RCMP Mass Casualty Commission position notes

Addressing police conflict

This note outlines our position related to Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) recommendations P.58 and P.66, which focus on strengthening conflict resolution skills within the RCMP. The RCMP agrees in principle with both recommendations.

This position note explains the RCMP’s efforts to strengthen conflict management through training, leadership development, and promotional processes. Actions include expanding conflict resolution training for employees and leaders, incorporating conflict management skills into leadership selection processes, and offering specialized training through the Canadian Police College. The note also highlights ongoing collaboration with policing partners in Nova Scotia, including participation in conflict management training, multi-agency exercises, and initiatives designed to strengthen relationships and interoperability among police services.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Advice of the Management Advisory Board

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation P.41, which calls for an amendment to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act to ensure that the Management Advisory Board (MAB) provide a copy or summary of its advice to the Minister of Public Safety, and that the Minister publish this advice.

This position note explains that we agree with the recommendation in principle and have collaborated with the MAB to meet the spirit of the recommendation. The MAB has begun publishing its advice on its external website, and we have taken action within our mandate by publishing our response to the MAB's advice on our website.

For the full position note, visit Open Government.

After-action review

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations P.23, P.24 and P.25, which recommend the implementation of policies and procedures to require an after-action report for any critical incident response that requires the engagement of a critical incident commander. This includes a public reporting component via an annual report that explains lessons learned, and the requirement to initiate an after-action review after the occurrence of a mass casualty incident.

This position note explains that we agree in full with recommendation P.23 and agree in principle with recommendations P.24 and P.25, given the challenges around the feasibility of the timelines prescribed in the recommendations. Overall, the RCMP agrees with the MCC's findings that operational debriefs and after-action reviews provide an invaluable means of capturing lessons learned from a critical incident response and will take actions to formalize these steps into its overall critical incident management training and processes.

For the full position note, visit Open Government.

Behavioural Sciences Investigative Services

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations V.3, V.4 and V.5, which focus on RCMP forensic psychological assessments. The RCMP agrees in principle with all three recommendations.

This position note explains the actions taken by the RCMP to strengthen its post-event analysis practices following the mass casualty incident in Nova Scotia. These actions include engaging Canadian and international experts, implementing a new national standard operating procedure, establishing a strengthened peer-review process, and creating mechanisms to support information sharing and continuous improvement. The note also outlines how the RCMP has addressed concerns related to bias, transparency, and conflicts of interest while ensuring access to specialized expertise in a field with limited resources in Canada.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Canadian police education and training - RCMP Depot Division

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations P.56 and P.70, which recommend the modernization of Canadian police education and research. This includes:

• phasing out the Depot model of RCMP training
• Public Safety Canada working with provincial and territorial governments to establish a 3-year degree as the minimum standard for police education across Canada

This position note explains that we agree in principle with these recommendations. We acknowledge that we must enhance education and training for police in order to effectively respond to the current public safety environment; however, these recommendations are ultimately outside of our mandate and authority. Implementation will require action by provincial, territorial and federal governments. In the interim, we will work within our authority to update our training and education to ensure that cadets receive a modernized curriculum.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Consumption of alcohol and recreational drugs

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation P.3, which addresses the consumption of alcohol and recreational drugs by RCMP employees. The RCMP agrees in principle with this recommendation.

This position note explains that the RCMP maintains a zero-tolerance approach to impairment while on duty and has existing policies requiring employees to not be impaired by alcohol, drugs, or other substances. It outlines updates made to the RCMP’s Substance Use Policy, including clarifying the definition of impairment and reinforcing employee and supervisor responsibilities. The RCMP considers its actions related to this recommendation complete and will continue to review policies as needed.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Criminal justice reform regarding gender-based and intimate partner violence

This position note examines three recommendations from the MCC as part of a broader collection of notes focused on the topics of gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence (IPV). More specifically, recommendations V.10, V.11 and V.12 focus on suggested reforms of the criminal justice and social services system, including a focus on the prevention of GBV and IPV. While the RCMP does not have the mandate to implement these recommendations, it is committed to working with its federal partners and provincial and territorial governments to advance this work.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Effective use of police radios

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation P.14, which focuses on improving radio communications, training, policies, and procedures during critical incidents. The RCMP agrees in principle with this recommendation and recognizes the importance of effective and consistent radio use across the organization.

This position note describes the RCMP’s efforts to strengthen radio communications through national training, updated policies, and enhanced technology. The note highlights investments that support interoperability and situational awareness, including interconnected radio systems in Atlantic Canada, Blue Force Tracking technology, and enhanced Operational Communications Centre capabilities. The RCMP will continue to advance this work through the implementation of new national training, operational policy, and information-sharing resources.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Emergency Operational Plans

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation P.2, which calls on the RCMP to ensure emergency operational plans (EOPs) are current and utilized throughout all divisions. The RCMP agrees in full with this recommendation.

This position note explains the RCMP’s efforts to strengthen emergency management and ensure that EOPs are maintained, exercised, and integrated into operational readiness across the organization. Actions include increasing emergency management capacity through additional funding and personnel, strengthening business continuity planning, enhancing training, conducting and evaluating exercises, and improving awareness of EOPs across divisions. The note also highlights work underway to strengthen national coordination, governance, and reporting related to EOPs, while supporting interoperability with policing and emergency response partners. These measures are intended to ensure that emergency plans are operationally meaningful, regularly practiced, and readily available when needed during critical incidents.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Interoperability

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations P.1, P.16 and P.64, as they relate to command model standardization, the need for joint training and the importance of effective command posts and emergency operations centres. The RCMP agrees in full with these recommendations.

This position note acknowledges that no single agency can respond to a major incident alone. Rather, agencies need to maintain effective working relationships during critical incidents and emergency events, including collaboration with other police agencies and other emergency personnel. The RCMP is strongly of the opinion that the most effective means to achieve this, as suggested by the MCC, is through joint training, exercising and through the testing of communication protocols and channels. The need to engage, and the policies to support this, are broadly in place, but rehearsing this is paramount to ensuring a coordinated response to an incident. As a best practice, these relationships must also be guided by memorandums of understanding that outline intra-agency communications, and participation of partners in the incident command structure.

For the full position note, visit Open Government.

Operational Communication Centres

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations P.10, P.11, and P.12, all which the RCMP agrees with in full.

These recommendations are related to how information is captured and managed by RCMP Operational Communication Centres (OCC). The RCMP has a number of initiatives to implement these recommendations, including updating scenario-based training for dispatchers, ensuring that software is sufficient to capture information during a critical incident, and a national program evaluation of the OCCs.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Police governance and structure in Nova Scotia

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations P.61 and P.67, which make recommendations to improve police governance in Canada and the structure of policing in Nova Scotia.

This position note explains that we agree in principle with the recommendations. It describes that, while the recommendations fall under the purview of the provincial government, we have made efforts to improve our own internal governance, as well as support the Province of Nova Scotia’s policing review. It also explains how we will implement elements of these recommendations at a national level.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Police impersonation

This note provides an overview of our position and actions taken on issues related to police impersonation, including the tracking of police impersonation cases (C.27), the management and disposal of police uniform and kit (C.28, C.29 and C.31), and the decommissioning and divestiture of surplus police vehicles (C.30).

This position note explains that we agree in principle with recommendations C.27, C.28 and C.29, and fully agree with recommendations C.30 and C.31. We continue to work with other impacted partners to promote parallel implementation across Canada and are supportive of provincial legislation to increase public safety by restricting access to operational police uniforms and identifiers, as well as police-vehicle markings and equipment.

For the full position note, visit Open Government.

Police responses to gender-based violence

This position note examines four recommendations from the MCC as part of a broader collection of notes focused on the topics of gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence (IPV). More specifically, this note explains that we agree in full with recommendations V.6 and V.15, and that we are able to make important contributions through improvements to policies and training. In addition, we agree in principle with recommendations V.9 and P.75, and will contribute to the work of partners to address these recommendations in support of preventing violence and protecting safety.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Principles of policing

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation P.36. This recommendation calls for all Canadian police services to adopt Dr. Ian Loader's set of principles of policing.

This position note explains that we agree in principle with the recommendation. The note highlights the differences and similarities between Dr. Loader's principles and the commonly understood Peelian principles. It also explains the RCMP's intent to enhance understanding of the principles within the organization.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Public alerting

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations C.4, C.5, P.17, P.18, P.19. P.20, P.21 and P.22. These recommendations collectively call for us to:

• renew policies and procedures related to emergency alerting
• work closely with our partners to further the use of the Alert Ready system

This position note explains that we agree in principle with recommendations C.4, C.5, P.17, P.20 and P.21, and agree in full with recommendations P.18, P.19 and P.22. We have advanced our actions related to public communications, specifically working with Public Safety Canada, provincial government partners, and other police services to integrate the use of the Alert Ready system into our practices. This includes the creation of national and divisional policies on the use of Alert Ready, and the integration of public alerting training into the Depot and the Canadian Police College curriculums.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

RCMP Air Services renewal

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation P.15, which states that the RCMP should establish partnerships with other agencies to ensure that air support is available whenever necessary to support a critical incident response, and adopt a single air support call-out process to ensure that initial critical incident commanders do not waste time and attention looking for air support.

This position note explains that as the lead on this recommendation, we acknowledge that substantial and sustained improvements are required to our air support program to ensure continuous availability and enhanced capabilities of assets. Through ongoing modernization and improved governance, we are proactively addressing critical gaps to improve operational readiness, contingency planning, and external partnerships.

For the full position note, visit Open Government.

RCMP governance with contract jurisdictions

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations P.45 and P.53, which recommends the RCMP enhances community involvement in senior recruitment, and ensures adequate police services in rural and remote communities.

This position note explains that we agree in principle with the recommendations. It also provides an overview of how RCMP policing services are contracted through service agreements, and the role those agreements play in how a community is consulted and how policing services are provided. It further explains the actions that we will take to improve governance with contract jurisdictions.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

RCMP management culture

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation P.59, which calls for a report to be published on the RCMP website explaining the criteria on which we select, develop recognize and reward commissioned officers and those in equivalent civilian roles. The recommendation also asks the RCMP to provide semi-annual progress updates to the Minister of Public Safety and the Management Advisory Board.

This position note explains that as the lead on this recommendation, we agree in full and acknowledge the actions we must take to implement the findings of the report into management culture. We remain committed to completing the work identified in the action plan stemming from the report and will continue to report on this progress as called for by the recommendation.

For the full position note, visit Open Government.

Sale of decommissioned vehicles

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation C.30, which addresses the sale of decommissioned RCMP vehicles, the vehicle decommissioning process, and public reporting on vehicle sales. The RCMP agrees in full with this recommendation.

This position note explains the work undertaken by the RCMP since 2021 to strengthen oversight, accountability, and controls related to vehicle decommissioning. Actions include an internal audit, an independent review of industry practices, updates to national policies and procedures, enhanced vehicle inspection requirements, and strengthened controls to ensure police markings and equipment are removed before disposal. The RCMP considers the requirements of this recommendation to have been addressed through these measures.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Taking responsibility

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendation P.37, which focuses on fostering a culture of accountability within the RCMP by encouraging employees at all levels to acknowledge mistakes, accept responsibility for their actions, and demonstrate accountability as a leadership competency. The RCMP agrees in principle with this recommendation.

This position note describes the RCMP’s ongoing efforts to strengthen accountability through workplace culture reform, leadership development, and modernization of hiring and promotion processes. Key actions include the renewal of the RCMP’s Core Values, including the addition of “take responsibility” as a core value, the creation of public reporting mechanisms to track progress on external review recommendations, and the integration of accountability into leadership assessments for commissioned officers and executives.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.

Uniform and kit management and possession

This note outlines our position related to MCC recommendations C.28 and C.29, which call for improvements to the management and disposal of police uniforms and kit. The note explains that we agree in principle with the recommendation, and have improved policies and procedures to help limit instances of police impersonation. The note also outlines the enhancements we have made to better track police equipment, and to improve the disposal of uniform and equipment.

For the full position note, please visit Open Government.