Public Safety committee  Since the introduction of the bill, there has been. In fact, as recently as Friday of last week, Superintendent O'Rielly and Chief MacMillan presented to our caucus of 42. We have caucus meetings going on right now. Prior to that, shortly after the bill was introduced, we met with Superintendent O'Rielly and scoped out a process and a pattern of consultation as we look forward to new regulations.

Public Safety committee  We believe it's very important that the bill is now with this body.

Public Safety committee  Yes.

Public Safety committee  Yes. As a representative who has represented direct clients for several years, and from speaking with my colleagues who are representatives.... Our current harassment prevention investigative policy...it's been a failure since it was authored some nine years ago. There has been nobody who is satisfied with living through the process as an alleged victim of harassment or as an alleged accused of harassing....

Public Safety committee  Our caucus has made submissions time and time again in relation to the process: criticism of the process, suggested amendment of the process.... For me, this goes back to...I believe the first working group that I personally attended was six months after the policy was introduced—a meeting in Winnipeg.

Public Safety committee  Yes.

Public Safety committee  The members we represent will step up to the opportunities, step up to the challenge. With anything there's always a balance between your core business—what you have to do day to day in policing—and these new responsibilities in relation to human resource management. It's been my experience that if the opportunity is there, as the commissioner described it would be—and it would be a necessity, for this to work—then I'm encouraged by that.

Public Safety committee  In terms of numbers, we hear more often from the front-line members, the lowest level of our employment, at the constable level. Their apprehension is about how this is going to be dispensed. As we move up the rank-and-responsibility ladder, we hear the concern, “We're going to get this new authority, but we'll have no tools to go with it.”

Public Safety committee  During my 32 years, I've worked in everything from a fly-in two-person detachment to a major municipal detachment, and the demographics of our policing are much different from what you see in your normal urban environment. We have a detachment commander who is a corporal, and that corporal could have seven to ten to twelve years' service.

Public Safety committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and ladies and gentlemen. We thank you for the opportunity to appear before your committee today on behalf of the 24,000 regular and civilian RCMP members who serve across Canada and internationally, to provide their perspective and input. My name is Abe Townsend.