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CRIME
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LIBERALS CALL FOR JUDICIAL INQUIRY INTO RCMP PENSION AND INSURANCE PLANS |
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Liberal Opposition Leader Stéphane Dion has called for a judicial inquiry into allegations about corruption and obstruction in relation to the RCMP's pension and insurance plans.
"These serious allegations first came to light in September 2006," said Dion, referring to the release of the RCMP's internal probe into the matter and reports in the National Post of obstruction of that probe by RCMP brass.
Remarkably, the Minister of Public Safety took no steps to investigate the matter. Instead, just days after these allegations surfaced, Day announced on September 27, 2006, Conservative government had full confidence in the RCMP Commissioner Giuiliano Zaccardelli, Mr. Dion said.
"Mr. Day even received a letter dated December 7, 2006, from lawyers acting on behalf of the RCMP, requesting a ministerial inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of the fund, and still took no action."
Dion took the Conservatives to task today for suggesting this was a new issue somehow related to the previous Liberal government, a ploy he said was designed to mask their inaction and incompetence.
"It's a sad deflection from the Conservatives' failure to act on this earlier, when the allegations first arose," he said. "Clearly, Mr. Day's handling of this issue has been completely inadequate."
Dion said that Day's inept handling of this matter is further proof that he must step aside as minister, particularly since the RCMP is still deciding whether to launch a criminal investigation stemming from documents indicating Day and former Canadian Alliance officials may have paid off a fellow Alliance MP to make way for Day's election in 2000.
In December 2006, following the November 28, 2006, release of the Auditor General's report into irregularities in the RCMP pension and insurance plans, and Commissioner Zaccardelli's resignation over conflicting testimony in the Maher Arar matter, Liberal MP Boris Wrzesnewskyj continued to press for government action on this matter.
He pushed for the Conservatives to allow four Mounties currently on the force to testify privately before the Public Accounts Committee with more information about the obstructed investigations. Those officers then said they were unable to go public because the RCMP Act forbids officers from speaking to the media.
"It was the previous Liberal government who called in the Auditor General and it was the Liberals on the Public Accounts Committee who have been demanding action on this," said Dion.
Wrzesnewskyj added: "The Conservative government did nothing. Now it talks about these allegations as if they are new. Did Minister Day forget about these allegations made in September, or was he just asleep at the switch then? Or is this just all an eve-of-election show?"
Staff Sergeant Ron Lewis stated in this opening remarks that Wrzesnewskyj's "persistence and dedication to justice has been extremely helpful to allow this story to be told, and is a great service to the citizens of Canada."
Dion pointed out that Liberal members of the committee have faced a wall of obstruction from both Conservative and NDP committee members over Liberal demands to get to the bottom of the alleged wrongdoings concerning the RCMP pension funds.
"We knew there was an issue here and it was Conservative and NDP members of the committee who were blocking our attempts to get to the bottom of this," he said. "It took senior RCMP officers going before the committee to bluntly explain the allegations before these members would listen.
"These allegations have created a crisis in one of the most trusted and essential institutions in Canada. The Conservatives want an investigator who is accountable only to Cabinet, so that they can control the process for political gain. But what is needed is a full public inquiry that is transparent and free to get to the bottom of the issue. The Public Accounts Committee must also continue to do its work, with the full cooperation of the government, to get some immediate answers - Canadians deserve no less."
Menwhile, Day has said that a federally appointed investigator will probe the allegations. He promised a "full public report" on the RCMP scandal. He said the investigator, who was not immediately named, will report to the government within 12 weeks on accusations of fraud and abuse in the management of the national police force's pension and insurance plans.
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