I respect the Federal Court's decision that the RCMP's response to the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) matter was not provided as soon as feasible, as per the RCMP Act.
In the past there had been delays in responding to CRCC interim reports due in part to the number of interim reports issued, the scale and complexity of the cases and the volume of relevant material to be analyzed.
In 2019, we committed to address this delay, through an action plan to prioritize all outstanding CRCC interim reports and substantially increase the number of personnel responsible for review and analysis.
A 2019 Memorandum of Understanding between the CRCC and RCMP commits us to improving our service standards by providing a written response to CRCC reports within six months.
We have made significant progress; in November 2021, we cleared our backlog of responses to CRCC interim reports and since April 1st, 2021 all new interim reports have been responded to within the agreed upon six-month time frame.
We are pleased to advise that as of January 11, 2022, there are only 13 outstanding interim reports requiring a response from the RCMP, all of which will be responded to within six months.
Our efforts are a reflection of the RCMP's commitment to strengthening the trust and confidence of Canadians in our police service.
Brenda Lucki
Commissioner