Two prominent critics of RCMP Commissioner William Elliott have defended their efforts to reach out to the government during a conflict with their civilian boss last summer.
Raf Souccar, the former deputy commissioner of federal and international policing, said he was forced to take a stand against Elliott's bullying after morale within the senior ranks of the RCMP hit an all-time low.
Souccar told a House of Commons committee Tuesday that Elliott treated his subordinates with "disrespect" and that RCMP staff held concerns about his behaviour well before a conflict erupted last summer.
The veteran Mountie said that attempts were made to work out the problems with Elliott, but ultimately that was not possible.
"Ideally, you work things out inside the organization. You lock the doors, you sit down, you look each other in the eye and you deal with matters face-to-face," Souccar told the committee Tuesday.
"That was tried. I know it was tried by me, I know it was tried by many other senior managers in the organization, to the point that it left no option but to go outside the organization to the very people that put him (Elliott) in."
News of the conflict eventually became public and the Conservative government paid former CSIS director Reid Morden to do a "workplace assessment" of the senior RCMP management.
Souccar said the situation "got worse once it got into the media," as tension continued to build inside RCMP headquarters. And he denied leaking the story to the media.
In the end, the government stuck with Elliott, though Morden's report indicated that that there was much frustration in the senior ranks with regard to the slow pace of change within the organization.
In the ensuing months, Elliott announced a slew of changes within the senior RCMP management as many top Mounties retired. In November, the commissioner announced that Souccar -- who was not yet retiring -- was being replaced in his job.
A news release said Souccar was awaiting his "next assignment" at that time.
Souccar told the committee that he doesn't have an office at the RCMP.
Souccar testified before the committee along with Mike McDonell, a former assistant commissioner who retired from the RCMP last year after 35 years with the force.
An Access to Information request by the The Canadian Press last year showed that McDonell made a formal complaint about Elliott to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews in July of last year.
McDonell told the committee that he wrote the letter after being denied an "exit interview," in which he hoped to discuss his concerns.
Souccar told the committee Tuesday that he never personally contacted Toews about the issues staff were having with the commissioner. But he did speak with a member of the Privy Council Office and several other senior government staffers.
After leaving the RCMP, McDonell took a position with the Ontario Provincial Police. He is currently the commander of the OPP's Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry detachment.
Several committee members thanked McDonell and Souccar for appearing before the committee, to speak about the problems they saw in the senior RCMP ranks.
NDP public safety critic Don Davies even wrote about the testimony on Twitter from inside the hearing, saying Souccar was "bravely testifying" about the behaviour of the RCMP commissioner.
The testimony that took place Tuesday morning occurred just days after Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Elliott will be leaving his job within a few months.
On Friday, Harper said the government "will launch a comprehensive selection process" to pick the next RCMP commissioner, though many people -- including Elliott himself -- say the best choice would be a person with policing experience, as opposed to another civilian.
"If it was up to me, I would rather, personally, see a member of the RCMP take on this job," Elliott told the Globe and Mail in an interview that was published Tuesday.
Elliott has held the top Mountie post since July 2007. He is the RCMP's first-ever civilian commissioner.
When speaking before the committee Tuesday, Souccar also voiced support for a commissioner with policing experience.
With files from The Canadian Press
