RCMP commissioner breached duty with slow response to watchdog report, judge rules

OTTAWA — A federal judge says RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki flouted the law by failing to respond promptly to a watchdog report about alleged spying on anti-oil protesters.

In a newly released decision, Federal Court Associate Chief Justice Jocelyne Gagne says Lucki breached her duty under the RCMP Act by not submitting a response to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission’s interim report on the spying allegations “as soon as feasible.”

The ruling is a victory for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which argued there was a culture of complacency in the RCMP that has caused inexcusable foot-dragging on complaint files.

The complaints commission launched a public interest investigation and completed an interim report on the spying allegations in June 2017, forwarding it to the RCMP for comment on the conclusions and recommendations.