The head of the RCMP admits the national police force is vulnerable to leaks, prompting one retired Mountie to call for a return to merit-based hiring instead of a focus on minorities."If you think that we can ensure that everything in the organization never leaks out, we're vulnerable to that, we're aware of it," Commissioner Mike Duheme said in a press conference February 21, as reported by the CBC."We have measures when we recruit people, we have robust measures, but as people progress, sometimes they make different decisions that sometimes come back to harm them and we address them."Last week, the RCMP alleged that Alberta Const. Eli Ndatuje "accessed non-top secret RCMP records systems in order to assist a foreign actor."Court records show Ndatuje is accused of sending safeguarded information on the Canadian Police Information Centre system to the Republic of Rwanda. Ndatuje faces three charges, including one of violating the Security of Information Act."Once we found out about it, we investigated and took appropriate measures," said Duheme. Last week, Cameron Ortis, a former high-ranking civilian RCMP member, was sentenced to 14 years in jail for trying to sell classified information to police targets.After a jury found Ortis guilty, the RCMP acknowledged that "mistakes were made" and introduced swifter internal security measures and employee training on detecting "insider threats" — the term used for employees who use their authorized access or understanding of an organization to cause harm."Report what you see, what you hear, so that we can follow up on it," said Duheme. Last summer, retired RCMP officer William Majcher was charged with foreign interference; he was granted bail February 20. The RCMP alleges he "used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit the People's Republic of China."The RCMP also allege Majcher "contributed to the Chinese government's efforts to identify and intimidate an individual outside the scope of Canadian law." These alleged offences fall under the Security of Information Act."We're 30,000 people in the organization. To think that this cannot happen again, it could. We're all vulnerable to that," Duheme said."But we want to make sure it's not by educating our people about what they can do and what they can't do."Retired Mountie Larry Comeau said recent events showed that the RCMP should focus on merit, not minority quotas, in its hiring."I served under eight different RCMP commissioners and not one of them ever had to make such a bizarre statement! No police department can retain public support and trust of other security agencies if it is a leaking sieve of sensitive intelligence," Comeau told Western Standard by email."One thing for sure, this is a crisis for the RCMP. It better stop talking about this very serious problem and stop it from continuing to happen. Going back to selecting the very best candidates, not merely those who check certain boxes, and very stringent security background checks certainly would be a good place for the RCMP to start."
The head of the RCMP admits the national police force is vulnerable to leaks, prompting one retired Mountie to call for a return to merit-based hiring instead of a focus on minorities."If you think that we can ensure that everything in the organization never leaks out, we're vulnerable to that, we're aware of it," Commissioner Mike Duheme said in a press conference February 21, as reported by the CBC."We have measures when we recruit people, we have robust measures, but as people progress, sometimes they make different decisions that sometimes come back to harm them and we address them."Last week, the RCMP alleged that Alberta Const. Eli Ndatuje "accessed non-top secret RCMP records systems in order to assist a foreign actor."Court records show Ndatuje is accused of sending safeguarded information on the Canadian Police Information Centre system to the Republic of Rwanda. Ndatuje faces three charges, including one of violating the Security of Information Act."Once we found out about it, we investigated and took appropriate measures," said Duheme. Last week, Cameron Ortis, a former high-ranking civilian RCMP member, was sentenced to 14 years in jail for trying to sell classified information to police targets.After a jury found Ortis guilty, the RCMP acknowledged that "mistakes were made" and introduced swifter internal security measures and employee training on detecting "insider threats" — the term used for employees who use their authorized access or understanding of an organization to cause harm."Report what you see, what you hear, so that we can follow up on it," said Duheme. Last summer, retired RCMP officer William Majcher was charged with foreign interference; he was granted bail February 20. The RCMP alleges he "used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit the People's Republic of China."The RCMP also allege Majcher "contributed to the Chinese government's efforts to identify and intimidate an individual outside the scope of Canadian law." These alleged offences fall under the Security of Information Act."We're 30,000 people in the organization. To think that this cannot happen again, it could. We're all vulnerable to that," Duheme said."But we want to make sure it's not by educating our people about what they can do and what they can't do."Retired Mountie Larry Comeau said recent events showed that the RCMP should focus on merit, not minority quotas, in its hiring."I served under eight different RCMP commissioners and not one of them ever had to make such a bizarre statement! No police department can retain public support and trust of other security agencies if it is a leaking sieve of sensitive intelligence," Comeau told Western Standard by email."One thing for sure, this is a crisis for the RCMP. It better stop talking about this very serious problem and stop it from continuing to happen. Going back to selecting the very best candidates, not merely those who check certain boxes, and very stringent security background checks certainly would be a good place for the RCMP to start."
