WATCHDOG WANTS REVIEW OF RCMP IMMUNITY LAW

Existing Reports on Use of Power 'Threadbare and Uninformative'

The outgoing RCMP watchdog says there should be a major review of a
little-known police power to break the law when trying to catch
lawbreakers, which he describes as an authorization to "burn the barn"
with immunity.

Paul Kennedy, the commissioner for public complaints against the RCMP,
said that it would have been one of his top priorities during his
tenure, but that he lacked the legislative power to get relevant
information from the Mounties to conduct a probe.

"If I had an ability to do a general review, that is the first one I
would put on the table to look at," said Kennedy, whose four-year
stint ends on Dec. 31. "It's an unusual power, so you want to make
sure it is being used appropriately."

Kennedy noted that the 2002 enabling legislation called for a
parliamentary review three years after the law was passed, but "that
still hasn't happened."

While the Mounties are required to report to Parliament annually on
their law-breaking, Kennedy said the reports are "threadbare and
uninformative" because the RCMP does not reveal any information about
its informants or ongoing investigations.

"If I had access to all the information, we could look at that
program, and be able to articulate publicly in a document without
disclosing any great secrets, that this is a credible program," he
said.

Despite Kennedy's top-secret clearance, the RCMP does not have to hand
over information to him involving ongoing investigations or
techniques, he said.

Kennedy has called repeatedly for Parliament to enhance the
commissioner's powers to enable independent investigations into the
national police force, including the ability to subpoena RCMP records.
Also, investigations involving national security are shielded from
public scrutiny.

The 2008 annual report on law-breaking activity, tabled recently in
Parliament, indicated that the RCMP scaled back last year, revealing
only two instances in which the Mounties authorized agents to break
the law during criminal investigations.

One case involved bribery of a police officer and another was an
investigation into human trafficking and prostitution. Both cases were
carried out by civilian agents of the police, rather than the police
themselves.

Authorizations were at their lowest since the RCMP acquired the power
in 2002 to be shielded from prosecution in certain
circumstances.

In one case, while an agent was authorized to commit a crime, it did
not happen, said the report, tabled recently in the House of Commons.

The power has been contentious, opposed by such organizations as the
Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association,
which have said no one should be above the law.

RCMP authorizations for law breaking peaked in 2006, when police made
16 approvals.

The legislation was passed almost eight years ago following a Supreme
Court ruling that said police did not have carte blanche to break the
law in the line of duty, but left it open to Parliament to spell out
some powers.

A mandatory review began in 2006, but the House of Commons justice
committee concluded that further study was needed.

During brief public hearings, there was no evidence the power was
being abused, but the civil liberties association called for the law
to be repealed, in part because of its vulnerability to abuse.