Brian Chapman

The Canadian Police: a Survey

THE CANADIAN POLICE SYSrEM IS V E R Y MU(:H A LAW UNTO ITSELF.

I t docs not havc the authoritarian traditions of European countries and their succcssors in Communist regimcs. I t does not have the samc socictal involvcment of the Japanese and Chinese arrangcments. Sincc Canadians, unlike their southern ncighbours, bclicvc it is possiblc to bc whole without being powcrful, it docs not havc thc American stylc cop. It shares many of the attitudes and disciplincs of the British, but in institutional tcrms they are vastly different from cach other.

To somc extent thcsc institutional pcculiarities arc matters of history, although not all o f thcm are. Beforc Confederation cach area had its own specific policing charactcristics dcpending upon the timc of settlement, thc racial origin of thc scttlers and thc characteristics of the country. In thc cast the Maritime provinccs (as they wcrc to becomc) largely relicd upon military and naval patrols with provost marshals in thc garrison towns, with somc nightwatchmcn on the civilian side. Thc countrysidc was little policcd, although somc local militias cxistcd who could be callcd out if neccssary.

In the hcartland of Frcnch Canada thc principal towns were policcd by thc traditional r j~h-century French method of Captains of the Militia, a system altcred and adultcrated aftcr the capturc of Quebec City by Wolfe whosc successors introduccd an uneasy mixture of French and English common law. Ontario always maintaincd the traditional institutions of the administration of justicc stemming directly from the Common Law, complete with sheriffs, high constables, constables and justiccs of the pcacc. A local militia was also available to the authoritics.

It is probably true to say that there was no policing in the proper sense of the word in the great central plains of the Prriries, but the Hudson Bay Company did havc some domestic arrangements of control and, of coursc, the Indian bands had their own traditional methods for imposing internal order. The first organized system of law cnforcemcnt was in Manitoba, and a voluntary part-time group of constables was established with a justice of the peace in cach district.

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O n thc far side of the Rockies the colonial authoritics of British Columbia wcre the first to bc faced with the prospect of widcsprcad civil disorders rathcr than rebellion, invasion or simple rural crimc. Belligerent utterances from American generals suggcstcd the possibi- lity that thc dclibcrate fomcntation of discontent might be used to justify intervention and the annexation of the north west coast. The disclosure that substantial gold deposits wcre to be found in the interior' attracted the samc mob of ruffians and scallywags who had laid the foundations of prcsent day California.

The domestic arrangemcnts which had bccn inhcritcd from the Hudson Bay Company and the small military and naval garrisons protccting the colony wcre unsuitable for dealing with the appre- hended violence, and Governor Ilouglas rcferrcd thc problem to thc Colonial Sccretary in London. The Colonial Sccrctary authorizcd thc creation of a new police, and thc model chosen was the Royal Irish Constabulary which had had experience in opcrating as a police- military force.2 A Sub-Inspcctor of that force was sent to sct up the new organization, and in 1858 a policc with provincial jurisdiction throughout the colony was establishcd. I t rapidly establishcd law and ordcr in the Frazer Valley, and in the course of time camc to act as rcvenuc officers, claims oficcrs, cxcisc oficcrs and providcrs of emcrgency services, as wcll as law cnforccmcnt officcrs. They werc assisted by detachmcnts of Royal Enginecrs who wcre building thc roads to open up thc intractablc country.

This random pattern of policing continucd after Confedcration, with each arca continuing its own rathcr haphazard traditions. But Confederation brought two important changes. The British North America Act of 1867 gave thc fcdcral government in Ottawa the authority to establish a Criminal Code valid in all thc provinccs from the Maritimcs in thc east to British Columbia in the wcst when it evcntually joined Confederation. The special nature of Frcnch. Canada with its own linguistic, rcligious and educational rcquirc- mcnts led to civil law being placed under the authority of thc constituent provinces.

Thereforc although civil law was thc prcscrve of thc provinces, and

Probably factors of the Hudson Bay Company had known of these deposits for some time and together with the Indian bands had established a monopoly.

The RIC had many similarities to the French Gendarmerie but there is no clear evidence of deliberate copying. The Colonial Office used the RIC as a model elsewhere; for example, the British South Africa Police.

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criminal law of the federal govcrnment, the implementation and cnforcernent of both branches of law bccamc a provincial responsibi- lit^.^ The Attorneys Gcneral of the provinces, as officers of the Crown, werc required to cstablish machinery for the administration of justice, law enforcement agencies, the constitution, maintcnancc and organization of courts, court services and correctional institu- tions’. The Attorneys General were also responsible for enforcing any Act passed by thcir provincial government, and for thc imposition by fine, penalty or imprisonment of infractions of those laws.

But whcreas most of thc provinces had cstablished governments, the western Prairies, the Yukon and thc North Wcst did not, and in these unsettled areas thc federal government retained an original jurisdiction.* The problems which had faced the Governor of British Columbia were now forccd upon thc federal govcrnmcnt. American citizens moving north from Fort Benton in Montana across the undefendcd 49th parallel led to the spoliation, corruption, and ultimately the massacre of Indian bands. There were certain fears that disorder might be advanced as a justification for American intervcn- tion, and that the work on thc rail link to the Pacific by the transcontinental route might be disruptcd.

Undcr thcse circumstances the fcderal government considcred it wisc to cstablish a new force undcr its own jurisdiction for thc policing of the area. It is not clcar whether they copied the service in British Columbia, or took advice from London. However, in 1873 the North West Mounted Police force was created with an establishment of 300 officers and men to maintain law and order, to collect customs, to prevent whisky smuggling, and to set up courts, common jails and to cstablish lincs of communication. Thc officcrs of the force wcre appointed ex officio justices of the peace. The forcc was armed, mounted on thc hardy horse of the country, and its recruitment, training and discipline werc ofa military nature. It was a classic military-policc forcc. The explorations, bravery and integrity of its individual officcrs created the not unjustified legend of the Mounties, known to every small I t provided the police forcc during the 1890s Gold Rush in the Yukon, and assumed the duties of

and good government of Canada’. The fcderal government retained the power ‘to make laws for the peace. order.

As it still does in the Yukon and the North West Territories. They sometimes had trouble; they arrested railway gangers for posscssing illegal

hooch when they were in the territory o f Uritish Columbia. They were promptly arrested for false arrest by the BC Provincial Police since it was not an offence under British Columbia law.

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many othcr federal agcncics, customs, surveys, postmasters, cmer- gency aid and health and wclfare scrvices to Indian bands and Esquimos. In 1904 it was commissioned by royal warrant the Royal North Westcrn Mounted Police."

Meanwhile there wcre furthcr institutional changes in thc Prairics thcmselves. In 1870 Manitoba acccded to provincial status, and a provincial police, to some extent modcllcd on thc British Columbia Police Force, was crcated. Thc larger municipalitics and townships were made responsiblc for their own policing, but smallcr townships, scattered scttlements and thc country at large bccame the rcsponsibi- lity of the new forcc.

But whcn in 1905 the two new prairic provinccs of Saskatchcwan and Albcrta were creatcd thc provincial governments decided on a policy which has had major effects on policing in Canada. As with all other provinces thc Attorneys Gencral of thc two provinccs were responsible for thc administration of justice and law enforccmcnt in thc area. Municipal policc acts imposed this duty on thosc communi- tics ablc to meet the cost and justify established forccs. However instead of creating provincial forces for the policing of the rcst of the territory, the provincial governments entered into ncgotiations with the fcdcral government in Ottawa to retain thc scrvices of thc RNWMP, no longer now acting simply as a federal police force with responsibility for enforcing federal laws, but also as a provincial police forcc cnforcing provincial laws, and meeting the provinccs' constitutional rcsponsibility for the criminal law as wcll as their own civil law. These new contracts specified that the federal governmcnt would continue to fund the K N W M P when it was operating as a federal force, but a cost-sharing agreement would apply whcn the force acted as a provincial force. In outlying areas thc R N W M P could thcrcforc find thcmsclvcs acting simultancously as a municipal, provincial and fedcral forcc, as wcll as carrying out some duties for othcr fcderal and provincial agencies.

But the R N W M P had no jurisdiction exccpt under instruction from thc federal governmcnt outside thcsc provinces and territories. In the east fedcral duties wcre carricd out by the Dominion Policc crcated in I 868 imrncdiately after Confederation. T w o commis- sioners of police were appointed, one in Qucbec the othcr in Ontario, but the Act spccificd that thcy had jurisdiction throughout the Dominion. In fact thc Dominion Policc rcstricted thcmsclves to a

glamour to Edward VII's coronation. Detachments had served in South Africa during the Boer War and had added

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very small field of operations, and although small detachments a t one stage were posted in Montreal and Quebec City they were soon withdrawn. The main function of the Dominion Police was to protect federal property in Ottawa and eventually naval dockyards. Certain matters of federal concern, such as counterfeiting, narcotics and the white slave trade, becamc their responsibility, and they established a national finger-print centre on thc European modcl, as well as keeping records of paroled prisoners. A secret branch investigated plots against the government, and kept a watching brief on suspected aliens and subversives.

As the four years of the first world war unfolded this part of its work increased in volume, with a neutral United States for three years providing a base for enemy conspirators, agents and saboteurs. The result of this pressure forced the federal government to bring back the R N W M P from the prairies and the north and to act as a further support for counter-espionage, security and protective services. Saskatechewan and Alberta were therefore reluctantly compelled to create their own provincial forces, and the headquarters of the R N W M P moved from Regina to Ottawa.’ Many of its members served overseas, and by 1918 the force had been reduced in size to its original establishment.

I t appeared to ha’ve 6.w fricnds. In 1919 it took a leading role in breaking the Winnipeg general strike, andi t was cordially loathed by labour leaders and the unemployed. Thc Minister of Militia and Defence proposed that it should be amalgamated as a force with the armed forces, and Labour representatives in Parliament pressed for its total abolition. Its own commissioner resigned after forty years service, and it seemed bereft. But Canada was now entering a period of labour unrest not always clearly distinguishable from bolshevik subversion; Quebec was unsettled by religious and conscription problems, and parts of the Canadian-Irish population had little loyalty to the Crown as a result of the Troubles.

The government therefore decided on the necessity of a strong police force under its immcdiatc control. The reputation of the R N W M P tipped the balance against the Dominion Police. The capacity of the RNWMP to act not only as a major element in establishing the government’s presence throughout Canada, its known competence as a para-military force in emergencies, its reliability as a normal provincial and municipal police force and its success as a security agency led the government to reform the force ’ Now rcsponsible to the Solicitor General of Canada.

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as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1921, to absorb the best of the Dominion Police into its ranks and to assume dominion-wide

jurisdiction for the enforcement of federal laws." I t took over responsibility for enforcing immigration laws and the

control of aliens, and applications for naturalization. It had the good luck that a scandal involving foreign diplomats and smuggling also heavily involved the Customs and Preventive Service in Montreal, and the government replaced the entire service with the RCMP on a temporary basis, which later became permanent. The Department of Health revived old fears about the opium trade, particularly amongst the large Chinese population on the West Coast,' and requested the RCMP to act as its cnforcemcnt agency. The introduction of Prohibition in the United States led to a lucrative trade in smuggling down the East and West Coasts of the continent, and across the Great Lakes. The Department of National Revenue, ever zealous after taxes which might be eluding thcir oficcs, askcd thc KCMP to control the trafic, and in this guisc the RCMP acquired a small flcct, most of which was completely outclassed by the smugglers' cutters. But the trade had the unfortunate effect of concentrating the attention of American hoodlums on the value of bases in Canada, and led to dificulties in the future.

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Meanwhile, the three wealthiest provinces wcre having thcir own police problems. I n 1870 the Quebec government had created its own provincial police force, but i t provided no means of monitoring the performance of municipal forces which had a tendency to fall under the sway of local notables. The provincial force itself was mainly used for the escort of prisoners, good order in courts and the protection of provincial buildings. I t was restructured in a bizarre way after 1922 by

8 This, ofcourse, excluded Newfoundlaird which did notjoin Confcdcration until 1947. As a Crown Colony it had as its principal provincial police force thc Newfoundland Rangers, again reminiscent in many ways of the Royal Irish Constabulary, now defunct.

9 In 1904 there were 1 8 publicly known opium houses in Victoria, the capital. Vancouver was thought of as a major supply route to North America. Local gossip suggests that most of the imports were for home consumption, but the United States government was going through onc of its pcriodic frenzies. and the Canadian authorities wished to be cooperative.

l o The origins of one of the b e t known brands of liquor in America.

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the governmcnt of M. Taschercau: it was divided into an invcstiga- tive police, a gendarmeric, a traffic police and a liquor police, and never thc quatrain would mcct. Each was rigorously rcstrictcd to its own duties, and thc forcc was intcgratcd into the Provincial Civil Scrvicc thus enabling appointmcnts to be madc at the discretion of political leaders on the basis of a Lieutcnant-Governor’s Orders in Council. Furthermorc the force was scparated into two divisions, onc based on Qucbec City, the other in Montrcal, but cach pair having their own heads of department for the four diffcrcnt services, operating independently.

The forcc came to be known as ‘les bandits de Taschereau’,ll and after Duplessis’s electoral victory in 193s an egregious lawyer, Mc Aubi, was put in charge not only of the investigative policc but also the liquor police. He promptly fired the entire investigative police establishment, and did not replace thcm for over a ycar, and this during a period of considerable social, labour and political agitation. He did rather better with the liquor policc, since he did not fire thcm but simply refused.to allow them to do any work. They reportcd for duty every day, werc‘paid and did nothing. He commissioned officers to report on ‘the good character’ of thcsc o&ccrs, but onc of thcsc newly appointed censors of morality apparently received large sums of money for his enquiries, ‘lived like a pasha in Mont-Royal’, was ultimately caught driving a cargo of contraband liquor and had to be dismissed. He left without being charged but carrying his own file, which disappeared.*2 A Royal Commission of Enquiry later consi- dered that it was satisficd with Me Aubi’s personal honesty, but was also convinced of his total incompctencc.

In 1938 a new provincial police act reorganizcd the provincial police, but it effectively re-establishcd the old systcm, and although it was supposed to have a single commissioner in practice thc two police divisions were re-established, and the diffcrent services revcrtcd to their hermetically sealed opcrations. Oncc again oral history suggests that influential political and industrial figures regarded thc provincial policc as well as local forces as their ‘hommes de main’ to be used in the event of labour troubles.

Ontario proceeded a t a quicter pace. I t relicd mainly upon municipal police forces of which the major forces in Toronto,

1 1 A phrase repeatedly used by Duplessis during the election campaign of 193s. 12 Payments for expenses were paid from a parallel account kept by Me Aubt.

One offlcer was refunded for travelling 3 0 0 miles in one day without ever leaving the streets in the near vicinity of police H Q in Montreal.

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Hamilton, Kingston and London acquircd exccllent rcputations not only for normal law cnforcemcnt but also for erncrgency services in the harsh climate of wintcr. The provincial government appointcd for its own purposcs ‘a Dctcctive for thc Governmcnt of Ontario’ recruitcd from the Grcat Southern Railway and rcsponsiblc for pursuing enquirics of special interest to the governmcnt. Settlement increased in north and western areas of the provincc, and in particular logging and mining camps wcrc established, somc of them company towns. No settled municipalitics could copc with thc new influx of violencc and the breakdown of law and order. In 1909 the provincial governmcnt therefore established its own provincial police departing from the English tradition of purely local policing. Its success was not limited to bringing back normal cnforcement in those areas which had caused most trouble, but it showed that such a force had othcr uscs in providing necessary support in the rest of thc province where areas with small, and sornetimcs part-time, forccs wcrc frcquently not only inefficient except in bar room brawls but also liable to be subjected to political pressures. Thc cxpansion of the forcc was widely welcomed by the large city forces, the courts and thc lcgal profession, since many enquiries had been hampered by thc inability of local constables to carry out investigations properly, to pursuc cnquirics consistently, or to respond to insistcnt calls for assistance from other forces. The force gradually cxpandcd during the 1920s and 1930s, bccoming rcsponsiblc for patrolling the King’s Highways and for providing some technical services, on requcst, for municipal authori- tics.

Boards of policc comrnissioncrs wcrc also set up in the major cities to insulate police forces from ovcrt political prcssures and to abolish patronage. Classically, therc was a judgc, appointcd by the govern- ment, the local mayor and an indepcndcnt person also appointed by thc govcrnmcnt. Thcrc was nevertheless a serious dcclinc in police morale, as municipalitics under the stress of economic pressurcs found themselves unable to balancc budgcts and resorted to firing municipal employees. The Chief Constablcs Association of Ontario conse- qucntly askcd thc government to provide some means to monitor thc performance and efficiency of forccs in thc provincc, and in 1939 the Attorney Gcncral took powcrs to cxtcnd the general principlc of indcpcndent boards of police comrnissioncrs throughout thc pro- vincc. Hc also authorized the Commissioner of the Provincial Police, subject to his approval, to cnquirc into and report upon thc conduct of any constable, thc administration of any force, thc system of

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policing in any municipality and the police needs ofany municipality, with or without the request of the municipality concerned. The Act had the advantage of providing local forces with some protcction against illicit outside interference, and it also provided politicians and the public with an appropriate forum for legitimate complaints. It had, however, thc disadvantage of putting the Commissioner of the Provincial Police into an anomalous position. As the commanding officer of thc provincial force he was responsible for all their operations; as the Attorney Gencral’s chief adviser on police affairs and his chief instrument for enquiring into municipal police affairs he was forced to accept some degree of indirect control and authority over municipal forces. This was bound to create friction between his own force and the other forces in the province.

The same economic and social disasters of thc 1 ~ 2 0 s and 1 ~ 3 0 s which had affected Ontario brought a different response in other provinces. One after the other the Maritimc provinces and the Prairic provinces abandoncd their provincial police forces, and entered into contracts with the federal government for the RCMP to takc over responsibility. Similar cost-sharing agreements were reached, and the RCMP expanded its provincial as well as its federal dutics across the contincnt. l 3

British Columbia resisted, and, indeed, reversed the process by farsightedness. In I 924 the provincial governments accepted a proposal that where municipal authorities were unwilling or unable to support their own police forces the municipal authorities could enter into a contract with the provincial government whereby the British Columbia Provincial Police would carry out municipal duties. The contracts were bendicial to hard-pressed local authorities and within a decade twenty-four municipal police forces were disbanded and their duties assumed by the provincial police.

The system of contracts followed roughly the lines of the federal arrangements. The normal federal agreement speclfied 60 per cent of the cost to the federal government, and 40 per cent to the provincial government. The province or, in the case of British Columbia, the municipality could indicatc the extent of the rcsources in equipmcnt and personnel it required, and which stations were to be manned. But the federal government (or the provincial government in British

l 3 These social conditions favoured the RCMP. They enabled it to recruit men o f the highest standards. In I 9 3 8 there was still a waiting list for interview ofover a year. The only other police force which has been able consistently to impose such high standards of entry has been the Italian Carabinieri.

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Columbia) could specify thc total cost of the assistance taking the province or the municipality as a whole, and avcraging it as the cost per officcr. The figure, naturally, had also to take into account thc proportion of time officers spent on their fcderal o r provincial duties and be adjusted accordingly. Thc results werc sornetimcs compli- cated, but achievcd their purpose of rclieving municipalities or provinccs of onerous financial responsibilities, of providing adequatc policing scrviccs not subject to whim or the annual budget, and of providing centralized support systems well beyond thc normal capacity of small communities and scattered provincics.

T H E I M P A C T OF W A R

The Second World War brought renewed pressures on the policc system. Until 1941 citizcns of thc United Statcs and subjects and sympathisers of thc Soviet Union werc all potential cncmies. Thc immunity of Germans, Italians and Vichy French cnabled embassies and consulates across the bordcr to be used as safe rctreats for espionage, planning and sabotage operations. After the collapse of Francc there was some uncertainty as to the reliability and loyalty of certain elements of Quebec society.14 This was incrcased later in thc war during the passionate debates over conscription. O n the west coast after Pearl Harbour in 1941 Canada, as wcll as the Unitcd Statcs, was affccted by doubts about thc loyalty of Japanese rcsidcnts. Massive swccps and forccd internal immigration of an entire national group took place without either thc pity or thc majesty of law which had so characterized Canadians in their dcalings with other pcoplcs in the past.

In this turmoil Canadian socicty a t large and thc Canadian police in particular wcrc forccd to come of age. The British connection for the most honourable reasons was no longer suficicnt to provide that innate and instinctivc support upon which Canada had been ablc to rely. The prospcct of a Unitcd Statcs connection seemcd undesirable but necessary. The only answer was cooperation, indepcndcncc and friendship at arms length. The corruption and dangcrs of world politics were forced home after the war when it was discovered that thc embassy of the erstwhile ally, Sovict Russia, had used its embassy in Ottawa as its principal source of espionage throughout North

' ' A branch of the Action Francaise had been created in 1924. On the other hand some of the best operatives in the Special Operations Executive were French Canadians.

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America. The RCMP changed its image in thc cyes of the world from being a colourful, attractivc and adventurous force to that of a serious, painstaking and totally reliablc security service.

Thcre was now ncver any question of thc RCMP's authority and stature as the leading police force in Canada, cven though normal police work in the vast arcas of the country werc performed by other forces. But it had emerged as a model and a standard by which other forces could be judged.

The most immediate effect was to alter the balancc of power within the police system. But this in its turn could not but be a reflection of the enormous social, economic and demographic changes which wcrc occurring in post-war Canada. In two decades the population of Canada ncarly doubled. Immigration from displaced persons from Europe, British citizens and Amcrican industrialists put pressure on all existing resources. Industrial and commercial activity brought Canada international recognition as one of the lcading industrial countries in thc world. Essentially farming and urban communities scattcred across the country bloomcd into cities, and cities exploded into conurbations. All thc provincial capitals doubled, and in some cases trebled, in size, and in the Prairies became important trading, commercial, financial and political ccntres in their own right. Inevitably new forms of urban stress and sophisticated crimc burgeoncd, and the old style semi-family policc forccs were put under considerable strain.

Thosc provinces with a two-tier systcm o f police, RCMP plus municipal forccs, found it easiest to copc since city boundarics or amalgamation of communities could be authorized by simple acts of thc provincial governments. But thc thrcc proud and wealthy provinccs of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec had to face more complicated problems.

British Columbia temporarily solvcd its problem by historical accident. In 1949, unknown to thc police and to many of his cabinct collcagues, the Attorney General entered into discussions with Ottawa for the British Columbia Policc to be replaccd by thc RCMP on the contract system. Therc are no cabinet rccords of this transaction. The official cxplanation given at thc time was economy, but successive provincial budgets show that the cost of the administ- ration ofjusticc and law cnforcemcnt rosc quite markcdly during the following years. Oral history suggests two other explanations. First, that members of the provincial policc had shown thcmselvcs increasingly intercstcd in some form of union organization and that

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the Attorney Gcncral, a wealthy lawyer, decided to nip the movement in the bud. Second, there were rumours based on a libel case which wcnt to the Suprcmc Court, that thc Attorney Gcncral was in conflict with thc provincial policc. The overwhelming majority of thc provincial police whcn it was disbandcd in 1950 was offered new appointmcnts in the RCMI’, but six officers, including the Commissioner, the Deputy Cornmissioner and the sccrctary of thc police federation, wcre not.l5

The takeover by the RCMP led to somc unusual institutional arrangcmcnts sincc it not only acted under contract to thc provincial government as the provincial policc, but also inherited from the British Columbia Provincial Police the contracts which they had made with municipalities to provide municipal police scrviccs. As the size of citics increased, the force could find itself chcck by jowl with indcpcndcnt municipal police forccs in which it could also operate as the provincial police, and as the federal forcc.

T H E P O S T - W A R Y E A R S A N D A F T E R

In Ontario the immediate post-war years bcgan with thc Police Act of 1946 to establish ncw rules for the operation of thc municipal and provincial forces and for reducing luisser-faire in the administration of small municipal forces. But almost immediately the anomalous position of thc Commissioner of thc Provincial Police became clear. One of his inspectors carried out an enquiry into the police scrvicc of the city of Barrie, involving the ncighbouring county of 01-0’’ and found the city force wanting in many mattcrs. The Commissioncr thcreupon assumed responsibility for policing in thc city. The Barrie po l i ce promptly threatened s t r i k e a c t i o n a n d mounted a mass ive publicity campaign condemning the provincial government for

l 5 The passage of the Act to disband the force itself was odd. It was tucked away as Chapter 57 of an Act to amend the ‘Police and Prisons Regulation Act’ (30 March 1950) together with miscellaneous items about pensions, provincial gaols, game wardens and probation oficers.

It was, however, always wise to be prudent. Some surveillance teams who had neglected to inform the local chief were arrested by municipal officers who had been alerted by the reports of suspicious and zealous neighbours. ” So named in 1840 to provide a welcoming touch to runaway slaves from

southern American plantations seeking a place of settlement. reminding them of the Rio d’Oro in Africa. The climate, howcvcr. was different, and after some years they left.

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unconstitutionally interfering in municipal affairs. The attachment of public opinion to local democracy brought sufficient pressure to bcar on thc Attorney General to settlc the matter diplomatically, and it also led to the Comrnissioncr’s powers of cnquiry bcing allowcd from henceforth to lie dormant.

As against this the police serviccs were eventually able to insulate themselves from purely local pressures. The council of Grimsby twice dismissed their chief constable in circurnstanccs which suggested personalities rather than law. With the agreement of the Attorney General the matter was referred to thc Supreme Court of Ontario and the thunderous words of thc Common Law tradition wcrc spoken: Thc dutics of a constable are not owing to the body by which a police officer has bccn appointed. ‘His authority is original, not dclcgatcd, and is cxcrciscd at his own discretion by virtue of his officc: hc is a ministerial oficer exercising statutory rights, and indcpcndcntly of contract.’

The following years saw a great increase in the concern for policc organization. Thc chaotic state of the conurbation around Toronto led thc Ontario government to pass thc Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Act in 1953 to federate thc city of Toronto and twelve suburban municipalities into Mctro Toronto. Until 1957 the police serviccs remained a responsibility of thc arca municipalities but in that year all policc forccs were unified under a fivc-man Metropolitan Board of Commissioners, weighting it heavily on the sidc of independent legally qualified persons with a minority of active local politicians. The chief constables’ association also began to prcss on thc government the urgency of providing adequate recruitment and training procedures throughout the province. In this they were rcinforced by incidents involving thc corruption of officers, the discovery of crime links across the frontier, and thc public disclosurc of the degradation and corruption of major American cities, some of them closc to the Canadian border.

As a rcsult of these pressures on public opinion the Ontario government established an Ontario Police Commission of threc members in 1962 with extensive powers of supervision over the police forccs in the province. The Commission was authorized to cnquire into any matter relating to law and order in the province, to ensure that municipalities discharged thcir responsibilities by provid- ing adequate and proper police forces, to enquire into thc administ- ration of any police forcc o r the conduct of a police officer, to supervise the operation of the Provincial Police and to cntcr into

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policing contracts with municipalities whcre the circumstances warranted it at an agreed fee.

A Police Collcge for the provincc was established, and the Provincial Police extensively reorganized. Thc Commission was then authorized to establish an inter-communication systcm for all policc forccs in the province, to advise policc authoritics rcspecting the management and operation of policc forces and tcchniqucs in handling spccial forccs, and to assist in coordinating the efforts of differcnt police forces. Thc definition of an adequate policc force was expanded to include not only thc numbers of constables but also thc standards of recruitment, administration, technical methodology, cquipment and moralc. A Criminal Intclligcnce Section was sct up to monitor organizcd crime and spccial arrangements wcre made to providc for liaison between municipal forccs, thc provincial police, the RCMP, the Ontario Sccuritics Commission and appropriate authoritics in Qucbec and the United States.

The Commission had tceth sincc it did not only have authority to enquirc and advise but if necessary, after enquiry, to rcplacc municipal forces with thc Ontario Provincial Police whcn any municipality failed to meet its rcsponsibilitics. Thesc powers werc hardly nccded sincc prudencc, shared values, and Canadian traditions sugg sted leadership by persuasion rather than intimidation. Its gcncral policy was cautiously to leavc municipalities of adcquate s i x with their own forces, to substitute the Provincial Police whcre geography or politics provided no mcans of propcr amalgamation of contiguous municipal forccs, to ensure thc tranquillity of the countrysidc by the rational organization of detachments of the Provincial Police and to cncouragc total unification of forces in major conurbations.

That last part of thc policy was vital in the goldcn horseshoe stretching from Niagara round Lake Ontario. Thc major effort was madc in Region Niagara whcre fifteen forces werc amalgamated. Problems inevitably arose. Pcrsonal disputes and administrative conflicts had to be expected and thcre werc some unseemly public disputes bctwcen senior officers in othcr areas. Canny mcmbcrs of farming communities policed by thc Ontario Provincial Policc brought political prcssures to bcar since the provincial police operate on the provincial budget at large, whereas local or regional forccs require direct municipal financing or are liable to precept. Thc principles however were generally accepted, but always provided they wcre applied somewhere else.

5 1 0 G O V E R N M E N T A N D O P P O S I T I O N

In Quebec after the war thc Duplessis rcgime revcrted to the traditions and the institutional bchaviour of M. Taschcreau. The Judiciary Policc carried out investigations; the Gendarmerie acted as guards and escorts, and providcd public ordcr services; the Traffic Police patrolled highways and booked traffic offcnces; thc Liquor Police concerncd itself with the liquor laws. Each separate branch had two hcadquartcrs, in Montrcal and Quebcc City, and cach scction restricted itself solely to its own operations. No one officcr was responsible for a particular dctachmcnt, and the scnior officer of each of the respectivc serviccs reported directly to his own superior at headquarters. Little information was shared or help given between the different sections, and many appointmcnts wcre madc by political patronage. Individual officers could be appointed to their place of origin and spcnd thcir entirc careers there subject to the influence of patrons, fricnds and family.

Furtherrnorc, cach service had a different salary and rank structurc thus opcning up endless possibilities of pcrsonal rivalries and attcmpts by not always the most ethical of mcans to obtain the most lucrativc of posts going. Thc lower paid posts, essential for rcal policc work, became the prerogative of thc dumbest. In 1960 and after thc cnd of the long Duplessis regime an cnquiry showed that many officers werc illiteratc, several had outlived their physical or mental usefulness, and somc were found to be over eighty years old.

As a result of this wholesalc reforms werc introduced. Thc Quebcc Provincial Police was detached from the Provincial Civil Service in an attempt to insulate it against patronage, favour and influcnce. The basic salary was raised and the forcc purgcd of the incompetcnt, inefficient and decrcpit. A single dircctor with authority over the entire force was appointcd and the intcrnal structure changed to climinate closed compartrncnts and to establish a clear, rccognizcd and distinct chain of command throughout the scrvice. Gcneral supervision was increased and the scparate police divisions abolished except for administrative purposes.

A major recruiting campaign was begun in step with thc cnhanccd salary scales. Recruitment was restrictcd to able and fit young men with acceptable educational qualifications, capablc of passing the RCMP aptitudc tests which the new director adopted. Recruits’ records were now chccked bcfore appointment to ensurc that only men of unimpeachable charactcr could enter the force - a marked change from the past.

In all this brisk changc the RCMP and thc Ontario systcm were

T H E C A N A D I A N P O L I C E 5 1 I

used as modcls. A Police College was set up for the province at Nicolet to form not only recruits to the provincial policc but also to provide facilities for advanced training and promotional courscs for municipal officers. The languagc of instruction was French to ensure thc continued inheritance of indigenous culturc. In 1968 a Quebec Police Commission was created by the govcrnment modelled on the lincs of the Ontarian commission, and steps comparable to those involving Mctro Toronto were taken to reform the conurbation of Montreal. It was amalgamatcd into a singlc arca authority in 1971 as the Montreal Urban Community. Thirty diffcrent municipalities werc brought togcthcr undcr a single umbrella. Thc new Com- munity established a Police Board chaired by a judgc and the problems of integrating twenty-four different municipal forces began. Thcre was considcrablc political hostility from local munici- palities who felt that they were being subjccted to the imperial dcsigns of thc City of Montreal,18 and not all thc administrative problcms have yct been satisfactorily rcsolved.

M O D E R N T E R R O R I S M A N D ITS P R O B L E M S

By now the most traumatic experience in Canadian Police terms had taken place. In October 1970 two tcrrorist cells, acting indepcndcntly and inefficiently, kidnapped a British diplomat, who was later relcased unharmed, and a prominent Quebecois politician who was released dead in the boot of a car. These activities persuadcd thc chief of the Montreal Police, thc Mayor, and the provincial government that they apprehended a statc of insurrcction, and they asked for federal assistance. The Act invoked by thc federal government dated back to the first world war” and few Canadians realized it still existed, but the fear of terrorism by Quebec separatists overcame the natural rcpugnancc a t thc supervision of civil liberties. Special hunt squads were formcd by the RCMP, the Quebec Provincial Police and the Montreal City Police, and the military provided escorts for

I s A resistance fordied by financial considerations as Montreal’s budgeting for Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympic Games have cast some doubts on the City’s general prudence and capacity for cost control.

I9 There was some confusion at first about this. Kidnapping and murder were clearly matters of the criminal law and therefore the responsibility o f the provincial government. But Mr Cross, the diplomat. had diplomatic immunity, and as such his safety was the responsibility of the federal government. The Act was formally invoked by the federal government at the request of the City of Montreal and the Quebec provincial government reporting a state of apprehended insurrection.

5 1 2 G 0 V E R N M E N T A N 1) 0 P P 0 SIT1 0 N

promincnt personalities and guards for the protection of major buildings and installations.2n In the end the problem was solved by simplc and painstaking police work, but the arrests of several hundred persons suspected of being sympathiscrs, amongst whom were prominent publicists and artists, brought the Canadian public facr to face with the brutal facts of powcr, as well as the fragility of a society which had heretofore been taken for granted.

Some of this concern was unnecessary alarmism, but there was somc evidcnce to provide legitimate conccrn. The kidnappers and murderers when arrested proved to bc a poor lot, and the evidencc showed that there was no large-scale conspiracy involving Quebec separatists. But the fear that international terrorism of the Palestinian kind might spread to Canada genuinely affected public opinion. This was rcinforced by the cxposurc of financial and commercial scandals in Montreal which seemed to indicate that organized crime and American syndicates might be moving into the country not only to extend their operations but also to seek a safc and legitimate refuge for purchasing businesses with illicit funds. There was also concern a t the extent and expansion of drug addiction, and traffickers seemed to regard Vancouver in particular as an easy cntrancc to the North American market. Finally, a growing wave of Canadian nationalism took the evils of American society as a portent for the future unless there was a swift rcsponsc.

With a good deal of public backing and political pressure mcans for consolidating the coopcration of police forces were establishcd. After 1966 a committee of rcprcsentativcs of the major Canadian police forces had been set up. In 1970 this arrangement was strcngthencd by the creation of a Criminal Intelligence Service Canada available for thc USC of all forces. Its computer has a special store of information not kept in normal police files, and subject to security checks to ensure that it cannot bc tapped by outside interests. The provinces of Ontario and Quebec havc their own services linked to the tcrminal, and in the other provinces the RCMP opcratcs similar bureaux.

Thc federal government also strcngthencd the existing national organs of police cooperation bascd upon the bureaux of the National Policc services operated by the RCMP.21 These bureaux provide

Before the Act was invoked it is not certain that the military had the status of ‘pace o&cers’. Had arms been used they might have been liable for damages undcr the civil law. or in extreme cases undcr the criminal law.

’’ The RCMP had consistently taken the lead in providing common services and cstablishing channels of communication and collaboration available to other police services.

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identification services now available by tclcx across the country, crime detection laboratorics for specialized tcchnical analysis, a police information centre for the dissemination of hard information or advanced warning, and the National Policc Services also opcratc the Canadian Police College. The KCMP strcngthcned its tics with the Fcdcral Bureau of Investigation and the computers of the two institutions arc linked. Wantcd American criminals have tendcd to seek rcfugc in Canada believing it a soft country to enter, but the KCMP, unlike the FBI, also operates as the immigration, customs and prcventivc services of the country, and this centralization of control enables i t to react with great spccd.

The October 1970 crisis had also shown the authorities thc need to bc able to intervene swiftly in cmcrgcncies. The RCMP had always had the capacity for concentrating its forces a t short notice, and policc forces everywherc have an important role to play in the organization of civil dcfencc against civil disasters and nuclear attack. But the undcsirability of introducing the military into mattcrs essentially of civil disordcr was underlined by thc crisis22 and both the Ontario and thc Quebec Provincial Policc introduced a system of emcrgency intervention squads on call a t short notice.

In these matters thc provincial police commissions took a leading part. They also took thc initiative in alerting public opinion to organized crime, of which the most spcctacular episodcs wcre providcd by the Quebec But despite thc washing of much dirty linen in public, and thc evident desire of the Quebec authoritics to investigate, expose and condemn crime, particularly when linked with local influcnce, suspicions of the good faith of local justice remain in English-speaking Canada.24

But, in fact, thc principal cause for concern was not in Quebec but in British Columbia. Vancouver, with a large Chincsc population, a port devotcd to Pacific trade and easy access to the United States, was vcry vulnerable to trading in narcotics, and the docks wcre not well policed. It had also ceascd to be a simple centre for distribution with a

22 As i t was in Northern Ireland. 23 The evidence however suggested to an obscrver that the crime pattern was far

more similar to that of Marseilles or Naples than to that of American cities such as New York, Buffalo or Detroit. An interesting example of cultural inheritance.

24 In 1976 the RCMP Fraud Squad charged prominent personalities in Montreal with corruption involving fcderal funds and Montreal international airport. When the Quebec authorities proposed to proceed by pre-cnqubtc (a form of French law involving private hearings) the HCMP promptly filcd chargcs in Ottawa to bring the cases before Ontarian courts.

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few old men dreaming their lives away with opium in downtown dens, but had become a centre for consumption and an attraction to junkies, pushers and distributors. An enquiry showed that 70 per cent of all crime in British Columbia was drug related, a phenomenal figure.

Its police institutions had also not kept abreast of requirements. Iluring the long reign of Premier Bennet no effort had been made to tidy up the unusual pattern of policing resulting from the takeover of the Provincial Police by the RCMP. The obvious reforms of amalgamation and consolidation of forces undertaken in Ontario were never socially acceptable to the Premier’s supporters who wanted their ‘own’ police and resisted the amalgamation of suburbs and city cen t r e~ .~S The organization and installation of courts and prisons had become decrepit, and in several parts of the province it was difficult to find Crown Counsel for prosecutions.

The new government of Premier Ijarrett began a drastic overhaul to modernize the system. It was known that crime had doubled in the province between 1962 and 1971, and that most of the increase was not simply the result of an increase in population but was directly or indirectly related to narcotics, loansharking, gambling, prostitution, theft rings, hold-up gangs and frauds. Wholesale reforms were clearly needed, and three new institutions were set up. A Justice Develop- ment Commission was established to modernize and rationalize the services of the provincial courts, and to introduce some of the principles of modern criminology into the law. More urgently the Commission set about breaking down the insulated compartments in which the police, courts, corrections, legal services, information systems and social work agencies worked. Greater care was taken with the provision oflegal aid and the creation ofbetter links between the police and minority groups, and a more formalized and objective appeals procedure for complaints about police behaviour was instituted.

O n the police side, a British Columbia Police Commission was established on the lines of Ontario and Quebec in order to keep an overall view of the crime problem in the province and to establish minimum standards for police services throughout the province. The Commission established a Police College in an attempt to standardize methods of recruitment and training, and eventually to make this

25 The capital, Victoria, although a continuously built-up area, still has four municipal forces. The smallest also acts as a reserve fire brigade.

T H E C A N A D I A N P O L I C E 5 1 5

formation compulsory for all recruits to municipal forces in the province.

The difficult problem, however, was what to do with the patchwork pattern of police authorities in thc province. The drastic surgery required would damage police morale, offend public opinion, and run counter to long-standing attachments to com- munity level government and populist democracy. An alternative was therefore found in the creation of a Coordinated Law Enforcc- mcnt Unit directed by a seven-man policy committee chaired by the Deputy Attorney General: it included the RCMP Assistant Commis- sioner, the Vancouver Chief Constable, the vice-chairman of the Justice Development Commission, a retired chief justice, a professor and one woman member. Its brief was to set priorities for organized crime targets, to develop and consolidate police intelligence, and to direct the work of investigation, legal, and analysis divisions to combat crime.

The most important operational result was the creation of joint forces teams with membcrs from both the RCMP and the municipal forces pursuing indicated targets. I t ensured the cooperation of the drug squads of the RCMP and the Vancouver City Police,26 and put the specialized services of the major forces a t the disposal of the smaller municipal forces which did not have the capacity to cope with, for example, forensic medicine o r commercial fraud. As in the eastern provinces special emergency response teams were set up, but less for fear of organized civil disorder than as a means of rapid response in kidnapping and hostage-taking incidents. A dozen teams throughout the province were designed to be available a t a half-hour’s notice of emergency, and clear cut lines of authority and responsibility were established in advance. The Police College provided a special training programme for this.

The first fruits of all thcsc reforms were reaped in 1976 when the eight provinces renewed their contracts with the RCMP and when the Habitat Conference was successfully and peacefully held in Vancouver despite widespread fears that international terrorists would attempt to disrupt the proceedings for publicity purposes. And in Montreal the Olympic Games endcd without incident after a massive police operation involving the army, elements of the militia, the Montreal police, the provincial forces of Quebec and Ontario and

26 Not always successfully: a policy directive indicated drug-pushers rather than drug-takers as the principal priority. The Vancouver City Police promptly arrested thirteen drug-takers.

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strong detachments of the KCMP. The capacity for response, advanced planning, cooperation and joint exercises had increased beyond recognition in the six years since the 1970 crisis.

C O N C L U S I O N S

I t is indeed interesting to view the development of the Canadian police system as an exercise in the gradual emergence of new and continually changing administrative coalitions. This is particularly important in Canada with its stubborn pride and attachment to local values and its endless quest to find a national harmony whilst cherishing the virtues, idiosyncrasies, traditions and charm of individual groups.27

The structure and integrity ofa society arc the essential purposc and function of ‘the police’. Policemen in their turn reflect the virtues, vices and aspirations of their own socicty and cannot be divorced from it. In so varied a country as Canada the history and development of different forces has taken many forms. As Canada was impelled over the last thirty years to a position of major importance in the world, so by institutional change and reform a police modelled on the simpler circumstances of earlier times has had rapidly to be evolved combining the virtues of a socicty instinctive with a sense of dignity, authority, good taste and common sense.

27Twenty different ethnic groups celebratcd the ccntcnary in 1976 of thc founding of St Catharine’s, Ontario, population IZO,OOO. in full national costume with indigenous cuisine and dance.