House of Commons BACKGROUND GUIDE - Vancouver Model United Nations
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House of Commons BACKGROUND GUIDE
Vancouver Model United Nations
The Twentieth Annual Session | January 29–31, 2021
Dear Members of Parliament,
William Tsai
Secretary-General Welcome to the VMUN 2021 Canadian House of Commons!
My name is Cynthia Gan, and it is my pleasure to serve as your Speaker this year. Starting
my own Model UN journey as a shy—and somewhat terrified—delegate in this very
Vivian Gu committee, I have since seen myself, and those around me, grow in various aspects since
Director-General that first raised placard and nerve-wracking speech. As MPs, you will be delving into the
world of party politics and tackling the topic of Police and RCMP Reform—one that is
Derek Wu particularly relevant, perhaps, now more than ever. You will each have a uniquely crucial
Chief of Staff role to play in this committee, based on your party, the constituency you represent, and
your portfolio.
Tyler Rosenzweig
Director of Logistics In order to uphold fruitful and productive committee sessions, it is expected of MPs to
prepare and research thoroughly on both the topic at hand, as well as your own relevant
stances before the conference. Please feel free to refer to the following resources in your
preparation process: this Background Guide on the topic of Police and RCMP Reform,
Joyce Chen the Private Members’ Resolution (PMR) Guide, and the committee Standing Orders, all
USG General Assemblies of which can be found on VMUN’s website. The parliamentary procedures will be
reviewed and clarified during the first committee session as well, so we encourage you not
Ethan Jasny to feel intimidated by any unfamiliarity. In addition, we highly recommend that you
USG Specialized Agencies immerse yourself in in-depth research leading up to the conference and assure you that
the more you invest in this unique and rewarding experience, the more you will ultimately
Vivian Liang walk away with.
USG Conference
Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out at hoc@vmun.com.
Jonah Ezekiel
USG Finance I look forward to meeting you all at VMUN 2021!
Laura Choi Sincerely,
USG Communications
Cynthia Gan
Armaan Jaffer HOC Speaker
USG Delegate Affairs
Mia Tsao
USG Delegate AffairsPolice and RCMP Reform............................................................................................................ 2
Overview.................................................................................................................................................. 2
Timeline................................................................................................................................................... 3
Historical Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 4
Development of Police Forces and the RCMP...............................................................................................4
Indigenous Relations .........................................................................................................................................6
Regulation and Accountability ........................................................................................................................6
Current Situation ................................................................................................................................... 7
Operations, Regulation, and Accountability ..................................................................................................7
Minorities and Race-Based Violence ..............................................................................................................8
Police Funding ................................................................................................................................................ 10
Possible Solutions and Controversies ................................................................................................ 10
Increasing Transparency Through Race-Based Data ................................................................................ 10
Specialization and Differentiation of Roles ................................................................................................. 11
Community Policing Model .......................................................................................................................... 11
Budget Reductions .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Increasing Diversity Within the Police Force ............................................................................................. 12
Body-Worn Cameras ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Bloc Positions........................................................................................................................................ 12
Liberal Party .................................................................................................................................................... 12
Conservative Party .......................................................................................................................................... 13
New Democratic Party ................................................................................................................................... 13
Green Party ...................................................................................................................................................... 14
Bloc Québécois ................................................................................................................................................ 14
Discussion Questions........................................................................................................................... 14
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 15
Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 1Police and RCMP Reform Overview While policing in Canada was originally rooted in maintaining order during the country’s early days of colonization, both the responsibilities of police, as well as the context surrounding their role in society have changed significantly over time. In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) serves primarily to enforce laws created by Parliament across the nation and provide active policing to all provinces and territories— except Ontario and Quebec, which operate their own provincial police forces. 1 In general, Canada has maintained relatively low rates of crime over the past few decades, consistently ranking within the world’s top ten safest countries according to the Global Peace Index. 2 However, even with constantly evolving police policies, contemporary policing in Canada continues to bear many shortcomings, which have become the subject of increasing controversy. 3 Most notably, main areas of contention surround the issues of federal and provincial police budgets and the regulation of use of force, especially with regards to racialized targeting of Black and Indigenous individuals in Canada. Both in light of recent developments in the Black Lives Matter civil rights movement, as well as increasing scrutiny of public expenditures following the 2008 economic crisis, there has been gradual but steady pressure on the issue of police budget cuts, with social justice groups greatly influencing changes to budgeting. 4 While there is no way to empirically prove an ideal police budget, several studies have found that there is no correlation between increased police spending and any decrease in violent crime rates. 5 Over CAD 15 billion was spent by the federal government on police expenditures in the years 2017 and 2018 alone, much more than other government services, such as public transportation—where a total of CAD 3.4 billion was spent over the course of three years from 2016 to 2019. 6 Members of Parliament (MPs) should note that increasing public criticism on these topics has clashed with the rising costs of policing in recent years. One of the most prominent issues that officials in Canada face when investigating racialized targeting in the police force is a lack of race-based data; while the RCMP keeps a database on officers’ use of force, this data does not include race. 7 Consequently, analysis on racial criminal justice issues, such as the over-incarceration of 1 “The Law on Police Use of Force Worldwide,” Policing Law, August 2019, https://www.policinglaw.info/country/canada. 2 Institute for Economics and Peace, “Global Peace Index 2019,” Vision of Humanity, 2019, http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2019/06/GPI-2019-web003.pdf. 3 “The History of Policing in Canada,” WLU, August 13, 2019, https://online.wlu.ca/news/2019/08/13/history-policing- canada#:~:text=Canada's%20Frontier%20and%20the%20North%2DWest%20Mounted%20Police&text=Fearing%20that%20Amer ican%20deaths%20might,enforce%20laws%20in%20the%20region. 4 Ibid. 5 Alexandra Kanik, “The reality of US city budgets: Police funding eclipses most other agencies,” CityMetric, 2020, https://www.citymetric.com/politics/reality-us-city-budgets-police-funding-eclipses-most-other-agencies-5186. 6 Government of Canada, “Public Transit Infrastructure,” Infrastructure Canada, 2019, https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/pti- itc-eng.html. 7 Justin Ling, “Reforms to RCMP,” National Post, June 10, 2020, https://nationalpost.com/news/reforms-to-rcmp-canadian-justice- system-coming-as-protests-sweep-world-public-safety-minister-says. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 2
Indigenous and Black individuals and the disproportionate targeting of people of colour in street checks (also referred to as “carding”) in cities, has proven to be difficult. In addition, the RCMP’s refusal to publicize information on the internal processes of its complaint investigation and resolution system has invited criticism on the question of transparency in the police force. 8 Timeline 1651 — Ontario, formerly known as Upper Canada, and Québec City adopt the first law enforcement systems, based on watch-and-ward models in France and England. 9 1835 — Toronto establishes the first police department in Canada, followed by Québec City and Montréal in 1838 and 1840, respectively. 10 1867 — Provincial police departments are established throughout Canada’s rural areas, spreading westward from Eastern Canada. 11 1868 — The Dominion Police Force is established. The force is given jurisdiction over the entire country and becomes responsible for security functions, such as the protection of government buildings, maintenance of criminal record data, and secret service work. 12 1873 — Parliament creates the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) force, an early predecessor of today’s RCMP. 13 February 1, 1920 — The NWMP force is merged with the Dominion Police Force and renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) by Parliament. 14 1970–1975 — Parliament expands RCMP responsibilities over the course of five years to include airport policing, V.I.P. security, and drug enforcement. 15 July 1, 1984 — Parliament transfers intelligence operations from the RCMP to a civilian agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), following a scandal wherein RCMP officers burned property and stole membership lists from the Parti Québécois. 16 January 26, 2007 — The Canadian government reaches a settlement of CAD 10.5 million with Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was sent to, held captive, and tortured in Syria for ten months in 2002, after the RCMP 8 Ibid. 9 “A Brief History of Policing,” Anderson College, May 27, 2015, https://andersoncollege.com/history-policing-canada/. 10 Ibid. 11 Thomas Whetstone, “The Development of Police in Canada,” Britannica, July 28, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/police/The-development-of-police-in-Canada. 12 WLU, The History of Policing in Canada.” 13 Ibid. 14 Whetstone, “The Development of Police in Canada.” 15 R.C. Macleod, “Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, November 15, 2016, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/royal-canadian-mounted-police. 16 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 3
provided false information that he was an Islamic extremist with possible links to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. 17 2012 — Reports from female RCMP members of frequent workplace harassment are publicized, causing public criticism of the RCMP. 18 March 2020 — Civil rights protests break out following the death of George Floyd in the United States, advocating against racially motivated police brutality. Historical Analysis Development of Police Forces and the RCMP During the 17th century and its accompanying waves of colonization, early forms of policing were locally established across Canada to maintain peace between hunters, traders, and Indigenous peoples. Overseen by municipalities, policing systems varied across different areas of the country, based on France and England’s watch-and-ward systems, in which regular citizens were appointed to help maintain peace on a community level. 19 These systems placed emphasis on a collective responsibility to maintain safety. During the early 19th century, the model of policing in Canada was based on that of the London Metropolitan Police in England, evolving to operate closely under Peelian principles (developed by British Prime Minister Robert Peel)—the notion that law enforcement consists of regular citizens, who are given authority to enforce the law through the consent of their fellow citizens. 20 This model emphasized de-escalation strategies and the use of physical force as only a last resort in restoring order; through this set of principles, police were primarily accountable to their communities and granted the ability to exercise force under a social compact that held them responsible for protecting the communities they served. Under the Peelian system, civil liberties and the freedom to protest were safeguarded and public opposition toward a centralized police force largely diminished at the time. Established in 1868, the Dominion Police Force (DPF) was the first federal agency in Canada responsible for security and crime reduction that was given jurisdiction over the entire country, although it operated mainly in the densely-populated eastern parts of Canada. 21 As the only federal police force at the time, the responsibilities of the DPF centred around state security functions, including but not limited to the maintenance of criminal records, safeguarding of government buildings and security services, and secret service work, such as reconnaissance and intelligence, although this was later transferred to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). 17 “Maher Arar Accepts Ottawa’s Apology,” City News, January 26, 2007, https://toronto.citynews.ca/2007/01/26/maher-arar- accepts-ottawas-apology-and-10-5-million-compensation/. 18 Ibid. 19 WLU, "The History of Policing in Canada.” 20 “The Peelian Principles,” The Crime Prevention Website, https://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/police-crime-prevention- service. 21 WLU, "The History of Policing in Canada.” Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 4
During the period of time after Confederation, a need arose for security and patrolling in the new regions of the West, where Canada had purchased a vast amount of land—formerly known as Rupert’s Land—from the Hudson’s Bay Company. 22 Prime Minister John A. Macdonald introduced the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) on May 23, 1873, as a means of both securing Canadian sovereignty and regulating trade. The NWMP served three purposes; the first was to shut down illegal posts in the whiskey trade along the southern prairies, consequently also quelling the violence and devastating effects brought upon Indigenous communities. The second was to maintain order during the Klondike Gold Rush; the NWMP ensured that all travellers abided by gold rush regulations surrounding proper equipment and that that travellers did not die from starvation or exposure by checking that prospectors had the appropriate provisions needed to pass NWMP checkpoints. 23 Lastly, the NWMP spearheaded efforts to build relationships with the Indigenous and Métis people in the region over the course of a 15 year period; such relations were often complicated, and not always in the Indigenous groups’ best interest. 24 With the illegal whiskey trade extinguished and the Klondike Gold Rush over, a majority of the original responsibilities of the NWMP had disappeared by the early 20th century. In 1904, the NWMP force was merged with the Dominion Police Force (DPF) to become a single entity: later officially renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in February 1920. 25 To this day, the RCMP retains most of its original duties and responsibilities, including providing policing to every province in Canada, except Ontario and Québec (where RCMP officers are still present with jurisdictional powers but exist alongside provincial police forces), as well as managing national security matters and federal crimes. By 1938, the RCMP had grown to a force of approximately 2,350 officers, responsible for the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. 26 In light of the force’s rapidly increasing size and responsibilities, Commissioner James MacBrien created a policy in 1938 that sent members of the RCMP to university each year for advanced training; in addition, MacBrien helped to establish the RCMP Reserve in 1937, which was created with the intention of better preparing personnel for the expectation of war in the near future. In the aftermath of World War II, the RCMP’s numbers increased significantly due to the surplus of trained personnel, among other reasons. In 1950, British Columbia and Newfoundland fell under the jurisdiction of RCMP as well. 27 During the 1970s, the RCMP expanded significantly, both in its membership and its responsibilities. Many new members were being accepted into the force and women were granted the ability to become members of the RCMP in 1974. 28 The RCMP’s duties expanded to include airport policing, drug enforcement, and federal V.I.P. security. 22 Edward Butts, “North-West Mounted Police,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, December 6, 2016, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/north-west-mounted-police. 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid. 25 Anderson College, “A Brief History of Policing.” 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 WLU, "The History of Policing in Canada.” Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 5
Indigenous Relations During its existence, the NWMP often led diplomatic relations with Indigenous and Metis groups, facilitating treaties regarding land rights; police often persuaded Indigenous leaders, under the facade of friendship, to sign onto such agreements with the Canadian government. Many of these treaties resulted in Indigenous groups being required to place their communities into federal reserves and give up large areas of land—along with their traditions and customary ways of life. Although the NWMP’s declared mandate was to develop relationships with the First Nations and supposedly represent their interests, the police ultimately played a significant role in diminishing Indigenous resources and increasing forced dependency on the Canadian government. In addition, the police often failed to protect Indigenous interests amid white settlement throughout the nineteenth century, with one of the most prominent examples being the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Over the course of the railway's construction in the 19th century, over 5,000 Indigenous individuals were forcibly relocated from their homes and communities by the NWMP. 29 The RCMP were also heavily involved in the capture and relocation of children from Indigenous communities to residential schools across Canada, where over 150,000 Indigenous students suffered physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. 30 Although the RCMP have since emphasized that they were not aware of what occurred within the walls of residential schools, Indigenous communities continue to experience a strained relationship with the police to this day. Regulation and Accountability During the 1960s, the RCMP underwent several shifts in security priorities and intelligence operations within the country, given newly perceived domestic threats of separatism. Responsible for undercover anti-separatist movement operations in Quebec, the RCMP was found in 1973 to have illegally stolen membership lists from the Parti Québécois and set property on fire. 31 Following this instance of unlawful use of power, questions arose from both citizens and policymakers alike about what the fundamental role of police truly was within Canada. To help answer questions of accountability, as well as the extent to which police should be exempted from breaking the law while on the job, Justice David McDonald of the Supreme Court of Alberta established the Royal Commission of Inquiry Into Certain Activities of the RCMP—also referred to as the McDonald Commission— under the direction of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Through an investigation into the event, the Commission recommended the transfer of intelligence operations from the RCMP to a civilian agency instead. Parliament obliged, creating the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on July 1, 1984. 32 29 Eric Andrew-Gee, “The Railways Got Very Wealthy On Our Land,” The Globe and Mail, March 3, 2020, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-the-railways-got-very-wealthy-on-our-land-how-rails-colonial-past/. 30 “RCMP ‘herded’ native kids to residential schools,” CBC, October 29, 2011, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rcmp-herded- native-kids-to-residential-schools-1.992618. 31 Macleod, “Royal Canadian Mounted Police." 32 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 6
Current Situation The system of law enforcement in Canada operates under three tiers: federal, provincial, and municipal. The federal tier of policing consists of the RCMP, which is responsible for the enforcement of federal laws across the country. On a provincial level, many provinces and territories contract the RCMP for policing services as well— rather than funding and providing their own provincial or municipal police forces. The sole exceptions are Ontario and Quebec, which operate their own provincial police departments—the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), respectively. In many cases, the RCMP is also contracted for policing on the municipal level in conjunction with municipal police services, such as the Vancouver Police Department. 33 Throughout Canada, there are 141 non-RCMP municipal police services and 36 Indigenous self-administered services as of 2018. 34 In the territories of Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, the RCMP acts as the sole police force. Operations, Regulation, and Accountability Currently, the RCMP force is responsible for a wide range of duties, including but not limited to the handling of border crimes, organized crime, terrorism, financial crimes, and illegal drug trafficking. Across all provinces and territories, the RCMP consists of over 30,000 members as of 2019, of which 19,000 are active police officers— making RCMP members approximately 30 percent of all police in Canada. 35 As the largest police force in the country, the RCMP’s formal mandate is to prevent crime and maintain “peace and order” across all parts of the nation. 36 This mandate is split into five main areas. Firstly, the RCMP works closely with both domestic and international intelligence partners in missions to dismantle and combat organized crime. 37 However, due to previous decisions by bodies such as the Commission into Certain Activities of the RCMP, intelligence information and data are mainly filed and managed by external groups other than the RCMP, such as the CSIS, in order to minimize abuse of information. Secondly, the RCMP aims to reduce youth involvement in crime by tackling issues of bullying, radicalization, and substance misuse in their early stages, via outreach programs in schools and communities, as well as close partnerships with other youth-oriented organizations and agencies. 38 Thirdly, the RCMP is responsible for contributing to safer and healthier Indigenous communities, through promoting recruitment of Indigenous peoples in the RCMP and working closely with First Nations communities and self-administered justice initiatives; however, a long history of animosity between Canada’s police and Indigenous peoples often complicates this relationship, and there have 33 Erin Duffin, “Police in Canada - Statistics and Facts,” Statista, January 28, 2020, https://www.statista.com/topics/2833/police-in- canada/#:~:text=Law%20enforcement%20in%20Canada%20is,Yukon%2C%20and%20the%20Northwest%20Territories. 34 Ibid. 35 Erin Duffin, “Number of RCMP In Canada,” Statista, October 18, 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/436207/number-of- royal-canadian-mounted-police-officers-in- canada/#:~:text=There%20were%2030%2C092%20active%20personnel,service%20in%20Canada%20in%202018. 36 Macleod, “Royal Canadian Mounted Police.” 37 Government of Canada, “Strategic Priorities,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police, https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/prior/index- eng.htm. 38 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 7
been several cases of police brutality in encounters with Indigenous individuals that have sparked outrage. 39 The fourth focus of the RCMP’s mandate is to fight economic crime, through enhancing preventative resources for the public and sharing intelligence with partner agencies at the municipal, national, and international levels. Finally, the RCMP works closely with community partners as well as foreign and domestic law enforcement groups to detect, prevent, and respond to potential national security threats in the form of terrorist criminal activity. Following allegations of RCMP officers destroying Party Québécois property, the Pierre Trudeau government created the Commission into Certain Activities of the RCMP, which became the first external body to hold the RCMP accountable by investigating cases of stolen information, 400 no-warrant break-ins, and more. 40 Although the Commission’s final report was released in 1981, today’s system of accountability within the RCMP follows much of the same structure. All RCMP personnel are accountable to the RCMP Commissioner, who works alongside the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to direct and manage all matters related to the RCMP force. 41 Since the 1980s, there has also been a growth in the web of public safety organizations and entities, such as private security organizations and community non-profit and lobbyist groups focused around security, allowing the RCMP to no longer be the only force responsible for public security across Canada. MPs should note that it is crucial for the RCMP to adapt and collaborate with other groups and organizations within this web, rather than treating them as isolated entities—if they are to most effectively tackle both existing and emerging issues in the status quo. Minorities and Race-Based Violence Since the death of George Floyd in March 2020 at the hands of three police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States, instances of racial profiling and police brutality in Canada have come under increased scrutiny. At first glance, Canada appears not to have any glaring issues surrounding racism in law enforcement, especially in comparison to the U.S., where Black individuals are statistically three times as likely as white individuals to experience police brutality. 42 However, the surface-level appearance of fair racial treatment in Canada is mainly due to a lack of race-based data surrounding police use of force in the first place. 43 Currently, there is no national database that records civilian deaths that occur during encounters with the police. Although individual police departments collect some information on incidents involving use of force, data is neither consistent nor released regularly to the public. In addition, these statistics do not include information on race or ethnicity. 44 39 Beatrice Britneff, “‘Disturbing’ police violence against Indigenous people will be investigated: Trudeau,” Global News, 2020, https://globalnews.ca/news/7030052/miller-outraged-police-violence-indigenous-people/. 40 Jeffrey Sallot, “Royal commission on Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, December 16, 2013, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/royal-commission-on-inquiry-into-certain-activities-of-the-royal- canadian-mounted-police. 41 Ibid. 42 Frank Edwards, “Risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, race–ethnicity, and sex,” PNAS, 2019, https://www.pnas.org/content/116/34/16793. 43 Ling, “Reforms to RCMP." 44 Natasha Simpson, “Canada Has Race-Based Police Violence Too. We Don’t Know How Much,” The Tyee, June 2, 2020, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2020/06/02/Canada-Race-Based-Violence/. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 8
In response to the lack of federal data, researchers, journalists, and civil rights organizations have conducted individual studies and reports in order to produce statistics on racial bias within Canada’s police forces. From a limited pool of reliable information, these statistics show that Black and Indigenous individuals, among other minorities, are far more likely to experience excessive police force ending in serious injury or fatality in Canada; a database compiled by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) of every person killed during a police encounter between 2000 and 2017 showed that Black and Indigenous people were drastically overrepresented. Indigenous people made up more than 60% of those who died during police encounters in Winnipeg, Manitoba, despite only making up 10.6% of the city’s population. 45 Similarly, in Toronto, Ontario, Black people comprised 37% of cases where a police encounter resulted in death, while only making up 8% percent of the city’s population. 46 Other studies show similar findings: a Globe and Mail report from 2019 found that more than one- third of all people fatally shot by the RCMP between 2007 and 2017 were Indigenous, despite Indigenous people making up less than five percent of Canada’s population. 47 Moreover, unlike the U.S., very few police officers in Canada are currently equipped with body cameras. The municipal police of Calgary, Alberta is the sole police force that requires body cameras for all of its active officers. 48 Although the RCMP regularly uses body-worn microphones to record officers on the job, there has been increasing public pressure to equip officers with body-worn cameras as well. 49 Several provincial and municipal police departments across the country, including the Toronto Police Service, also employ random street checks. Sometimes referred to as “carding,” statistics show that these checks disproportionately target people of colour. 50 In addition, an independent study by the Ontario Human Rights Commission concluded that Black residents are statistically 20 times more likely than their white counterparts to be shot by police in Toronto. 51 This example of racial profiling within the police force sheds light on the high rates of racialized police brutality. Again, accountability measures toward systemic racism are, however, difficult to implement with no official recording of race-based data with regards to police encounters. Although on average, Canada is one of the safest countries in the world, safety conditions vary widely within the country. Canada’s most disadvantaged areas, such as the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver, British Columbia and the Jane and Finch area in Toronto, Ontario hold disproportionately high rates of crime and consequently, often experience strained relationships with the police. MPs should take into account the lack of trust between police and the communities they serve in these areas, where higher crime rates correlate with higher use of force, with residents often viewing the police as an occupying force. In addition, over the course of the police force’s many internal developments, a shortcoming that still remains is the underrepresentation of women and visible minorities in uniform. Although many argue that police forces 45 Ibid. 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid. 48 Justin Ling, “As use of bodycams becomes common in U.S., most Canadian police forces resistant,” National Post, July 15, 2019, https://nationalpost.com/news/as-use-of-bodycams-becomes-common-in-u-s-most-canadian-police-forces-including-rcmp- resistant. 49 Ibid. 50 WLU, "The History of Policing in Canada.” 51 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 9
should reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, figures in 2015 showed that graduating RCMP classes were, on average, composed of approximately only 20% women, 10% visible minorities, and less than 2% Indigenous peoples. 52 Police Funding Following the death of George Floyd, civil rights protests around the world have called for the defunding of police forces. With increasing attention directed at data that suggests systemic racism within Canadian police forces, as well as increasing restrictions on municipal budgets throughout Canada, politicians may feel pressure to reduce police budgets. 53 In addition, there has been increasing attention on public expenditures ever since the economic crisis of 2008. With policing being one of the largest expenses across both federal and provincial budgets, police spending in several jurisdictions have already seen dramatic cutbacks in recent years. However, this decrease is not the case in a majority of the jurisdictions in Canada; in fact, the cost of policing has been rising over the last half-decade due in part to the increasing number of police forces, as well as rising wages— with the average hourly wage for a police officer being CAD 31.17 in 2019. 54 In 2017, expenditures for police operations across Canada averaged CAD 414 per capita and in Ontario, the province with the highest police spending, totalled CAD 5 billion. It is also important to note that while higher police budgets do not necessarily correspond with lower rates of crime, officials have spoken out in recent years that the RCMP and police force are already experiencing limited human and financial resources, which could be exacerbated by further budget cuts. 55 In addition, there is some mixed evidence regarding the correlation between crime rates and the number of active police in a region. While Canada has seen a decrease in crime rates along with policing spending increases over the past half decade, studies show that it is police visibility, rather than simply the sheer number of police staffed, that helps reduce crime rates. 56 Possible Solutions and Controversies Increasing Transparency Through Race-Based Data In conjunction with a more comprehensive national database that collects information on instances of use of force by police officers, the collection of race- or ethnicity-based data in such encounters could potentially provide the context currently needed in many cases to locate racial biases that may exist within the police force. For example, civil rights movements in the United States have frequently cited official databases that include 52 Richard Parent, “Diversity and Policing in Canada.” Research Gate, 2019, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335126504_Diversity_and_Policing_in_Canada. 53 “Policing Canada in the 21st Century: New Policing For New Challenges,” CCLA, 2014, https://ccla.org/cclanewsite/wp- content/uploads/2015/05/policing_fullreporten.pdf. 54 Duffin, “Police in Canada - Statistics and Facts.” 55 Anderson College, "A Brief History of Policing.” 56 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 10
statistics on racial targeting and police brutality correlated to race, thus empirically backing demands to confront systemic racism. MPs should note that the House of Commons does not have the ability to mandate that police forces publicize existing use-of-force information or internal statistics; in the past, police departments have often rejected requests from journalists to provide information on incidents involving use of force to the public. However, while the House does not hold the power to force any direct change within the RCMP and police force, Parliament does have significant influence over reform, due to control of federal funding. Specialization and Differentiation of Roles This approach prioritizes adapting the role of police to best fit into Canada’s ever-growing safety and security web, sharing more responsibilities with other public safety professionals and non-governmental organizations. This solution would likely seek to diversify and more clearly differentiate between various roles within police forces by having officers focus on a smaller range of responsibilities that are specific to their role, rather than relying on generalist police officers. The specialization and differentiation of roles can be created through consulting and working closely with police specialists and experts as well as other public safety institutions. Should MPs choose to pursue this route, it is important to note that generalist police officers would still remain necessary for emergency and first responder work, and MPs should find ways to balance the maintenance of these more conventional roles with newer ones. Additionally, this solution requires broad and general agreement among the police force in recognition of an evidence-based and professionalized policing model; such a consensus may prove difficult to come to, based on the controversy surrounding smaller-scale structural changes to police forces in the status quo. Community Policing Model This model focuses on reducing crime within communities by building relationships of trust between the police and the community they serve. This is a form of law enforcement that prioritizes public trust and preventing crime through community relationships, rather than more traditional tough-on-crime methods, such as increased surveillance or police visibility. Such an approach could involve programs focused on outreach to at- risk youth within communities in order to provide counselling and mental health services, training officers specifically to de-escalate high-tension situations and minimize use of force, or forming specialized units for minority groups in which a degree of self-administration is possible. Such groups would be similar to self- policing programs currently implemented in Indigenous communities, where members of First Nations groups regularly communicate with the RCMP to address potential safety risks but ultimately carry out policing within the community by themselves, in a manner that is more community-based and culturally appropriate. Similar community policing services— such as the Vancouver Chinese Community Policing Centre—exist but are scattered across Canada, usually quite small with minimal funding, and are located in isolated areas. Budget Reductions Statistics show that visible minorities—Black and Indigenous individuals in particular—are at a higher risk of being victims of police brutality than their white counterparts. In addition, police spending makes up one of the highest expenses across the country. A potential solution would be to gradually reduce funding of police forces Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 11
across Canada’s federal, provincial, and municipal levels. While this route may prove to be important in maintaining public confidence due to growing pressures to cut policing budgets, MPs should also note the potential drawbacks of police budget reductions, especially if they are implemented drastically and rapidly; decreases in resources can impact staff morale, leading to diminished work commitment, and possibly also a loss of expertise and manpower in the police force. Layoffs may lead to lower police visibility as well, with fewer officers accessible and on patrol. It is important to take into account that a shrinkage in employed officers, along with a decrease in resources, may lead to under-policing, which can similarly be as problematic as over-policing, especially in areas with high crime rates. Increasing Diversity Within the Police Force A potential approach to ameliorating racial profiling and systemic racism within the RCMP and police force may be to bring more women and minorities into law enforcement. Although this may certainly be achieved through setting quotas, quotas are not an absolute necessity in increasing outreach to and recruitment of these groups. This solution aims to address issues of police brutality and racial profiling in Canada through increasing the diversity of the RCMP and law enforcement. In addition, this approach seeks to improve police-community relations. Body-Worn Cameras A potential solution for the issue of accountability and use of force is the implementation of body-worn cameras for all front-line police officers. Currently, despite several pilot runs and trial periods, the Calgary Police Service is the only police force with this model in effect. The RCMP itself has rejected the implementation of body-worn cameras multiple times. Bloc Positions Liberal Party Centre-left on the political spectrum and relatively progressive, the Liberal Party has been firm in advocating for police reform, although the incumbent Trudeau government has often been criticized for being slow to implement such policies. The Liberals have strongly demonstrated their support for the implementation of body-worn cameras, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stating that front-line officers should be equipped with cameras “as quickly as possible.” 57 The Liberals also support a greater focus on reviewing RCMP and local police budgets, in order to find areas of inefficient spending and cut down on police expenditures at both the federal and provincial levels. 58 Furthermore, the party has advocated for incorporating elements of the community model into policing services, 57 Alex Boutilier, “Many Canadians ‘don’t feel protected by the police,’ Justin Trudeau says,” The Toronto Star, June 8, 2020, https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2020/06/08/trudeau-says-hell-push-provinces-on-body-cameras-for-police.html. 58 “Justin Trudeau’s Address To Parliament On Anti-Black Racism in Canada,” Liberal Party of Canada, June 2, 2020, https://liberal.ca/justin-trudeaus-address-to-parliament-on-anti-black-racism-in-canada/. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 12
calling for closer collaboration between police and community leaders. 59 The Liberal Party has voiced their support for increasing investigations into racial profiling within police forces and increasing transparency on data of use of force. Conservative Party Centre-right on the political spectrum and supportive of traditional values, the Conservative Party supports a tough-on-crime model that veers away from drastic reform or the Liberal Party’s progressive plans regarding the police force. Andrew Scheer, the former leader of the Conservative Party, has advocated in the past for increased funding for RCMP and provincial police forces in Ontario and Quebec as a means of reducing crime rates and protecting communities. 60 New party leader and former Canadian Air Force officer Erin O’Toole has maintained much of the same stance, stating several times during interviews and press conferences that he will “fight for people who wear a uniform.” 61 The Conservatives view gang violence in Canada as an issue of high priority that can be best combated by a well-equipped and well-funded police force. The party does not support police budget cuts or regulation measures, such as mandatory body-cameras, and instead advocate for increased spending on police equipment, with a focus on strengthening police services as a method of deterring crime. 62 New Democratic Party Left-wing on the political spectrum, the New Democratic Party (NDP) is the most progressive of the major parties in advocating for police reform. The NDP has historically supported a range of reforms regarding Canada’s police force since the early 1990s, introducing legislation in 1992 aimed at increasing regulation within the RCMP and reducing police shootings. 63 The NDP generally believes that the current scale of policing has exceeded what training has best suited officers to do, and has thus far been the most active in calling for the government to implement police reforms recommended by reports on police brutality. 64 The NDP has demonstrated their support for both police budget cuts, as well as the route of specialization and differentiation within police service roles, believing that many current responsibilities of police officers should be instead delegated to mental health professionals, nurses, social workers, mediators, and more. 65 The NDP has also called for the collection of race-based data where force is used. 59 Ibid. 60 “A Safer Canada,” Conservative Party of Canada, https://www.conservative.ca/safer-canada/. 61 Andrew Russell, “Erin O’Toole won’t say whether he believes there is systemic racism in Canada,” Global News, 2020, https://globalnews.ca/news/7304475/erin-otoole-systemic-racism-canada/. 62 “Our Running Tracker of the Impact of the Alberta Budget,” CBC, February 22, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ucp-cuts-budget-funding-united-conservative-party-jason-kenney-1.5371156. 63 “End Police Violence,” Ontario NDP, https://www.ontariondp.ca/end-police-violence. 64 Ibid. 65 Ibid. Vancouver Model United Nations 2021 13
Green Party
Left-wing on the political spectrum, the Green Party is fairly progressive regarding police and RCMP reform.
While Green Party MPs support many of the Liberals’ policies regarding increased accountability and the use of
body-worn cameras, the Greens also strongly advocate for the inclusion and representation of Indigenous
leadership in the decision-making process, believing that their voices must be heard when addressing the
disproportionate targeting of Indigenous people by police. 66 The Green Party has also advocated for increased
transparency of the RCMP and reductions in spending.
Bloc Québécois
Centre-left on the political spectrum and representing seats only from Quebec, the Bloc Québécois orients most
of its stances around the interests of Quebec and the party's belief in Quebec nationalism and sovereignty.
Apart from the Bloc’s focus on ensuring Quebec’s authority over its own provincial policing services, the party
has also advocated for the increased autonomy of independent Indigenous policing services. 67
Discussion Questions
1. What are the key problems with Canada’s policing system and how should they be addressed?
2. What are some aspects of successful policing models in other countries that create greater efficiency and
effectiveness? How may these ideas be applicable to Canada’s police system?
3. How much importance should be placed on maintaining public confidence in the police? How can this
best be achieved?
4. What knowledge or data gaps hinder progress toward effective police reform? How can these be
addressed?
5. What are the impacts of police reform policies on Indigenous peoples?
66
“Indigenous Representatives Must be at Table When it Comes to Police Reform, Says Green Party,” Green Party of Canada,
August 4, 2020, https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2020-08-04/indigenous-representatives-must-be-table-when-it-
comes-police-reform-says.
67
Gaylene Schellenberg, “Party Platforms on Crime and Justice,” National Magazine, October 10, 2019,
https://www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/law/rule-of-law/2019/party-platforms-on-crime-and-justice.
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