Dave Brown’s report on RCMP management marks the seventh recent such analysis. He says the RCMP is “institutionally sick”. Mr. Brown offers changes to remedy the corruption that has seriously weakened a Canadian icon. He says that no further investigation is necessary. However, while his examination has been excellent as far as it goes — both this and his conclusion fall short. Mr. Brown’s study was internal; he did not examine the impact of this crippled-from-the-top federal force on the public. This is why a full government inquiry is necessary. This out-of-control institution has damaged the letter and spirit of Canada’s experiment in democracy. Canadians who have been injured by it should have their day in court.
Mr. Brown makes reference to an Ottawa Police investigation of the RCMP. The RCMP took over, making up the majority of the team. The RCMP is well practiced at this. When the CSIS was established under Pierre Trudeau’s watch, those who were in the RCMP Security Service were given the option of remaining with the RCMP or joining the CSIS. Those who switched took control of the CSIS and ran it in a manner that made it no different from the SS — complete with their bag of dirty tricks.
When whitewashers — mostly retired CSISers — try, for example, to excuse the CSIS in the wake of the Air India disaster, they argue that the CSIS was a young force and imply that because of this they should be forgiven their bungling. Just so much drivel to keep the public at bay. The fact is that the CSIS was then, and is today, run by former SS men — if not in person because many of them have retired or are reaching retirement age, then in attitude. A collection of liars, bunglers, and psychopathic personalities, as has ever been collected in one cluster. The one thing they do well is surround and control succeeding General Directors. They are also adept at covering their activities from public view by smoke screening their activities — both illegal and those that are contrary to the spirit of our Constitution.
In a succession of books published by men experienced in the field from London to Washington and Langley, Canada’s secret service has always been treated with a nudge-nudge-wink-wink because of its history of stupidity and bungling. There was a complaint recently that while a major look at the international secret service was eight hundred pages long, reference to Canada’s Keystone Kops was only four pages. Rather than complain, the gullible who think the CSIS is worth the money, should consider this brief attention an act of kindness.
I expect that sometime soon the boulder under which this nest of intellectual and moral maggots will be overturned and the public also will learn what a sick institution we have in the CSIS. Then, the strong language I use above will be seen as entirely justified.
Looking forward
Carl Dow
Editor and Publisher
True North Perspective