Parliamentary Committee Notes: Opening Remarks

Speaking Notes for The Honourable Marco Mendicino Minister of Public Safety
Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (Bill C-20)

May 30, 2023 (Last updated May 19th, 2023)

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I am pleased to appear as this committee begins its study of Bill C-20, An Act establishing the Public Complaints and Review Commission.

This Bill would enact a new standalone statute to establish the Public Complaints and Review Commission, or PCRC, as the new independent civilian review body for both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.

The PCRC would continue to fulfill the existing Civilian Review and Complaints Commission’s complaints and review mandate for the RCMP, with increased accountability tools at its disposal.

This mandate includes reviewing or initiating complaint-related investigations of RCMP conduct or level of service, conducting specified activity reviews of any non-national security activities of the RCMP, and reporting its findings and recommendations to the RCMP Commissioner and to me.

Bill C-20 would extend this mandate to the CBSA. Public complaints against the CBSA are now handled through internal processes, and there is no independent mechanism to review public complaints regarding CBSA employee conduct or level of service.

CBSA is the only enforcement agency in the Public Safety portfolio without independent review.

C-20 would close that longstanding gap.

Through the PCRC, complainants, and eligible third parties, would now have access to an external body that could independently initiate, review and investigate CBSA-related complaints as they pertain to conduct and/or level of service.

The PCRC Chairperson would also be able to, under their own initiative or at my request, conduct specified activity reviews in order to identify systemic issues and develop recommendations around policies, procedures or guidelines relating to the operations of the CBSA.

This expanded mandate would be reinforced through the addition of more robust powers for the PCRC, as well as additional mechanisms to enhance the accountability of the RCMP and the CBSA.

The Bill would establish deadlines in law for the RCMP and the CBSA to respond to PCRC reports; those timelines would include: six months to respond to interim reports concerning complaints, and 60 days to respond to specified activity reviews and recommendations.

The RCMP and the CBSA would be required to report annually to me, on their progress in implementing PCRC recommendations, which I, in turn, will table in Parliament.

As a measure to help combat systemic racism in law enforcement, the PCRC would now collect and publish disaggregated race-based data on complainants, in consultation with the RCMP and the CBSA.

This Bill would also enact a requirement for the PCRC to implement public education and information programs, to increase public knowledge and awareness of the Commission’s mandate and individuals’ rights to redress, including among vulnerable communities.

The PCRC would have a new authority to recommend that the RCMP Commissioner and the President of the CBSA initiate disciplinary-related processes or impose a disciplinary measure, under certain circumstances.

The Commissioner and President would be required to report to both the PCRC Chairperson and myself, whether discipline was initiated or imposed.

Additionally, this Bill builds on previous proposals that died on the order paper (Bill C-98 in 2019, studied by this Committee, and Bill C-3 in 2020), but I should note differs from these former bills in that it would enact a standalone statute to reinforce the independence of the PCRC from the organizations it reviews.

Moreover, Bill C-20 creates new provisions to further enhance RCMP and CBSA accountability and transparency, namely codified timelines, annual reporting to the Minister of Public Safety, and collection of disaggregated race-based data. 

Transparency and accountability are essential to maintaining Canadians’ confidence in law enforcement. While this Bill was written well before the release of the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission’s Final Report, these requirements respond to the spirit and intent of the Mass Casualty Commission’s findings by creating more transparent reporting for federal law enforcement agencies.

There is much more to be done to respond to the Mass Casualty Commission’s Final Report, but the elements of this Bill demonstrate that we are moving in the right direction.

Also, in addition to establishing the PCRC, this Bill would create a statutory framework in the CBSA Act to govern how the CBSA responds to serious incidents, which are currently internally governed.

Under this framework, the CBSA would be obligated to conduct reviews into serious incidents, to notify both the PCRC and the police of jurisdiction, and provide the PCRC with any associated reports and information. 

I mentioned earlier that this Bill contributes to our Government’s efforts in curbing racism and discrimination in law enforcement.

On this topic, I wish to thank the members of the committee, current and former, whose dedicated work led to the development and tabling of the report on Systemic Racism in Policing in Canada.

This Bill is one of the many steps the Government is taking to respond to the issues raised in the Committee report.

It responds to the report’s first recommendation, to “clarify and strengthen the mandate, independence and efficacy of the [CRCC]” by introducing codified timelines and requiring the RCMP Commissioner to report annually to the Minister of Public Safety.

Addressing systemic racism among our law enforcement agencies is a priority.

We have heard loud and clear from Canadians that these issues require attention.

I listened carefully to the points raised by some of my colleagues during Second Reading Debate about ensuring Indigenous, Black and/or racialized representation in the appointments to the PCRC.

I would welcome the Committee’s suggestions on this issue.

Robust independent review of our law enforcement agencies is essential to public trust and the rule of law.

I am pleased to note the cross-party support for this bill to date.

I look forward to the Committee’s scrutiny of this important bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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