Roundup: A first step in breaking up the RCMP?

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RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme was making media rounds this weekend, and said something interesting about how the government is planning to make changes to the structure of the RCMP, and to separate out the federal policing role (which the RMCP has not been doing a very good job of) while leaving the contract policing with provinces intact (more or less). Having a separate and dedicated federal policing agency would be a good thing, because then maybe it can be properly resourced and staffed to do the work that they’re supposed to be doing, rather than the money and personnel all being sapped by the contract policing wings. This could mean a more specialised police force for those roles, which are different than front-line policing.

This being said, I’m not sure that this is a solution to much, because maintaining the RMCP for their contract policing duties is not going to solve many problems because the Force is toxic and broken, and needs a radical overhaul that I don’t think is going to be possible from within the organization. Part of the problems that it has are because of its centralised nature, and sending officers fresh from training at Depot to parts of the country they have absolutely no familiarity with, and that creating its own source of problems. I get why the federal government wants to keep it around (aside from the branding of the Red Serge), which is that they basically subsidise the police forces of those provinces that use them, but that’s part of the problem, and it’s part of a hard conversation that should be had federally.

Incidentally, Duheme also says he hopes that no MP releases any names of possibly compromised MPs from the NSICOP report under the cover of Parliamentary privilege, for what it’s worth.

Ukraine Dispatch

At least one person was killed and eleven wounded in a Russian aerial attack on Kharkiv, while Russian authorities are claiming dozens of wounded from debris from a Ukrainian missile shot down over occupied Crimea. Russians also attacked a residential area of Kyiv, and energy facilities in the country’s southeast and west. Here is a look at midsummer festivals in Ukraine, with their pagan roots, and how this is seen as resistance as Russians try to erase Ukrainian culture.

Good reads:

  • It’s (finally) the by-election in Toronto—St. Paul’s today, but regardless of the outcome, the Elder Pundits have already declared the narrative.
  • Here is a look at the intelligence-to-evidence problem that the foreign interference bill that just passed doesn’t solve.
  • Dental associations are refuting Mark Holland’s claims that the Conservatives have been pressuring them to oppose dental care, and say the government is to blame.
  • A lack of standardization for what is considered green investments is hampering investment in the sector.
  • Some provincial premiers are trying to engage both Republicans and Democrats in the US ahead of their election this fall.
  • Indigenous and Métis leaders are concerned that the pace of progress has slowed, and that a future Conservative government could undo the gains they’ve made.
  • The Conservatives are refusing to stake out a clear position on the future of supervised consumption sites if they form government.
  • Scott Moe has had to clarify that he doesn’t actually believe in chemtrails or other conspiracy theories, after sounding like he did in a previous gathering.
  • Naheed Nenshi won the Alberta NDP leadership race on an overwhelming first ballot victory.
  • Althia Raj offers her suggestions for how the three main parties can reset their strategies over the summer.
  • Susan Delacourt and Matt Gurney debate the narratives swirling around the Toronto—St. Paul’s by-election.

Odds and ends:

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