A Toronto lawyer has sent a letter to a Conservative MP claiming that as many as 12 current and ex-members of the RCMP are ready to come forward with new damaging allegations against the organization.
The Toronto Star obtained the letter sent by William Gilmour, who used to be a Mountie.
Gilmour writes in the letter that at least six, and as many as 12 current and former Mounties, want to be subpoenaed by a House of Commons committee so that they have some legal and job protection if they testify, reports the Star.
"My clients are of the view that a public inquiry is required to delve into all of the things that presently plague the morale of the men and women serving our national police service," wrote Gilmour.
If called, Gilmour says testimony will include allegations of: "Subversion of an investigation into corruption and nepotism" in purchasing and contracting practices, and "the falsification of signatures to pay out money, on the part of government officials" in the New Brunswick government.
The letter also claims there are allegations that senior Mounties carried out criminal acts against other members of the force through electronic surveillance and the alteration of documents "to achieve improper goals."
Money was also used to finance the vendettas of managers against targeted members, says the letter.
Additional allegations include:
- Evidence was deliberately covered up in the case against former RCMP officer Staff Sgt. Clifford McCann and others implicated in the abuse of young boys at the now-defunct Kingsclear Youth Training Centre in New Brunswick.
- Superior officers interfered in the political campaigns of RCMP members seeking government election, some by "spying on constituency meetings.''
- RCMP members were harassed based on their sexual orientation.
- RCMP management regularly used punitive transfers
- Psychological "warfare'' by certain officers against lower ranking members.
The RCMP has recently been plagued by scandals on a variety of fronts.
Last December, Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned as RCMP commissioner after giving conflicting testimony to a Commons committee probing the Maher Arar case.
In April, Zaccardelli appeared before a parliamentary committee and denied his involvement in an alleged cover-up of the possible mismanagement of the RCMP pension fund.
Actions by the RCMP are also being probed in the Air India inquiry and in the cases of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin -- three Canadians tortured in Syria and Egypt.
The three men deny accusations of having terrorist links and they blame faulty intelligence from the RCMP and CSIS for their mistreatment abroad.
With files from The Canadian Press
