply with the kivalliq legal aid. Now they are saying about these things we’ve been waiting for long
It doesn’t work. All gn RCMP, nurses complaints from locals citizens, it just doesn’t work. All they’ll get is mental health treatment appointments for making those complaints, or be put to jail or sent down south. Or just be killed, it doesn’t work in Nunavut.
That’s why they need to be justified too when they have a job and doing these things. Just like residential school survivals. They are breaking their laws too. It feels like the business workers but the individual worker. Just because they have the job doesn’t mean they can get away with it. If you really look inside the health centre and who are trying to control and telling to do there job, it’s the mental health workers and social workers that don’t have NTI card, that means people from the territory are trying to get rid from there job. Giving them jobless.
“The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission released the results of its four-year investigation Thursday, issuing nine recommendations and detailing 14 problems it found with the complaints process.”
From a past article in the embedded link :The goal is to complete the investigation and submit a report to commissioner Michelaine Lahaie within one year, McDerby said.”
How can the goal be under a year and it takes you 4 years. A better question is: Who would take a report like this seriously? A lot of things change in 4 years.
Here is one thing that hasn’t changed….. Nunavut continues to be the most dangerous place to be a police officer in Canada (likely North America). Police in Nunavut are 7.5 times more likely to be assaulted than the Canadian average. In fact, Nunavut leads the country in all violent crime except murder (stats are off the charts for attempted murder though). But, Nunavut keeps blaming the police.
In British Columbia, the high rates of hard drugs addiction helped inform the changes how the provincial government and the RCMP approached policing, to be more sensitized to the fact that penalizing people alone was not the solution to addressing the social problem. Reactive and retaliative police violence to social violence is not the solution. The current status quo is not working and is not effective to decreasing violence. The short six and a half month RCMP training program is not sufficient to include more comprehensive community-relations based strategies. European countries offer longer-term training programs between six months and three years. This audit informs changes needed to develop a more trauma-informed approach to policing that could actually reduce public violence rates to police officers. The Nunavut Government has a contract of over $50 million dollars for the RCMP to police on criminal offenses as well as territorial offenses. As Inuit, we pay taxes too and our taxes can be better spent on reducing both public and police violence, through appropriate measures like these Commissions that hold the RCMP accountable for their part.
The BC policies you reference, are being walked back already. They were also a major reason the BC Conservatives went from 2% of the popular vote in 2020 to 43% in 2024. In fact, you see provinces today writing policy on forced rehab. While this may not work effectively, they are largely in response to the failure of the policies you are citing.
You say the RCMP are reactionary, I say you reap what you sow. The fact that :”Nearly two-thirds of complaints were withdrawn or informally resolved” tells me baseless complaints are the norm.
If you google it, you will find the RCMP one of the world’s most respected police forces, but you seem to be suggesting they need months more, if not years more training for Nunavut. Are you aware at all, of the major recruiting problems all Nunavut employers are having, especially the RCMP? You suggest more training to qualify for a job, nobody really wants to begin with………. How about a solution for the real world we live in?
If you’re waiting for the RCMP/Federal government to help reduce violence in Nunavut, you will be waiting a long time. These are local problems and need local solutions.
Legally, you are correct, but in practicality is Inuktut still the territory’s first language?
In fact, the vast majority of Nunavummiut have Inuktut as their fist language but when they need a service or call the police, they have to do that in English, the colonial language. This issue was discussed for over 30 years but nothing changes and most officers cannot take a statement from a victim or a suspect in their first language, Inuktut, only in English, causing many difficulties in court.