I do. I too shall be brief.
Mr. Chair, thank you for inviting me here today to assist the committee in its ongoing inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding the RCMP pension and insurance administration.
I became Minister of Public Safety on December 13, 2003. I was made aware early in 2004 that the RCMP had conducted an internal audit of the administration of its pension plan and that irregularities had been identified. That's the audit that was completed in October 2003 or thereabouts. I was assured that no funds were missing from the pension plan and that an action plan had been prepared and was being implemented to correct the identified irregularities.
It was in late February or early March of 2004 that I became aware for the first time that a member of the force, Staff Sergeant Ron Lewis, was expressing concerns about, among other things, the actions being taken by senior members of the force to investigate these irregularities.
My office received a package of materials, as Mr. Alcock has just indicated, in which Staff Sergeant Lewis outlined his concerns. Records show that on February 26, 2004, the Secretary of the Treasury Board wrote to the then Deputy Minister of Public Safety, forwarding Staff Sergeant Lewis's package of materials and indicating that he, Lewis, had asked that the President of the Treasury Board forward the materials to me, as Minister of Public Safety, and to the Auditor General.
My office raised the concerns of Staff Sergeant Lewis with then Commissioner Zaccardelli, who indicated that the matter would be turned over to the Ottawa Police Service for independent criminal investigation. In fact, later in March 2004, a criminal investigation was begun by the Ottawa Police Service. That investigation continued until the end of June 2005. You have heard from both former Chief Vince Bevan and Mr. Paul Roy in relation to the conduct of that investigation and its conclusions.
As you know, there was then a further internal investigation undertaken by the force, which concluded in September 2006, and of course the Auditor General's review regarding whether adequate action had been taken by the RCMP in responding to the various deficiencies identified in earlier audits and reports. That review was begun in September 2005, shortly after the termination of the Ottawa Police Service criminal investigation, and reported in November 2006.
My overarching concerns in this matter were to ensure that the pension fund, counted on by former members and their families, was secure and being administered properly--which the Auditor General has now confirmed, to a large extent--and to determine whether any of the irregularities identified were the result of criminal wrongdoing. I felt that the independent criminal investigation would get at many of the concerns identified by Staff Sergeant Lewis in the package he sent to me as well as to the Auditor General and to the President of the Treasury Board.
As the minister, from my knowledge of events at the time, I was satisfied with the process followed to deal with this matter. First, concerns were raised within the organization. Second, internal audit processes were activated to determine with greater specificity and detail whether there were irregularities, deficiencies, etc. Third, if corrective action was required, it had to be implemented. Fourth, if the audits also led to a reasonable apprehension that certain conduct may be criminal, then a criminal investigation must be undertaken. And fifth, in addition, the Office of the Auditor General, as we all know, plays a key role in our system of government in identifying deficiencies; non-compliance with laws, rules, regulations and policies; and whether value is gained for money spent. In fact, all these steps were followed in this situation.
In conclusion, let me say that in addition, there are other mechanisms available to those who believe that there has been misconduct or inappropriate action on the part of any member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
With that, Mr. Chair, I will terminate my remarks and be happy to answer any questions.