We further decided to let the MMC present its final report, give people a month or so to digest the outcome, before we published the MMC recommendations. Now that time has passed, the Shoreline Journal will publish all 130 of the commission’s recommendations in four monthly installments, starting with the June 2023 issue, exactly as published in the Final Report as published and located on the MMC website. This is Part 2 which includes recommendations 30 to 61.

(a) The RCMP Operational Communications Centre training and procedures should be amended to
emphasize the ethic of care for 911 callers and the central role played by 911 call-takers in eliciting
important information from callers and helping community members to stay safe and share
information even when they are injured or terrified.
(b) The RCMP instruction to call-takers, issued after the April 2020 mass casualty, to end the
conversation with callers who can’t see a perpetrator during a critical incident response should be
reversed in favour of a policy that gives equal weight to strategies for obtaining relevant information
about all aspects of a critical incident including, for example, the location of injured community
members and advising callers about steps that will help keep them safe.

63. Recommendation P.14
EFFECTIVE USE OF POLICE RADIOS
The Commission recommends that
(a) The RCMP should: (i) commission and publicly share an international evaluation of best practices in radio transmission and incorporate the results of this evaluation into its training, policies, and practices; (ii) conduct a holistic review of radio training for members, supervisors, and dispatchers, including the means by which changes in policy, procedure, and equipment are communicated and implemented; (iii) prepare plans for managing radio communications during large-scale critical incident responses; (iv) evaluate radio and uniform design to ensure that the Emergency Request to Talk (ERTT) button is accessible when it is needed; and (v) incorporate radio use and challenges with radio communication into scenario-based and tabletop training.

(b) RCMP leadership, supervisors, and Operational Communications Centres should (i) emphasize effective radio use and adherence to proper radio protocols at all times to ensure that good practices are routine; and (ii) conduct an annual assessment of division-wide compliance with training and policy.

64. Recommendation P.15
AIR SUPPORT
The Commission recommends that
(a) The RCMP should establish partnerships with other agencies to ensure that air support is available whenever necessary to a critical incident response. These agencies should be included in future training and preparation for critical incident response to ensure that they are able to provide the support required.
(b) The RCMP should adopt a single air support call-out process, to ensure that initial critical incident commanders do not waste time and attention looking for alternative sources of air support.

65. Recommendation P.16
INTEROPERABILITY DURING CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE
The Commission recommends that:
(a) Clear protocols for unified command posts and agency roles and responsibilities should be established among all agencies involved in critical incident response.
(b) All emergency response agencies in Nova Scotia should be given access to encrypted radios while responding to a critical incident, even if these radios are loaned for the duration of that response. Emergency responders must be given the opportunity to train with these radios on a regular basis so that they are familiar with their use, when needed.

(c) Interagency scenario-based and tabletop exercises should be incorporated into existing agency
training wherever possible. If this is not possible, agencies should regularly make time for dedicated interagency training.

66. Recommendation P.17
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION DURING CRITICAL INCIDENTS
The Commission recommends that:
(a) The RCMP should amend its policies, procedures, and training to reflect the approach recommended in the 2014 MacNeil Report about the RCMP’s response to the Moncton Mass Casualty; that is, that the RCMP should activate public communications staff as part of the critical incident package.

67. Recommendation P.18
ISSUING PUBLIC WARNINGS
The Commission recommends that:
(a) When an active threat to the public exists, police agencies should share the best available information about the nature of the threat and how to remain safe with the public as soon as possible. Police agencies should be prepared to correct or update information as necessary.
(b) Police and emergency services agencies should tailor the means by which public warnings are issued to the location, scale, and duration of a threat. Police and emergency services agencies should ensure that public warnings reach as many community members within an at-risk population as possible.

70. Recommendation P.21
NON-URGENT PUBLIC INFORMATION LINE
The Commission recommends that The Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office should work with Nova Scotia police agencies to establish a phone line and website that can be used by community members to report non-urgent information during a critical incident and to obtain further information about how to respond to a public warning. Information about this facility should become a standard inclusion in public warnings about critical incidents.

71. Recommendation P.22
PUBLIC EDUCATION ABOUT PUBLIC WARNINGS
The Commission recommends that The Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office and Nova Scotia police agencies should engage in a public education campaign, including in schools, to increase public awareness about public warnings and public understanding of how to respond to these warnings.

72. Recommendation P.23
OPERATIONAL DEBRIEF AND AFTER-ACTION REPORT
The Commission recommends that The RCMP should implement policies and procedures to require an operational debrief and after-action report for any critical incident response that required the active engagement of a critical incident commander.

73. Recommendation P.24
PUBLIC REPORTING ON CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE
The Commission recommends that: The RCMP should prepare and publish an annual report that explains what the RCMP has learned from operational debriefings and what changes it has made in response to after-action reports in the previous year. This report should provide an amount of tactical and operational information similar to that provided by other agencies; for example, ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) Center reports and (US) National Policing Institute reports such as the Orlando Pulse nightclub report.

74. Recommendation P.25
AFTER-ACTION REVIEW OF MASS CASUALTY INCIDENTS
The Commission recommends that Within 90 days of a mass casualty incident occurring, the RCMP should initiate an after-action review to be conducted by an arm’s length reviewer.

76. Recommendation P.27
SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM INVESTIGATORS AND SPECIALIZED SERVICES
The Commission recommends that: Whenever feasible, the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) should perform its work using investigators and specialized services from an agency separate from the one that employs the officer who is the subject of the investigation. If this is not feasible, the decision to use investigators or specialized services from the police agency that employs the subject officer should be made by the SiRT’s civilian director. In writing, and at the time when the decision is made, the SiRT director should document the reasons why using resources from the agency that employs the subject officer is necessary.

77. Recommendation P.28
SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM CONTROL OF CRIME SCENES AND EVIDENCE
The Commission recommends that:
(a) The Police Act and Serious Incident Response Team Regulations be amended to clarify that (i) the SiRT has exclusive control over investigations of serious incidents involving police; and (ii) when the SiRT assumes responsibility for an investigation, the SiRT will immediately assume command of all activities related to the scene, exhibits, investigation, and direction of resources.
(b) Where a police agency, including the RCMP, requires access to a crime scene or exhibit in order to pursue a parallel criminal investigation, that access should be managed in accordance with protocols set by the SiRT.
(c) RCMP H Division Operational Manual Chapter 54.1 should be amended to reflect the Police Act and Serious Incident Response Team Regulations, including the above principles.

78. Recommendation P.29
KNOWING WHAT TO DO WHEN SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM JURISDICTION ARISES
The Commission recommends that:
(a) RCMP members in supervisory positions should know what steps they must take when a member discharges a firearm or is otherwise involved in a serious incident that attracts Serious Incident Response Team jurisdiction. This includes knowing: (i) who is responsible for reporting a serious incident; (ii) how to make such a report; (iii) the timeline on which such a report must be made; (iv) what information the reporting officer must obtain and provide to SiRT about the incident; and (v) to separate involved members (both witnesses and subject members) immediately after a serious incident occurs.
(b) Any failure to follow these procedures should be documented in writing by the RCMP, and a copy of that document should be provided to the SiRT.
(c) The RCMP should ensure that H Division members receive training in applicable legislation, RCMP
policy, and their obligations and rights with regard to SiRT investigations. This instruction should be incorporated into annual use of force / incident response requalification training.
(d) Supervisory training courses and annual use of force / incident response curriculum should include instruction on legislation, RCMP policy, members’ obligations and rights, and requirements of supervisors with regard to SiRT investigations.

79. Recommendation P.30
PROVIDING SUPPORT TO SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM WITNESSES
The Commission recommends that: The Serious Incident Response Team establish or revise its procedures to ensure that witnesses and other individuals affected by serious incidents involving the police are provided with updates about the progress of the SiRT investigation and are referred to available support services.

80. Recommendation P.31
RCMP LIAISON WITH THE SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM
The Commission recommends that:
(a) RCMP H Division policy should be amended to provide that all RCMP communications and coordination with the Serious Incident Response Team regarding an ongoing investigation must occur through a designated RCMP liaison, who must be a commissioned officer and trained in the responsibilities and expectations of this role. The SiRT should also implement a corresponding policy requiring its investigators not to communicate about ongoing SiRT investigations with members of the subject police agency besides that agency’s designated liaison person.
(b) The only purpose for which any other RCMP member may communicate directly with SiRT about an ongoing investigation is when giving a statement or witness interview, which must be coordinated through the RCMP Liaison Officer.

81. Recommendation P.32
SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM PROTOCOL FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE WITH POLICE AGENCIES
The Commission recommends that:
(a) The Serious Incident Response Team should adopt a protocol that it will not meet with members of the police agency that employs a subject officer to exchange information about an ongoing investigation.
(b) The SiRT should also adopt a protocol that sets out how information will be exchanged when two agencies are engaged in parallel criminal investigations. Any such exchange of information must occur in writing.
(c) While a SiRT investigation is ongoing, the SiRT should not share information with the agency that employs the subject police officer(s) for the purposes of an internal investigation conducted by that agency, including internal conduct or workplace investigations.

82. Recommendation P.33
EXPERT WITNESS RETAINED BY THE SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM
The Commission recommends that: The Serious Incident Response Team should adopt written protocols for the identification and retention of experts in its investigations. These protocols should reflect Canadian legal principles with respect to the reliability and independence of expert witnesses.

83. Recommendation P.34
SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM RESOURCES
The Commission recommends that: The Province of Nova Scotia should undertake a review of the Serious Incident Response Team’s budget and staffing complement to ensure it can fully exercise its investigative responsibilities and perform its public accountability function and maximize its contribution to enhanced confidence in policing in Nova Scotia.

84. Recommendation P.35
SERIOUS INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAM REPORTS
The Commission recommends that:
(a) Section 9 of the SiRT Regulations should be amended to adopt the language set out in section 34 of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit Act. This amendment will ensure that the SiRT’s public reports in instances where no charges are laid provide sufficient information to allow the public to understand why SiRT has reached its conclusion and to evaluate that outcome.
(b) Starting immediately, all SiRT reports in which criminal charges are not laid against the subject police officer should be drafted with sufficient detail and analytical transparency to allow the public to understand and evaluate the director’s reasoning and conclusions.

85. Recommendation P.36
PRINCIPLES OF POLICING
The Commission recommends that: All levels of government and Canadian police agencies adopt the following principles of policing, as framed by Dr. Ian Loader, "In Search of Civic Policing: Recasting the ‘Peelian’ Principles" (2016):
1. The basic mission of the police is to improve public safety and well-being by promoting measures to prevent crime, harm and disorder.
2. The police must undertake their basic mission with the approval of, and in collaboration with, the public and other agencies.
3. The police must seek to carry out their tasks in ways that contribute to social cohesion and solidarity.
4. The police must treat all those with whom they come into contact with fairness and respect.
5. The police must be answerable to law and democratically responsive to the people they serve.
6. The police must be organized to achieve the optimal balance between effectiveness, cost-efficiency, accountability and responsiveness.

7. All police work should be informed by the best available evidence.
8. Policing is undertaken by multiple providers, but it should remain a public good. These principles should govern how police do their work and how they are accountable for the work they do.

86. Recommendation P.37
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
The Commission recommends that:

(a) The RCMP adopt a policy of admitting its mistakes, accepting responsibility for them, and ensuring that accountability mechanisms are in place for addressing its errors. This policy should apply at every level of the institution.
(b) The demonstrated capacity to accept responsibility for one’s errors should be a criterion for any
promotion within the RCMP.

87. Recommendation P.38
MINISTERIAL DIRECTIONS TO THE RCMP COMMISSIONER
The Commission recommends that:

(a) Federal Parliament should amend section 5(1) of the RCMP Act to provide: The Governor in Council may appoint an officer, to be known as the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to hold office during pleasure, who, subject to this Act and any written directions of the Minister, is responsible for the control and administration of the Force.
(b) The RCMP Act be further amended to include the following provisions:
(a) The Minister must cause a copy of any such written direction given to the Commissioner to be: (i) published in the Canada Gazette within eight days of the date of the direction; and (ii) laid before the Senate and the House of Commons within six sitting days of the direction if Parliament is then in session, or, if not, within six sitting days after the commencement of the next session of Parliament.
(b) No Ministerial direction may be given to the Commissioner in relation to the appointment, transfer, remuneration, discipline, or termination of a particular person.

88. Recommendation P.39
POLICIES GOVERNING THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE RCMP AND MINISTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY
The Commission recommends that:
(a) The RCMP and the minister of public safety should adopt complementary written policies that set out their respective roles, responsibilities, and mutual expectations in police / government relations. These policies should adopt the principles and findings on police / government relations outlined in Chapter 10 of Volume 5, Policing, of this Report, including specific provisions on the following issues: (i) police operational responsibilities; (ii) government policy responsibilities; (iii) policy of operations; and (iv) information exchanges between the RCMP and the government.
(b) These policies should be posted on the RCMP and the Public Safety Canada websites.

89. Recommendation P.40
PROTECTING POLICE OPERATIONS
The Commission recommends that : The RCMP should establish policies and procedures to protect incident commanders, investigators, and front-line members from exposure to direct government intervention or advice.

90. Recommendation P.41
ADVICE OF THE MANAGEMENT ADVISORY BOARD
The Commission recommends that:
(a) Federal Parliament should amend Section 45.18(3) of the RCMP Act to provide that: The management Advisory Board must provide the Minister with a copy or a summary of any advice, information, or report that it provides to the Commissioner, within eight days of providing that advice.

(b) Federal Parliament should add a new subsection, 45.18(4), to the RCMP Act to provide that: The Minister must cause a copy of any document provided by the Management Advisory Board pursuant to section 45.18(3) to be: (a) published on the website of Public Safety Canada; and (b) laid before the Senate and the House of Commons within six sitting days of the direction if Parliament is then in session, or, if not, within six sitting days after the commencement of the next session of Parliament.

91. Recommendation P.42
INTERNAL INVESTIGATION OF PUBLIC COMPLAINTS
The Commission recommends that:
(a) The RCMP allocate sufficient resources to the RCMP Professional Responsibility Unit to ensure that it has the capacity to conduct investigations into public complaints.
(b) The RCMP should not assign public complaints to the direct supervisor of a member who is the
subject of a public complaint or to investigators within the same program as a subject member.

93. Recommendation P.44
CIVILIAN REVIEW AND COMPLAINTS COMMISSION FUNDING AND POWERS
The Commission recommends that:
(a) The Government of Canada ensure that the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission has sufficient stable funding to fulfill its mandate. In particular, in addition to reviewing public complaints, it must be able to conduct systemic investigations and public interest investigations as it deems necessary, and to explore alternative complaint resolution mechanisms, such as Indigenous legal approaches to dispute resolution.
(b) The minister for public safety issue a written direction to the RCMP commissioner that RCMP
employees should support efforts by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission to explore
alternative complaint resolution mechanisms.

95. Recommendation P.46
IMPLEMENTING THE 2007 BROWN TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Commission recommends that: The RCMP implement the following recommendations that were made by the Brown Task Force in 2007:

Recommendation 41 – Delegation of Decision Making with Respect to Contract Policing. The RCMP should examine and review its approval authorities to ensure that those closest to operational police activity have the requisite authority to make decisions in a timely manner.
Recommendation 42 – Contract Partner Participation Headquarters should give greater weight to the views and priorities of contracting authorities and should involve them in a more meaningful way in decisions that have an impact on their jurisdictions.

Recommendation 44 – Roles and Responsibilities of Headquarters The RCMP should develop a
written mandate defining the roles and responsibilities of headquarters and its relationship with its divisions.

96. Recommendation P.47
ADDRESSING CONCERNS ABOUT POSITION VACANCIES
The Commission recommends that: The RCMP should adopt a system that ensures that contracting provinces and territories receive the active service of the number of members for which they have contracted. The RCMP should ensure that temporary vacancies are filled to ensure that appropriate coverage is provided in contract jurisdictions.

97. Recommendation P.48
ENSURING ADEQUATE FIELD SUPERVISION
The Commission recommends that: The RCMP should ensure that general duty members in rural areas have adequate field supervision and that trained supervisors are available to provide scene command when needed. In smaller districts or detachments, this supervision may be achieved through an on-call rotation for corporals and sergeants. Risk managers, who provide remote supervision, do not fulfill this requirement.

98. Recommendation P.49
A COMPREHENSIVE EXTERNAL REVIEW OF THE RCMP
The Commission recommends that: The federal minister of public safety commission the in-depth, external, and independent review of the RCMP recommended by Mr. Bastarache in his 2020 report Broken Dreams, Broken Lives. In addition to examining the matters raised by Mr. Bastarache, this review should specifically examine the RCMP’s approach to contract policing and work with contract partners, and also its approach to community relations.

99. Recommendation P.50
RESTRUCTURING THE RCMP
The Commission recommends that: After obtaining the external review recommended here, Public Safety Canada and the federal minister of public safety establish clear priorities for the RCMP, retaining the tasks that are suitable to a federal policing agency, and identifying what responsibilities are better reassigned to other agencies (including, potentially to new policing agencies). This may entail a reconfiguration of policing in Canada and a new approach to federal financial support for provincial and municipal policing services.

100. Recommendation P.51
REWRITE AND PUBLISH RCMP POLICIES
The Commission recommends that:
(a) The RCMP should adopt a systematic approach to policies, procedures, plans, and other guidance materials for its Contract and Indigenous Policing business line: (i) Existing policies should be rewritten to provide concise, evidence-based, meaningful guidance to RCMP members and employees about core functions. (ii) Policies and other guidance documents should reflect – and refer to – Canadian legal principles that guide the exercise of police powers. Gaps and duplication within policies should be eliminated. (iii) An institutional process of reviewing policies and guidance documents when training or institutional practice changes should become routine.
(b) The RCMP should post on its public website, as soon as feasible and on an ongoing basis, up-to-date copies of those policies and standard operating procedures that govern the interaction of police with the public, the manner in which policing services are provided to the public, and public communications.
(c) Where a policy or procedure or a portion of a policy or procedure is deemed confidential, the RCMP should post a public description of each exempted section and the reason why it has been deemed confidential.