https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/provincial-police-flemming-1.6286946
Provincial police force worth a 'hard look,' says N.B. public safety minister
Ted Flemming says New Brunswick closely watching Alberta as it studies dropping RCMP
Ted Flemming was asked by Liberal MLA Keith Chiasson about the possibility of a provincial force during a committee meeting in the legislature last week.
Flemming responded that it's a huge policy issue and it would be "irresponsible" to give a yes or no answer. However, he said it's good Chiasson raised it for discussion.
"It's something we should take a hard look at because it's on the mind of New Brunswickers," Flemming said. It wasn't clear what that "hard look" would mean.
If enacted, switching to a provincial force similar to the Ontario Provincial Police or Sûreté du Québec would be a major and potentially expensive change in how the province is policed. RCMP police most of the province through a 20-year contract with the New Brunswick government that expires in 2032.
RCMP have policed much of New Brunswick under a contract with a province that continues until 2032. (Shane Magee/CBC)
"If that decision is made, there would have to be significant discussions with the federal government because the federal government pays for upward of a third of all RCMP services given to municipalities," Flemming said.
"So if we want to increase police capacity, it's hard to walk away from one third of the funding that's presently in place."
Flemming's comments follow mounting discussion at the municipal level about policing services. Daniel Allain, the province's minister of local governance reform, has said policing was the most frequent topic he heard during consultations with municipalities over the past year.
The province's white paper on local governance reform suggests over the long term, "the entire policing model will be reviewed to ensure its sustainability." A vote at the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick annual meeting in October called on the province to study policing services.
A statement from the Department of Public Safety, responsible for the RCMP contract, didn't say what Flemming's "hard look" would entail.
Spokesperson Geoffrey Downey said in the statement the province has heard from municipalities and "is open to working with them to examine opportunities to provide more adequate and sustainable policing services" in the province.
"The Department of Justice and Public Safety is working on policing reform initiatives to rethink how policing services and other agencies across the public safety continuum deliver public safety services while remaining responsive to changing demands and expectations," Downey said in the statement.
Watching Alberta
Flemming said the province will closely watch Alberta as that province studies whether to switch from RCMP policing rural areas to a provincial police force.
A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests Alberta would pay millions more for policing because of the loss of an annual $170 million subsidy from the federal government for RCMP.
"I think we might be able to learn quite a bit from it," Flemming said of the Alberta study.
Alberta isn't alone in considering a provincial force.
The Saskatchewan government's throne speech this fall also included a reference to considering a provincial police force. Nova Scotia's former Liberal government had started a review of policing services, including whether to launch a provincial force.
Earlier in the New Brunswick committee meeting, People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin said the province needs to do more to address concerns about crime in rural parts of the province, areas policed by RCMP.
"I cannot express how frustrated I am that government is not doing something about rural policing in this province," Austin said.
That echoes concerns that have come up elsewhere.
Memo cites 'growing concern' about RCMP service
A briefing note for Marco Mendicino, the new federal public safety minister, says there is "growing concern" from provinces, territories and municipalities that use the RCMP. The briefing note was released to CBC News through an access to information request.
It says the concerns are tied to the rising cost of policing following Mountie unionization, reduced "value-for-money" for RCMP contract policing services, a national approach that doesn't meet the needs of communities in rural and Eastern Canada, and "low levels of control and accountability over local policing."
Contract policing refers to RCMP providing provincial policing services or in municipalities such as the Moncton area.
Moncton, with the largest RCMP detachment in the province, will soon study its policing services. Its contract is separate from the provincial RCMP contract, but it also ends in 2032.
The last provincial police force was disbanded in 1932 when the RCMP took over. The province had a force called the New Brunswick Highway Patrol in the late 1970s and 80s, but that was not a provincial police force.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/jeff-porter-kennebecasis-police-cost-taxpayers-quispamsis-rothesay-1.5789323
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/police-act-review-new-brunswick-jeff-porter-kennebecasis-1.5905335
On Oct. 30, Quispamsis and Rothesay councils sent a joint letter to Premier Blaine Higgs and Public Safety Minister Ted Flemming, calling for amendments to the Police Act that would see allegations against officers dealt with more quickly.
On Nov. 5, the police association, which represents the nine municipal force unions, asked Flemming to launch an inquiry into Porter's case, said Davidson.
"It was incumbent upon, we felt, the government, to have an independent investigation so that the taxpayers of Quispamsis and Rothesay and the province could see that it had nothing to do with the present suspension with pay [provision] under the Police Act," he said.
As it stands, municipal and regional forces cannot suspend an officer without pay, unless the officer has been found guilty in court or at an arbitration hearing.
Davidson contends suspension with pay is vital to front-line officers who may face false allegations by criminals, which can take years to defeat
He envisions an independent inquiry similar to the one in 2019, when Alphonse MacNeil, a retired assistant commissioner with the RCMP, was hired to review the policies, practices and procedures of the New Brunswick Police Commission.
Flemming has not said whether he will launch an inquiry.
In the meantime, the association agrees with the Quispamsis and Rothesay councils about the need for "a speedier process," he said.
It tabled a proposal during last month's stakeholder talks, which was agreed to by the two chiefs representatives, he said.
"So we would hope that the government respects that. I mean, if some bureaucrats or politicians think they know more than the frontline officers and chiefs of police, well, that's a sad situation."
The stakeholders' committee came up with several major changes, including taking certain powers away from the commission and giving them back to the minister, and having mutually agreed upon arbitrators, according to Davidson.
The review was resurrected last month in the wake of news of Porter's retirement.
An in-person meeting was held, followed up by a video conference, with two representatives each from the police association, the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police, the New Brunswick Police Commission, municipalities, and the province.
Kennebecasis Regional Police Force Wayne Gallant, who represented the chiefs with Miramichi Police Chief Paul Fiander, said they "are supportive of making updates" to the act and "appreciated the opportunity to be consulted."
"We will respect the process and defer any questions to the GNB on the consultations," Gallant said in an emailed statement.
He declined to comment on the Porter matter.
The New Brunswick Police Commission was pleased to participate in the stakeholder meetings, said executive director Jennifer Smith.
"We are encouraged by the work the department is doing to modernize the Police Act and their efforts to seek input from stakeholders. The commission will remain engaged in the process as a stakeholder."
She declined to discuss the matter any further, saying "the process belongs to" the Department of Public Safety.
41. The Plaintiff states that read a few legal actions involving the NBPC. He truly believes that NBPC has a mandate to oversee the actions of the RCMP in the employ of municipalities and the government of NB. On April 12, 2013 an employee denied that the NBPC it has any concerns with the RCMP, so he forwarded the NBPC a judgment with an important statement. Whenever he called the NBPC afterwards she did not allow him to speak to anyone and denied receiving any emails even though several were published on the Internet. The judgment pertains to Miramichi Agricultural Exhibition Association Ltd. v. Chatham (Town) 1995 CanLII 3862 (NB QB). The statement reads as follows:
“Section 20 of the Police Act authorizes the Police Commission to assess the adequacy of each police force and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and determine whether each municipality and the Province is discharging its responsibility for the maintenance of an adequate level of policing.”
Many N.B. municipalities had their own police forces such as Moncton , St.Stephen , St.George , Blacks Harbour , Dalhousie , Blackville , Nackawic , etc . ; and former Liberal Premier Frank Mckenna decreed that he wanted the RCMP , and those forces were disbanded , and replaced with the RCMP . Just another massive mess created by King Frank that the taxpayers will end up paying for .
A provincial force could be better for not being tied to one community, but going back to many small police forces would be a horrible change of direction even aside from the (likely) financial waste that NB cannot afford.
However methinks a lot of nervous Feds read the memo for their latest boss Perhaps you are one of them N'esy Pas?
"A briefing note for Marco Mendicino, the new federal public safety minister, says there is "growing concern" from provinces, territories and municipalities that use the RCMP. The briefing note was released to CBC News through an access to information request.
It says the concerns are tied to the rising cost of policing following Mountie unionization, reduced "value-for-money" for RCMP contract policing services, a national approach that doesn't meet the needs of communities in rural and Eastern Canada, and "low levels of control and accountability over local policing."
This government still needs to get the boot. Terrible government!
Replacing the RCMP with provincial or regional policing services will actually cost more in the long run.
In fact, if you look at the salaries for municipal/regional Police Constables in Canada, you'll find that their salaries and benefits are substantially higher than the RCMP.
That's also true for the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Some provincial police services like Surete du Quebec and Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) actually have Canada's lowest paid Police Officers.
In the case of RNC, a Senior Constable gets paid $85,000 per year plus benefits and bonuses by Year 5.
However, a Halifax Regional Police counterpart gets up to $105,000 per year plus benefits.
If you look at Police Officer salaries in other countries, only Ireland and Japan come close to Canadian Police Officer Salaries.
For example, in Ireland, the highest base salary for a Garda Siochana Constable (Gardai) is €52,482 per year plus allowances and benefits.
Average salary for a Police Officer in Japan is around ¥6,384,350 per year plus allowances, benefits, and gifts.
Among European Union member nations, Police Officers in Greece are paid as high as 2,200 Euro per month plus benefits.
A Police Constable in China's Ministry of Public Security earns a salary of 18,000 RMB or $3,614.98 per month. That's over 4 times an average Chinese citizen earns in a month.
Thanks
32 millions on a new jails seam Higgs has money for is plan
So, I guess you are saying that there is money for projects our elected folks deem are "important", but none for the stuff the suckers who elected them want?
You too buddy
Gerald Celente
Keep the RCMP in NB
Province Type PST GST HST Total Tax Rate Notes:
Alberta GST 5% 5%
British Columbia GST + PST 7% 5% 12% More info
Manitoba GST + PST 7% 5% 12% As of July 1, 2019 the PST rate was reduced from 8% to 7%.
New Brunswick HST 15% 15% As of July 1, 2016 the HST rate increased from 13% to 15%.
Newfoundland and Labrador HST 15% 15% As of July 1, 2016 the HST rate increased from 13% to 15%.
Northwest Territories GST 5% 5%
Nova Scotia HST 15% 15%
Nunavut GST 5% 5%
Ontario HST 13% 13%
Prince Edward Island HST 15% 15%
Quebec GST + *QST *9.975% 5% 14.975%
Saskatchewan GST + PST 6% 5% 11%
Yukon GST 5% 5%
Methinks that is a first...n'esy pas?
Deja Vu Anyone???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vugUalUO8YY&ab_channel=DavidAmos
RCMP Sussex New Brunswick
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:02:35 -0400
From: "Murphy, Michael B. \(DH/MS\)" MichaelB.Murphy@gnb.ca
To: motomaniac_02186@yahoo.com
January 30, 2007
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Sincerely,
Minister of Health
From: "Warren McBeath" warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
To: kilgoursite@ca.inter.net, MichaelB.Murphy@gnb.ca,nada.sarkis@gnb.ca,
CC: ottawa@chuckstrahl.com, riding@chuckstrahl.com,John.
Oda.B@parl.gc.ca,"Bev BUSSON" bev.busson@rcmp-grc.gc.ca,
"Paul Dube" PAUL.DUBE@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
GRC Caledonia RCMP
Traffic Services NCO
Ph: (506) 387-2222
Fax: (506) 387-4622
E-mail warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Sunday, 24 October 2021
Methinks the former Attorney General Mikey Murphy and legions of past and present members of the RCMP laughed as hard as I did at the CBC revelations last week Nesy Pas?
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)" <Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca>
Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2021 00:00:23 +0000
Subject: RE: Methinks somebody should tell the RCMP that Canadians do
not need permission to send their mindless unethical lawyers an emal
N'esy Pas Billy Blair?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
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---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2021 20:00:17 -0400
Subject: Methinks somebody should tell the RCMP that Canadians do not
need permission to send their mindless unethical lawyers an emal N'esy Pas Billy Blair?
To: "Bill.Blair" <Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca>,
heath.krevesky@tritonlogging.
"rob.moore" <rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, "Jenica.Atwin"
<Jenica.Atwin@parl.gc.ca>, "Ginette.PetitpasTaylor"
<Ginette.PetitpasTaylor@parl.
<Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>, pm <pm@pm.gc.ca>, "pierre.poilievre"
<pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca>, premier <premier@gov.bc.ca>,
"John.Williamson" <John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca>, premier
<premier@gov.pe.ca>, PREMIER <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>, premier
<premier@gnb.ca>, premier <premier@gov.nl.ca>, farseno@nb.aibn.com,
tgriordon@nb.aibn.com, association@ajefnb.nb.ca,
serge.rousselle@umoncton.ca, mrichard@lsbnb.ca, lleclerc@lsbnb.ca,
brian.maude@gnb.ca, lrichard@lsbnb.ca, pfrenette@lsbnb.ca,
isabel.lavoiedaigle@gnb.ca, michel.boudreau@fcnb.ca,
lcmarcou@mccain.ca, caroline.lafontaine@gnb.ca, daniel@jardinelaw.ca,
johnjarvie@rothesay.ca, khamer@unb.ca, carley@lutz.nb.ca,
"Gilles.Moreau" <Gilles.Moreau@forces.gc.ca>, "andrea.anderson-mason"
<andrea.anderson-mason@gnb.ca>, "Anita.Anand"
<Anita.Anand@parl.gc.ca>, "andrew.scheer" <andrew.scheer@parl.gc.ca>,
"erin.otoole" <erin.otoole@parl.gc.ca>, oig <oig@sec.gov>,
"ernie.steeves" <ernie.steeves@gnb.ca>
Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, "ian.hanamansing"
<ian.hanamansing@cbc.ca>, "blaine.higgs" <blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>,
"hugh.flemming" <hugh.flemming@gnb.ca>, james.mockler@gnb.ca,
cheryl.scholten@gnb.ca, Kevin.leahy@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, "barbara.massey"
<barbara.massey@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>,
richard.williams@gnb.ca, michael.marin@unb.ca
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: postmaster@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2021 18:03:06 -0500
Subject: Undeliverable: Methinks the guy pictured in Moncton and many
Maritimers trying to get by on the old age stipend agree Heath
Krevesky is eating high on the hog N'esy Pas Ernie Steeves?
To: david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:
barbara.massey (barbara.massey@rcmp-grc.gc.ca)<mailto:barbara.massey@rcmp-
Your message couldn't be delivered because you don't have permission
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Higgs government forced out head of New Brunswick RCMP, letter reveals
Public Safety minister used contract clause to demand replacement in July letter, obtained by CBC News
Public Safety Minister Ted Flemming wrote to the head of the federal police force in July, saying Larry Tremblay, the senior RCMP officer in the province, "no longer commands my confidence" and should be replaced.
RCMP spokesperson Angela Chang said before the letter was released Tuesday that Assistant Commissioner Larry Tremblay made "a personal decision" to retire at the end of this month.
Flemming told RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki in the July 15 letter that Tremblay had been an "an exemplary public servant" but that "regrettably" he was not helping the government "drive significant change" in law enforcement.
Flemming said the government considered it particularly urgent to make drug crime and crime driven by drugs the top policing priority in the province and to "reverse the trend of diminishing RCMP accountability to local government leaders."
He used a section of the province's policing contract with the RCMP to ask Lucki to replace Tremblay "immediately," noting: "It is an urgent necessity."
Public Safety released the letter after a request from CBC News.
Contract clause used to remove head of J Division
Article 7.4 of the province's 20-year contract with the RCMP for provincial policing gives Flemming the power to remove the head of J Division.
The article says the commanding officer "will be replaced as soon as practicable" after a written request from the minister "that satisfies the Commissioner that sufficient cause exists that the officer concerned no longer commands the confidence of the Provincial Minister."
The contract also gives the Public Safety minister a say in who is chosen as a replacement.
"I do not invoke article 7.4 lightly, and I regret that it has become necessary," Flemming wrote.
"Please understand I would not be writing if Assistant Commissioner Tremblay still commands my confidence as commanding officer, or if I believed a solution other than his immediate replacement was viable."
Under the RCMP's agreement to provide provincial policing services in New Brunswick, the commanding officer of J Division acts "under the direction" of the Public Safety minister.
Little insight on why removal was necessary
The contract says the RCMP will "implement the objectives, priorities and goals as determined by" the minister and will provide information, annual reports on provincial objectives and monthly reports on complaints against the force.
Flemming's letter doesn't describe where he thinks Tremblay fell short on drug enforcement.
Public
Safety Minister Ted Flemming wrote to the head of the federal police
force in July, saying Larry Tremblay, the senior RCMP officer in the
province, “no longer commands my confidence” and should be replaced. (Jacques Poitras/CBC file photo)
In an interview, the minister said during local government reform consultations this year, "crime and policing" was one of the most common complaints from New Brunswickers.
"The province has put a lot of money into government action on illegal drugs," Flemming said. "We want to declare war on these people."
Last March, the provincial budget announced an extra $2.3 million for J Division's crime reduction unit "with the goal of reducing the illegal drug supply in the province."
The funding was designed to support the province's five-year addiction and mental health action plan, and was allocated to a recently created drug unit within J Division.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Hans Ouellette said earlier this week that the force was "well on track to meet or exceed all of its key performance indicators" for crime reduction in 2021-22.
He said the drug unit had already achieved 16 "high-risk illicit drug seizures" halfway through the year, exceeding its target of 12 for the entire year.
There were 14 disruptions of "mid-level" trafficking organizations halfway through the year, on pace to beat the year's target for 20.
Flemming said the force's statement about hitting its targets was at odds with what he was hearing around the province.
"I found and the government found that we were not having the kind of leadership that we felt we needed. The situation was serious, it was out of control, and that decision was made."
Tremblay was named assistant commissioner for New Brunswick in 2016. His replacement hasn't been officially announced.
The RCMP would not comment Tuesday on the contents of the letter obtained by CBC News.
Chang said the force is "committed to providing the best possible service to the communities we serve while remaining accountable to the budget we receive."
She also noted the data on drug-enforcement performance targets Ouellette provided earlier in the week.
"We work closely with our partners and communities on priorities, directing our resources to where we can have the most impact," she said.
On Saturday, J Division published a series of tweets that included an acknowledgement that the lands on which New Brunswick is situated are "the unceded and unsurrendered traditional territory" of the Wolastoqiyik, Mi'kmaq and Peskotomuhkati people.
That came two days after Flemming sent a memo to all provincial government employees banning the acknowledgement of "unceded and unsurrendered" territory.
An initial version of the tweet thread referred specifically to Flemming's memo and was signed by Tremblay. But it was soon deleted and replaced with a thread without a reference to the memo and without Tremblay's name.
Ouellette said in an interview on the weekend that the tweets were part of the force's efforts to strengthen the relationship with Indigenous communities as part of its national reconciliation strategy.
He said he couldn't comment on whether there were any "private conversations" between the government and the RCMP about Flemming's memo.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/officer-not-taking-helm-of-rcmp-1.6219920
RCMP reverses decision on officer slated to replace N.B.'s top cop
Force gives no reason for decision after predecessor was pushed from top job by province
Sgt. Caroline Duval said "a decision has been made by the RCMP to not proceed with the pending appointment of C/Supt Kevin Leahy as Commanding Officer in New Brunswick."
No reasons were given for the decision.
In an emailed statement, Duval said Chief Superintendent Leahy "remains an active member of the RCMP."
Leahy currently heads the Parliamentary Protective Service in Ottawa.
Duval said the RCMP will ensure an interim commanding officer "will be put in place until a permanent replacement is named."
Leahy was in line to take over for Assistant Commissioner Larry Tremblay after Tremblay was pushed out of the job earlier this year by the Higgs government.
New Brunswick RCMP Assistant Commissioner Larry Tremblay will be leaving the job at the end of the month. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
In July, Public Safety Minister Ted Flemming used Article 7.4 of the province's policing agreement with the RCMP to ask for the immediate replacement of Tremblay.
In a letter to the head of the RCMP, Flemming said Tremblay "no longer commands my confidence" and should be replaced.
Flemming told RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki in the July 15 letter that Tremblay had been an "an exemplary public servant" but that, "regrettably," he was not helping the government "drive significant change" in law enforcement.
Flemming said the government considered it particularly urgent to make drug crime and crime driven by drugs the top policing priority in the province and to "reverse the trend of diminishing RCMP accountability to local government leaders."
Public Safety released the letter after a request from CBC News. Before its release, an RCMP spokesperson said Tremblay had made "a personal decision" to retire at the end of this month.
Tremblay has not responded to a CBC request for an interview, while Duval said a similar request to talk to Leahy was declined.
Contract clause used to remove head of J Division
Under the RCMP's 20-year agreement to provide provincial policing services in New Brunswick, the commanding officer of J Division acts "under the direction" of the Public Safety minister.
Article 7.4 of the contract gives the minister the power to remove the head of J Division.
The article says the commanding officer "will be replaced as soon as practicable" after a written request from the minister "that satisfies the Commissioner that sufficient cause exists that the officer concerned no longer commands the confidence of the Provincial Minister."
The contract also gives the Public Safety minister a say in who is chosen as a replacement.
The Department of Public Safety was asked for comment on Thursday, but a spokesperson referred all questions to the RCMP.
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