A federal judge has ruled Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree cannot be hauled into court over a courtesy letter declining to intervene in an RCMP matter.“This decision is not a lapse in the rule of law,” Justice Allyson Whyte Nowak wrote. Dismissing the complaint “adheres to the limits of the Federal Court’s jurisdiction which is equally important to the rule of law.”Blacklock's Reporter said court records show Anandasangaree’s office received complaints on March 10 and 19 from an Alberta lawyer concerning a longstanding family dispute involving an RCMP officer.The case had previously been dismissed by the RCMP Commissioner, the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission and the Federal Court of Appeal.The complaints alleged “systemic incompetence, arbitrary enforcement of the law, submission of inaccurate evidence and withholding of relevant evidence in court proceedings, various potential conflicts of interest” and other misconduct, according to the ruling.Anandasangaree responded in an April 1 courtesy letter that his position as minister did not give him authority to intervene in individual police investigations.“While I am the Minister responsible for the RCMP, my role does not permit me to involve myself in operational police matters or intervene in police investigations,” wrote Anandasangaree.“In addition, as the case to which you refer is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the specifics of the case or related matters.”Justice Whyte Nowak ruled there was no basis for the Federal Court to review the minister’s response.A lower court judge previously concluded “it is futile to pursue judicial review where no legal rights have been affected, no legal obligations have been imposed and whether there are no prejudicial effects,” she wrote.Anandasangaree has previously emphasized the RCMP operates independently of his office.“The RCMP is an independent agency of the government,” he testified March 24 at the Commons public safety committee.“They report through the Department of Public Safety. I have very limited direction in terms of operations. I have every confidence in the Commissioner and every confidence in the organization.”.The court dispute comes as records show federal politicians and their offices routinely receive thousands of letters, emails, cards and other messages from the public.A 2022 cabinet Inquiry Of Ministry reported the Prime Minister’s Office received 2,888,517 letters and emails in a single year. About 95% received no response.“The volume of correspondence primarily includes junk emails, newsletters and spam emails,” said the Inquiry. “These items do not typically receive a reply.”Federal records also show organized campaigns account for a significant share of correspondence sent to the Prime Minister’s Office.Opponents of the Atlantic seal hunt sent more than two million letters and emails between 2015 and 2018, according to a 2018 Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons.Other campaigns generated 240,000 messages concerning climate change, 227,000 over animal testing, 148,000 concerning British Columbia’s Site C Dam and 141,000 expressing general opposition to pipelines.
