It was hard not to feel sorry, or a better word may be uncomfortable for the beleaguered Commissioner Lucki, or maybe even the befuddled Deputy Commissioner Zablocki. These two individuals have risen to the upper echelon of the Mounties and have been drinking in that rarefied air, playing to a political agenda in relative peace and harmony. But here they were, in the last few days, cornered and out-gunned by the more politically correct, the masters of appeasement. Even they could not have imagined this looking glass world of righteous indignation which was being thrust upon them with increasing ferocity.
Through their careers they have been promoted and extolled for their adherence to the themes of diversity and inclusion, and in many cases had to abandon ethics and principle. They were required to chant in unison the mantra of the enlightened progressives. Go along to get along would have been their placard as they eyed and encircled that executive corner office. In this and that environment there was absolutely no tolerance for dissension or counter-point. Similar minds were recruited and pulled up the ladder by the other similarly minded.
Say nothing offensive, say nothing for which you could later be held accountable. Job experience or the position that was held was a distant second to conforming to “the system”. Pandering to those favoured interest groups and following the progressive line has been “systemic” for a number of years.
But in the last number of weeks, we reached a point of significant accounting, a “crisis” if you prefer the new word for news. Of course I am referring to this newly professed outrage of police brutality and rampant racism in the RCMP, all of which had been ingrained by some sort of conspiratorial process.
The force of the cable news pushed Ms. Lucki out of hiding. Most of all the throngs were demanding acquiescence. Like the Papal blessing from the Vatican, they wanted the head of the RCMP to publicly acclaim their beliefs and proclamations of “systemic racism”.
So, she consented to do an interview with that bastion of special interest bias, the CBC, to be conducted by the“Senior Political correspondent” Rosemary Barton. Ms. Barton, who no doubt feels that she is the epitome of the probing journalist, is well connected to Justin Trudeau and the inner Liberal sanctum. Ms. Lucki must have believed or may have been comforted in the fact that she was in normally friendly territory.
Throughout this interview, it was clear that Ms. Lucki was referring to her notes when she was being pressed on the terminology of “systemic racism”. Finally, Ms Barton pushed, so “you you didn’t answer the question, do you believe there is systemic racism in policing organizations, including yours in the country?”
What followed was an inept stumbling meandering response to that “interesting question”. Clearly, Ms. Lucki knew it was coming, clearly it was the thematic background for the entire interview. It was also equally clear that the CBC was pressing to have Lucki admit on camera to “systemic” racism. The masses demanded it. Ms. Lucki was not ready.
Ms. Lucki chose to respond by saying that she was confused by the many definitions of “systemic racism”. One had a mental picture of Ms. Lucki surrounded by Funk and Wagnals, Oxford English, or Miriam-Webster dictionaries desperately thumbing the pages trying to gain some insight. But, it was all to no avail apparently, frustrating she said, as there were so many “versions” of it.
It should be noted that the interview with Ms. Lucki was a day or so after the interview given by Mr. Zablocki— who in after an apparent dose of sodium amytal stated that there was no “systemic” racism in the RCMP. Unfortunately, the dosage wore off a few hours later.
Still struggling, Lucki looked down at her notes to say “if you mean unconscious bias” —then she would admit that the RCMP was guilty as charged.
The interview painfully continued and Ms. Barton opined at one point that in this country “people feel scared calling the police”. Even this outrageous comment did not force the docile, pliant Commissioner to react in defence. She trotted out her tested and true response: “We need to get better”…”my expectations are high”. She went on to agree to review the carotid hold which was still in use, to bring better accountability through possible use of body cams, as that was part of her “digital policing strategy”. After all “we need to get better”.
The interview concluded with the Commissioner inappropriately telling Ms. Barton “thanks for your respectful questions”. She was clearly relieved; but this too would be short lived.
A day or so later, Trudeau threw them all under the bus.
Of course, there is systemic racism in the RCMP according to Trudeau. It was everywhere.
No one missed the irony that this was coming from the three times “black face” Prime Minister, the white privileged Prime Minister.
Shortly thereafter, predictably, Ms. Lucki turtled, fell into the prone position, hands over her head and ears, instinctively warding off the blows of the persistent masses. Through the safety of a press release said:
“…I did not say definitively that systemic racism exists in the RCMP…I should have”.
So given this state of confusion, this intrepid blogger feels obligated to help these poor confused mandarins of the RCMP.
“System”, from which the word systemic originates, is referred to as the “structure, organization, order, complex, administration” etc. If one stretches the definition and refers to “the system” in the modern vernacular, one could be referring to “the ruling class, the regime, bureaucracy”.
So follow along you poor, confused, Mountie managers, if one is claiming “systemic racism” one is claiming that the bureaucracy, the administration, the laws of this country, the structure of the RCMP, is in fact racist. Systemic racism to exist and meet the definition, must be built into the rules and the structure of the organization. Miriam Webster says that “systemic” means that it is “fundamental to a predominant social, economic or political practise”
Does anybody inside the RCMP believe that to be the case?
Of course, you are allowed to have that opinion but, there is a convincing argument to be made that in the last twenty or thirty years that the administration and the bureaucracy, and the management of the RCMP organization has in fact been the exact opposite.
Affirmative action hiring, recruiting, promotion, transfer policies, have in fact been tailored to meet the demands of the growing multi-racial society of Canada. Community policing, school liaison programs, Youth Intervention, and the like have all been tailored to meet the growing demand of diversity and inclusion. (How successful they have been is quite another matter. )
Nevertheless the Commissioner of the RCMP (and there have been no dissenting voices among the other RCMP managers) has now implied that everyone and everything in the Mounties is racist. The entire system.
This charge is absolute nonsense. But, no one is daring to step in front of the stampeding herd. The herd has declared it to be, therefore it is. Celebrities and sports figures joined in.
It should be noted that when we go to these protestors, or their talking heads and seek specific examples of this systemic racism none are proffered.
Chief Allan Aden of the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta stated “If a white man is denying systemic racism, that is systemic racism”. This is the level of intelligent debate in this country. If I deny I am a sexual predator, I am therefore a sexual predator.
This very same logic was used by the minority leaders of the Opposition NDP who has never missed a cause or a bandwagon on which to jump. So he was poised for this latest cause. He proposed a “unanimous consent” bill, for all parties to agree, that the RCMP was systemically racist and that RCMP officers were killing the Indigenous and blacks in this country. It was clearly an act of grand-standing, and after making his support speech, he pompously sat in his seat, assuming all would agree.
All political parties voted for it, a disturbing lack of support for the police to say the least, but one single member of Parliament, Alain Therrien for the Bloc PQ, said no.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, jumped up, clearly upset. He then called the Member of Parliament a “racist” for not going along with the bill.
He was a racist according to Mr. Singh because he didn’t agree with Mr. Singh. The same logic as the Chief.
Justin Trudeau, went further and refused to criticize Mr. Singh, despite Mr. Singh having been removed from the Commons for the day for his “un-Parliamentary” comments. His justification was that Mr. Singh was a “racialized” leader and therefore it was forgivable.
These last few days, the seemingly endless accusations continue to be stoked by the irresponsible of this country. It is discouraging and is tearing at the very fabric of this country. The lack of informed narrative, and the often ridiculous proposals to counter this ill-defined problem have left many parts of this country speechless. The pundits and media commentators in this progressive world have gone from being expert on the coronavirus to experts on policing with often comedic speed. A quote from Oscar Wilde resonates, “by giving us opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community”.
Where will it all end? When will reasonable dialogue return? It is difficult to say. This blogger never imagined a time when political dialogue in this country was so blatantly biased and absent of substance. The level of this demand for conformity rivals any historical third world despot.
The tearing down of statues and the rewriting of history, the calls for defunding the police, and the chants for a revamping of the RCMP will one day run into the wall of reality. These protests and cries for reformation are not based on any intimate knowledge of policing, they are based on slogans. The day when the social worker arrives at the domestic dispute or to deal with the mental health patient instead of the police, is a very long way off.
When someone can actually point to systemic racism with an objective rationale, then we can begin to address it. The danger now is knee-jerk policy to appease the masses and Trudeau is already floating trial balloons. Most will end up meaningless, a let them eat cake moment and of no intrinsic value.
As for the Commissioner and the rest of the Executive of the RCMP. Maybe they should consider that now is the time to fade into the night. Their time to show leadership arrived and they shrivelled before your very eyes. They should be bowing their heads in shame.
Some one should also wake up the National Police Federation from their slumber. Although willing to speak out about the formation of a Surrey Municipal Force, they have now conveniently lost their voice, when their officers are being slandered, ridiculed, and even endangered in the heat of these protests.
Maybe, it’s time for the police of this country to march on Ottawa. Maybe it’s time that the ground level police nationally form a strong and singular political voice. It may be time for their protest. And if I was planning the parade route, it would definitely go by Mr. Trudeau’s “cottage”, and end by occupying Mr. Singh’s office.
I wonder who they would call to remove these 68,000 blue uniformed protestors? Maybe a social worker.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Commons and Yannick Gingras – Some Rights Reserved
Behind the Yellow Tape 
Well then. I sometimes wonder if you’re writing satire or being serious. Perhaps you can submit a Monty Python script?
On a serious note, I believe the senior officers in the ranks are terrified of scrutiny, transparency and accountability. And, quite frankly, I don’t know why the word, ‘systemic’, is hard to understand.
Thanks for your writing and thoughts.
C.
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Thank you Peter,
The reality of Social Workers doing police work occurred during the mid-80’s.
When a case of Sexual assault surfaced they considered themselves to be the ultimate investigators.
They lead witnesses, inserted their own language, and the child victims knew enough that if they agreed everyone would be happy and the abuse would stop.
Terms like vagina and penis were names used that had never had a place nor were heard in the home.
Victims wanting to strike out on their own were denied funds but if you are leaving because of sexual abuse then if that is what I have to say it shall be said.
When the suspects were interviewed there were no warnings nor charter entitlements.
Go to court, the wheels fell off and the wheels of justice ground them into a very fine grist.
Suddenly the police were tasked with righting this injustice that did not have notes, statements nor credibility.
Nanaimo GIS members were working so many sexual assault investigations that the rotation would see the members start two investigations in a week.
Williams Lake was about the same except there was the historical Mission School dilemma whereby youth were removed from their homes and the father image replaced by the clergy.
Has it ever been determined where Comm’r LUCKI got her policing experience? She did not fare well when being interviewed.
Being cross examined by highly qualified lawyers in the Criminal Court system would have better prepared her for her interview in the court of public opinion.
Systemic became a word that was as foreign to her as the child hearing vagina for the first time.
Keep up the good work. The pandemic is just beginning but be calm, be safe and be kind is already being used so forget that!
Mel
>
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Thankyou for the article, you nailed it ,love the bit about the turtle ,very Aesop’s fable feeling. I though for a moment that is was Rex Murphy’s voice and that is a compliment of the highest level .
Just wondering what institution Trudeau can disparage and demoralize next , why not the military although they are pretty much always on bended knee ,maybe the teachers of Canada surely they are guilty of systemic racism, why not throw some elementary school teachers to the gods of diversity for folks to devour in the Trudeau colosseum? Not the CBC as they eat their own regularly Wendy Messily style, hopefully Barton will trip on a word and have to live on ‘leave with pay ‘she could take up community service teaching the power of bullying,”How to to be promoted in the CBC by any acting indignant, condescending , righteous ,obnoxious “,
that’s her true talent and one that seems to be in high demand these day’s,perhaps Singh could be her guest lecturer.
What is left is a demoralized society with no plan for the aftermath of Covid and the financial ruin that is following it . Thanks Trudeau for making life worse for Canadians, you have fulfilled your socialist passion play now leave the stage.Your exit is on the far left ,your applause will come from CBC journalists and and those who seek to tear apart Canada.
The rest of us are staying home
working hard to pay the taxes that make this country function.
To the 20 percent of Canadians who pay 64 percent of the income tax collected and the other 80 percent of the hardworking folks who pay the remainder we salute you , hopefully you are able to ignore the chaff around you and keep focused on your work and family.
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Well said Pete and bang on.
Kevin MacLeod
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I’ve been following your blog for a number of years now and I have to say that I think this is your best one ever. On behalf of most of the serving and retired members I would like to thank you.
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They put their life on the line for us, everyday! Mayerthorpe,….. 15 years ago and too many others, since.
It is hard for me to even try and understand why the federal government and even some of the more senior officers keep piling on the Force. (instead of defending them)
The Force, as also in the military, did not attend Madam Lebanc’s charm school. Hell no, their instructors at the depots and training establishments trained them to respond; to Protect & Maintain the Right. (including government officials & politicians ) Which they have, so many times. It is easy to condemn and criticize the faults and actions of others, as you/we hide under the very umbrella that they provide for your/our safety.
I feel for those in policing now; for the 99% that have and will continue to do a good job, their task will undoubtedly become more difficult. I have no confidence in any government contributing a solution. The efforts and good work has been and will continue where the rubber meets the road; the front line police and the community.
As a veteran and on behalf of all veterans at this time, I offer the following:
“We can hold our heads high; the weight of government betrayal and deception is not a burden on our shoulders. We served honourably in serving our country, Canada, and continue to support and walk along with those, who still proudly wear their uniform of service.
On the destruction of statues:
“There is no historical figure who has not slighted some group.” So, what people have to stop doing is judging historical people in the context of today’s societal norms”. We are all imperfect .
If you erase history instead of using it as a learning experience, you are doomed to repeat it
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That is a very reasoned blog about ‘systemic racism’ in the RCMP. I want sure before that dumping on the commissioner was fair but you’ve changed my mind. Trudeau is a shame to this country and Singh acted like a child who didn’t get his way.
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.00002 blacks or aboriginal killed in 20 million checks by police in Canada. Under 1 million of each dictating to Canada. Why does the public jump on the band wagon with no information of the criminal element being handled by police daily. Of course they are anti police, their CRIMINALS. Why do we worry about the lives of crooks, but accept the police can be assaulted, knifed, shot and killed while most Canadians support the police, but all bury their heads in the sand, don’t want to stand up and be called a racist. Since when was telling the whole truth racist.
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I did, but I guess they were not to the liking of the moderator.
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They put their life on the line for us, everyday! Mayerthorpe,….. 15 years ago and too many others, since.
It is hard for me to even try and understand why the federal government and even some of the more senior officers keep piling on the Force. (instead of defending them)
The Force, as also in the military, did not attend Madam Lebanc’s charm school. Hell no, their instructors at the depots and training establishments trained them to respond; to Protect & Maintain the Right. (including government officials & politicians ) Which they have, so many times. It is easy to condemn and criticize the faults and actions of others, as you/we hide under the very umbrella that they provide for your/our safety.
I feel for those in policing now; for the 99% that have and will continue to do a good job, their task will undoubtedly become more difficult. I have no confidence in any government contributing a solution. The efforts and good work has been and will continue where the rubber meets the road; the front line police and the community.
As a veteran and on behalf of all veterans at this time, I offer the following:
“We can hold our heads high; the weight of government betrayal and deception is not a burden on our shoulders. We served honourably in serving our country, Canada, and continue to support and walk along with those, who still proudly wear their uniform of service
LikeLiked by 1 person
They put their life on the line for us, everyday! Mayerthorpe,….. 15 years ago and too many others, since.
It is hard for me to even try and understand why the federal government and even some of the more senior officers keep piling on the Force. (instead of defending them)
The Force, as also in the military, did not attend Madam Lebanc’s charm school. Hell no, their instructors at the depots and training establishments trained them to respond; to Protect & Maintain the Right. (including government officials & politicians ) Which they have, so many times. It is easy to condemn and criticize the faults and actions of others, as you/we hide under the very umbrella that they provide for your/our safety.
I feel for those in policing now; for the 99% that have and will continue to do a good job, their task will undoubtedly become more difficult. I have no confidence in any government contributing a solution. The efforts and good work has been and will continue where the rubber meets the road; the front line police and the community.
As a veteran and on behalf of all veterans at this time, I offer the following:
“We can hold our heads high; the weight of government betrayal and deception is not a burden on our shoulders. We served honourably in serving our country, Canada, and continue to support and walk along with those, who still proudly wear their uniform of service.
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Where do all these “protesters” come from? Why aren’t they at work? Why aren’t they looking for work? They, along with the irresponsible, negligent media play a big role in instigating these UN-peaceful protests. While the media is busy crying for their “right to freedom of the press” they exercise little to no integrity when their opinions are sighted and written and the “news” is less than factual. I have a real distaste for the media in this era as they have fallen into to the sensationalism and trash of reporting.
The only racism that is obvious to me, is from the very ones who scream it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
They put their life on the line for us, everyday! Mayerthorpe,….. 15 years ago and too many others, since.
It is hard for me to even try and understand why the federal government and even some of the more senior officers keep piling on the Force. (instead of defending them)
The Force, as also in the military, did not attend Madam Lebanc’s charm school. Hell no, their instructors at the depots and training establishments trained them to respond; to Protect & Maintain the Right. (including government officials & politicians ) Which they have, so many times. It is easy to condemn and criticize the faults and actions of others, as you/we hide under the very umbrella that they provide for your/our safety.
I feel for those in policing now; for the 99% that have and will continue to do a good job, their task will undoubtedly become more difficult. I have no confidence in any government contributing a solution. The efforts and good work has been and will continue where the rubber meets the road; the front line police and the community.
As a veteran and on behalf of all veterans at this time, I offer the following:
“We can hold our heads high; the weight of government betrayal and deception is not a burden on our shoulders. We served honourably in serving our country, Canada, and continue to support and walk along with those, who still proudly wear their uniform of service.
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with trudeau playing games and being a racist the best of the RCMP did not rise to the top of the organization to handle situtations such as this
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Peter, another well-written and thought-out blog. Keep up the good work.
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Good job Peter. Right on. As a veteran of 40 yrs on law enforcement, I implore the men and women out there doing the daily grind, do what you do, be professional, and never mind the verbal vomit of the talking heads looking for their 5 minutes of fame. This to will pass.
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Is it time for the “silent majority” to protest? I’m 77 years old and worked and paid taxes since I was 16 years old. What I see happening now turns my stomach. The word “systemic” will turn this world upside on. I have spent some time on reserves and found that most people there were more prejudiced then I was. I was on their turf. Is this not normal? Is this not systemic racism? I survived and so did they. We live this everyday, get over it and get on with life. Keep protesting against us “terrible whites” and, if we ever take enough time off work, which pays your bills, to counter protest, there will be hell to pay. I don’t think it would take much more to get this going. God forbid.
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Pete:
Again you’ve hit the nail on the head.
Since when do the people bow down to and work for the elected politicians such as a Trudeau? I thought it was the other way around? Apparently the top ranks of the RCMP do and they do so willingly.
Is this another case of the “Peter Principal” in progress?
Promotion past the level of competence, knowledge and effectiveness is common in the force. Some even reach the top executive ranks without being diverted elsewhere. It happens a whole lot more than racism ever has!
This is what you get, cow-towing “scared of your own shadow” management. No one knows what to do or how to do it. Talk is cheap, text books and degrees all worthy of promotion but where oh where is the leadership?
Some have forgotten, leadership is earned. It’s about character, personality, balls and truth. None of those check boxes seem to exist any more!
This also applies in politics but what’s really sad is the fact that a country as good as Canada has no longer any one worthy to choose from. Pick the best of the worst, sometimes we chose the worst of the worst. Again, no leadership and none of the characteristics that truly show same.
With today’s politics it’s a symptom of society’s ills, hopefully we will find more than one vaccine!
The noisy ones always get the media attention. You know whose getting all the attention now. If it’s repeated over and over again by idiots, politicians, bleeding hearts, wanna be’s, tree huggers or the media then many simply believe it must be true. Facts and truth mean nothing anymore! How did we get here??
It’s high time for the silent majority in society and in the RCMP to speak up and demand real leadership. Without truth coming from the lips of those who have the facts (in order to become the main message in the media) both are sadly doomed to failure.
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The sooner we , the presses and all Canadians wake up and put racism on the shelf and. It would go away.
Every single Person wearing that uniform and also others shall wear a gold stars and every single opposer should shut up and go home, even if it is in Ottawa.
But you need to be a true Canadian first not any race Color or religion.
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A great article filled with truth. I agree that the Commissioner and Zablocki should resign their posts for having thrown the entire Force under the bus. How they can face the members under their command is certainly questionable. It is high time someone started defending the honor of the Force and the members serving this country – instead of bowing to political pressure.
Dale Smith
Retired member
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The only time the word “systemic” should be used when talking about the RCMP should be with the words “promote incompetence”.
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