Public Safety Committee on April 30th, 2013

[Ronald MacMillan, Deputy Minister, Department of Justice, Government of Yukon]

Yes, you are, Mr. Chair.

My name is Ron MacMillan. Can you hear me okay?

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Yes, you're coming in fine. Thank you, Mr. MacMillan.

Do you have an opening statement?

[Ronald MacMillan]

I'm going to have Mr. Riches make the actual presentation, Mr. Chair. He will outline some of the initiatives we've undertaken through cooperation with the Department of Justice, RCMP, and other groups in relation to policing.

At the end of that, Robert—or Bob—will also refer to a policing symposium that we had here last September, which had great participation from across the country.

I'll call upon Mr. Riches, who is our assistant deputy minister responsible for policing, to make the presentation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Riches.

[Robert Riches, Assistant Deputy Minister, Community Justice and Public Safety, Department of Justice, Government of Yukon]

Thank you for the invitation to speak.

In Yukon communities the continuous services delivered by government and non-government agencies, often in remote and isolated settings, include nursing, emergency services, social services, and front-line services. The environments demand the most from service providers and are in high-visibility, high-consequence environments.

Northern remote communities are also expensive to police. The cost to territorial government—70% of our dollars—is now upwards of $200,000 per member. Given the other funding pressures faced by contract policing jurisdictions, it becomes increasingly challenging to rationalize and justify new funding for policing initiatives at the expense of other government programs.

The themes I will touch on in my presentation, which were reflected in the review of our police force and at the police symposium last September, reflect the initiatives that improve front-line police service delivery and also improve public confidence. In certain cases, they serve to contain downstream policing costs.

In April 2010, Yukon launched a review of their police force. There were very public and negative high-profile incidents at that time that had caused public confidence in the RCMP to erode and their role in the public service to be called into question.

I'll speak briefly about the review. The purpose of the review was to engage the public, the service providers, and the RCMP in dialogue with the goal of rebuilding trust and addressing the concerns and arriving at recommendations in order to improve the quality of policing services in the territory.

The review was co-chaired by the Department of Justice, the RCMP “M” Division, and the Council of Yukon First Nations. The co-chairs received guidance from advisory committee members who represented women's groups, Yukon municipalities, the Government of Yukon, and RCMP “M” Division.

We held over 60 public and targeted meetings and received written submissions. Several service agencies were engaged to assist clients to participate. Submissions were brought forward by first nations leadership, citizens, women's organizations, and other members of the public.

Yukoners and RCMP members spoke about the unique role the RCMP have in the community and highlighted the importance of developing the relationships between police and communities. Citizens said they wanted the RCMP to understand the culture and values of the community and to have the knowledge, skills, and attributes required to police in the north and to work with vulnerable people in response to domestic violence and sexualized assault. Citizens said that communication needed improvement. They were concerned about accountability, the disciplinary process, and improvements that could be made to help the public better understand their rights in the complaints process.

We had eight months of dialogue with citizens and submitted a report to the Minister of Justice. We called the report “Sharing Common Ground”. It outlines the foundation for establishing a new relationship between Yukon citizens and the RCMP. It creates a blueprint for a quality of service that will benefit all Yukon citizens.

The report had 33 recommendations. I'll talk a little about the progress on some of the recommendations. Communication, collaboration, and inclusiveness are pillars of the implementation. Priorities for leadership were established collaboratively by the Council of Yukon First Nations, the Yukon Department of Justice, and the RCMP. We've been working together to ensure that progress is made, and we're working together towards implementation. We have various partners engaged in implementation, with a range of specific agencies and service providers and other methods of implementation related to the individual recommendations.

As a result of the collaboration and commitment to implementation, key changes have been made in our approach to policing. I'll review some of those changes. We now have the Yukon Police Council. The council was established in 2012 to provide an opportunity for citizens to participate and have a role in directing the police service they receive. The Yukon Police Council is a unique approach to the involvement of Yukon citizens in shaping a public service that is important to them when they are most vulnerable. A key piece of the council's work plan for the initial year and on an ongoing basis is to develop a process for engaging with and incorporating community voices into recommendations they make on Yukon's police service.

In the fall of 2012, the council sought public input into their recommendations on policing priorities. The council analyzed the information and recently provided recommendations to the Minister of Justice. These recommendations were carefully considered and form the basis of the minister's policing priorities for Yukon. Over the coming year the council will continue to engage first nations service providers.

A number of initiatives flowing from “Sharing Common Ground” are working towards providing more effective police service delivery and seeking to contain or avoid future costs. These include the arrest processing unit, which is a new model of supervision and facility for short-term detention of persons taken into RCMP custody, a joint initiative cost-shared between the Government of Yukon and the RCMP.

The unfortunate death of Raymond Silverfox in December 2008 highlighted the need for improving how we deal with vulnerable persons taken into RCMP custody. Through the review of the police force and in partnership with the RCMP, we examined ways that we could better provide safe and secure custody, and ensure that we uphold the duty of care for persons arrested by the RCMP.

The arrest processing unit ensures the highest tentative care and protection for persons taken into RCMP custody, including acutely intoxicated persons and other vulnerable clients. The arrest processing unit is an innovative model that provides on-site medical assessment and care for RCMP prisoners, as well as supervision by corrections officers who have specialized training. The arrest processing unit is joined with the existing Whitehorse Correctional Centre, which completed construction in 2011.

We're adding a piece to that correctional centre, and while it's being built we've moved the prisoners from the RCMP into the Whitehorse Correctional Centre. They're currently housed in the admissions discharge area. It's an interim approach, but it's already had positive results in freeing up front-line police members from supervising prisoners. Now they're back out patrolling the community.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, ASIRT, is another initiative we've taken. We have an agreement with the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, a civilian investigative agency, to conduct independent investigations of serious incidents involving RCMP members in Yukon. Independent oversight is key to increasing public confidence. ASIRT has been called in to carry out independent investigations of serious incidents, and to review RCMP internal investigations of less serious incidents. It's added a strong element of public accountability and confidence to these investigations overall.

We have a cost-sharing agreement with the RCMP, and we have an intergovernmental agreement between Yukon and Alberta for this service. It's a small jurisdiction. We couldn't afford to set up a regime on our own, but we heard loud and clear from citizens that the RCMP shouldn't be investigating the RCMP. So we moved forward on this. The Alberta government was very cooperative, and we appreciate their help.

We are also working to improve our response to domestic violence and sexual assault. There is a multi-sector community made up of representatives from women's organizations, the Yukon government, the RCMP, the CYFN, and the federal prosecution service. We have a committee and they work together. Their role is to develop a comprehensive framework for coordinating Yukon's response to domestic violence and sexualized assault.

The committee is working together to clarify RCMP policies relating to dual charging and current RCMP policy and practice regarding the use of primary aggressor assessment in cases of domestic violence. The committee has supported the RCMP in updating manuals on division policy and procedure. It's opened up lines of communication and coordinated service provision on specialized teams that are essential to service improvements.

To that end, we've created a specialized response unit. This came from another recommendation in “Sharing Common Ground”. We've established a new RCMP unit, a specialized response unit within “M” Division, to investigate domestic violence and sexualized assault.

The specialized response unit was established and has a mandate to provide guidance, assistance, and oversight to the detachment members who are conducting domestic violence and sexual assault investigations, and to act as lead investigators in instances of domestic violence and sexual assault where specialized service is required.

The specialized response unit also identifies training and divisional needs related to domestic violence and sexual assault. This training has started to take place in small detachments in the territory. In a small jurisdiction like ours it's unrealistic to expect that we could have personnel with specialized skills available at each detachment, but we recognize the importance of these specialized skills and additional resources.

This unit is available to detachments, and it provides mentorship and oversight to improve skills across the division. The unique element of this initiative is the partnership with the RCMP on working with an independent evaluator looking at the performance of the team over time. This is one way we can ensure that this unique policing response is getting the results that we intended.

We also have community participation on the selection of detachment commanders. Budgets are limited, but some of the things that we can do we've done at a minimal cost and demonstrated a significant shift towards meeting community service needs. For example, several communities participated in the selection of new detachment commanders. Working together in this way is helping to improve communication between citizens, leadership, and the RCMP. This process is now written into divisional policy and will occur each time a vacancy for a detachment commander arises. We've had really positive feedback from first nations and others who have been involved in this process.

As was mentioned, we acknowledge that our jurisdiction is not alone in the issues of policing in northern Canada. The dynamics of policing in this unique environment, the demands, the challenges, the success stories and innovations, were all explored at a symposium on policing in northern and remote Canada held in Whitehorse in September 2012.

The symposium brought together 120 presenters and participants with an interest in sharing information and raising questions about policing in northern and remote communities. Our officials attended this symposium and took part in dialogue about the future of policing in the north and remote Canada. Unfortunately, it was a symposium I was not able to attend, but people I work with every day talked about what they felt at the symposium and how well it worked. They talked about what attributes and skills we need to see in our force members, what supports need to be in place for police officers to carry out their work effectively. They spoke about our vision for collaborative policing, and it involving environment, and about innovation in measuring our efforts.

As public agencies, police services rely on evidence-based programs, policies, and procedures to guide their interventions and interactions with the communities they serve. Many of these programs, policies, and procedures have been developed through research focused on policing large urban centres in Canada and around the world. But for police agencies working in northern and remote communities, there's a need to examine policing in this unique environment, looking at what works and what does not, and to regularly look more closely at the effectiveness of various models of service delivery.

Informed decision-making will provide the groundwork for northern and remote police services to develop appropriate policies and procedures to guide police work, and to enhance partnerships with communities.

The symposium also enables us to keep the issue of policing in northern Canada on the national agenda.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

If I could interrupt you for a moment. I'm wondering if you are getting close to the end because there are members here who want to question you.

[Robert Riches]

Yes, certainly. I'm almost there.

With Public Safety Canada, we're now developing an advanced research agenda of effectiveness and efficiency in policing the north, service delivery models, community engagement measurement, and healthy communities.

We examined different models of service delivery, things like seasonal policing, relief units, community safety, community program officer pilots, and first nations community policing models. We're moving beyond the concept of integration, because we're hoping to move toward an integrated dispatch model for Yukon, involving the RCMP, EMS, and Wildland Fire Management.

I'll leave it at that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you very much, Mr. Riches.

We'll move to another Yukoner, Mr. Leef, please, the member of Parliament for Yukon

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to all our witnesses.

Thank you, Chief Herman.

I'll direct my questions to Mr. Riches.

First, I want to congratulate you on all the work you've done in the justice field, Mr. Riches. Of course, this year your being awarded with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was well deserved for your work in Yukon and in B.C. Congratulations on the achievements that the government has managed to deal with on the “Sharing Common Ground” report. I've read the update report and I'm really impressed with how much has been accomplished in a short period of time, based on that review. We had the deputy commissioner of the RCMP here, who had been in Yukon a week or so ago. He had glowing comments about what he saw in the Yukon in terms of the work you've accomplished.

I want to ask you specifically about the arrest processing unit. You talked about the higher standard of care that's going on there, and the joint work with the RCMP on that. At this point—I know it hasn't been in place a long time—are you able to measure any of the recidivism rates? When you're sending people out with a higher quality of care, that in turn should help reduce that revolving door that the RCMP might have witnessed in terms of releasing prisoners out of the Whitehorse detachment itself. Have you been able to measure any of the recidivism rates from that higher standard of care that you're delivering to the people who are coming through that arrest processing unit, or is it too early to tell right now?

[Robert Riches]

As you said, we've been operating for a short period of time, so it would be early to talk about that. I think we've seen some success in some individual citizens who we've been dealing with for a long time. This is a small town, so you really notice when there's a change in folks who you usually see on the street all the time. A couple of our long-term residents who were frequent visitors to the RCMP station have progressed through the system. They've been dealt with by our community wellness court and with our integrated case management approach, and we're seeing some successes.

As far as actual research, though, I don't have results yet.

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Do you have an aim to measure that as this is developing?

[Robert Riches]

Yes. What we're doing is tracking attendance. We're tracking who the police are bringing to us, how long they are away from us, and when they are back. Hopefully in a year or so we should have something to have a look at.

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Can you touch on what work's being done at the Northern Institute of Social Justice particularly around the career orientation program and the recruitment of first nations and women? How do you see that playing out in the future?

[Robert Riches]

We've had the delivery of one program so far for persons interested in entering the field of justice with the Northern Institute of Social Justice. It's a short program for people who are interested in entering policing. We have targeted the program towards first nations and women. The first offering had about a dozen attendees, among whom a couple are pursuing work, and one has been hired actually in the Department of Justice and is working in my division.

The NISJ is working with us now and with first nations on developing cultural competency training for officers working in communities in Whitehorse. As you know, there are about 14 first nations in the Yukon with varied cultures and differences between each of them. This is work that's going on with the NISJ and first nations through a project that came directly out of “Sharing Common Ground” and that's funded by the Department of Justice, but they are working with the CYFN as the coordinators of that project.

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

In the Yukon we have the safer communities and neighbourhoods, SCAN, unit in the legislation. Of course, they don't have a policing mandate, but the work they do focusing on drug houses, prostitution, and bootlegging operations must defer some of the costs of policing. The great work they have been able to achieve over the years certainly must have resulted in seeing a reduction in some of the more prolific homes that are involved in drug trafficking.

Can you comment at all on the cost aspect of how important it is to have other legislation and other agencies that work in tandem with the police without necessarily having a policing mandate that can support crime reduction strategies in the territory?

[Robert Riches]

In Yukon we believe SCAN has formed a really important role in enforcement and the improving of neighbourhoods. The downtown of Whitehorse had historical problems with a house that was there for years which the citizens of downtown had problems with.

This legislation came into force. The officers assigned to that thing work well. That house no longer operates. It has been torn down as a matter of fact, and Habitat for Humanity has replaced it with another home.

We have seen improvement in neighbourhoods throughout the Yukon. Citizens are pleased with the results and feel that it's a place they can go to where they are anonymous. Because they are dealing with a problem in their own neighbourhood, often citizens are afraid to call the police. They are afraid of the results of that, but they will give SCAN a call and let them know about activity.

SCAN can then monitor it and take some action in moving those people out of that neighbourhood and disrupt the criminal activity. I think it's important to disrupt that activity. Then once the activity is disrupted, the police are aware of the action, and they can track it and watch it. There has been real successful cooperation between SCAN and the RCMP in Yukon. We continue to work together on investigations. It is a lower cost model for surveillance for sure to use Yukon government employees than it is to use RCMP members. It's probably almost one-third the cost.

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Thank you very much. I think my time is coming to a conclusion so I just want to once again congratulate you, Mr. Riches, on the excellent work you have done in Yukon with the Department of Justice and your accomplishments with the “Sharing Common Ground” report.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Thank you, Mr. Leef.

We'll move to Mr. Rafferty, please, for seven minutes.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Thank you very much, Chair.

If we get interrupted by votes, I wonder if we could have all of our witnesses back at a later date if they get interrupted.

[The Chair, Conservative, Kevin Sorenson]

Your time is running. We'll deal with that if we face it.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

One of the things that police services need is long-term funding so you can plan and make those positive changes to police services that you can.

Chief Herman, Minister Toews said, and I don't know if it was in the House, but he certainly announced there was a five-year funding agreement in place now with first nations police services, and yet in your opening remarks you talked about not having enough money to finish this fiscal year likely and funding ending in 2014. I don't get what the discrepancy is there.

[Chief Robert Herman]

I think that when the minister made the announcement he talked about sustainable funding. Sustainable funding I guess is in the eye of the beholder, so from a government standpoint, it certainly would meet sustainable for planning for their budget, but from an operational aspect, it's not sustainable funding.

The agreement that we are in right now is a one-year extension of the last negotiated agreement, which is from 2008. The government may have committed five years of money, although we have yet to see what that model looks like and if there are any enhancements. If there are, I suspect they won't really meet our needs. But at the end of the day, until they sit down and actually honour the tri-party agreement and have a negotiation with the first nations that are the third signatory to that agreement, there isn't sustainable funding.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

This reminds me that I asked the minister some weeks ago during question period, or maybe it was here in committee, if he would be willing to meet with aboriginal leaders who are part of these first nations police service areas. To your knowledge has that happened?

[Chief Robert Herman]

No. The grand chief for Nishnawbe Aski Nation wrote the minister asking for that meeting following his comments and has received a response from the minister stating that he doesn't have time in his calendar to actually meet with him.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

The funding for first nations police services in Ontario is partly provincial, at 48%, I think, and then 52% federal. How would you characterize the provincial cooperation, let's say, or the support that they give your police service?