RCMP Commissioner Robert Paulson is saying all the right things about the RCMP’s internal culture and his desire to overhaul the RCMP’s disciplinary system.

Unfortunately that is not a job he can do on his own.  He needs our help.

But he’s the commissioner of the RCMP, you say... He’s the top dog... why does he need our help?

In order to change the way the RCMP deals with bad cops there must first be changes made to the RCMP Act so technically, it’s the help of Parliament that Paulson needs, not ours.

Politicians respond to the people who cast votes in elections. They respond to the people who ultimately decide whether or not an MP or a Prime Minister gets to keep their job.

That’s where you and I can help Commissioner Paulson… by making sure our elected Members of Parliament know we’re sick and tired of the way bad cops are pampered and protected under both the RCMP Act and the Police Act.

Right now police members who are charged with crimes are placed on paid vacation for the duration of their court proceedings. RCMP Corporal Monty Robinson, for example, is still receiving full pay over 3 years after he crashed into and killed Orion Hutchinson, and despite a criminal conviction for obstruction of justice in that case.

Robinson, instead of even bothering to check to see if Orion Hutchinson was still alive, ran home and downed a couple of shots of vodka to ensure he could not be convicted of impaired driving causing death.  Robinson then lied in court about how many drinks he had at the party and only admitted the truth when witnesses exposed his lies.

Monty Robinson could not be fired despite the fact he has repeatedly lied in court; he was the lead officer in the Robert Dziekanski killing; he then killed Orion Hutchinson while driving home from a party after having 5 drinks. Instead of so much as checking to see if Hutchinson was still alive, Robinson ran home and downed a couple of shots of vodka so he couldn’t be convicted of impaired driving causing death.

Despite all of this Monty Robinson still could not be fired from the RCMP.

That’s how hard it is to get rid of bad cops.

That needs to change.

Speaking to the issue of disgraced RCMP Staff Sergeant Donald Ray, Paulson said,

“If I could change this case I would. I cannot. What I can do is make sure that we get a system where this sort of frustration is eliminated.”

Staff Sgt. Donald Ray was transferred to British Columbia after being demoted one rank after he admitted to a pattern of sexual abuse and abuse of trust over many years.

In what can only be described as the old boys club protecting one of its own, numerous high-ranking RCMP members wrote glowing letters of support for Ray and it was those letters that ultimately saved Ray’s job.

The RCMP, under Paulson’s new leadership, is attempting to dig itself out from under a big black hole of corruption and sexual abuse cases.

I personally am a fan of Paulson for the simple reason he appears to be a man who means what he says and says what he means.  He hasn’t pulled any punches when it comes to dealing with bad RCMP members.

Paulson desperately wants to change the system so we can get rid of bad cops like Monty Robinson and Donald Ray faster and easier.

Bob Paulson can’t do this alone.  He needs our help to ensure that our politicians make the required changes to both the RCMP Act and the Police Act, and do it now.

Please contact your MP and urge him or her to reform both the RCMP Act and the Police Act so we can get rid of bad cops faster and stop rewarding them with paid vacations after they’ve killed people.

It’s a change that’s long, long overdue.