A corresponding recommendation was made by the commissioners who investigated the events surrounding the tragedy that claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. They say the RCMP academy in Regina reinforces the police’s outdated paramilitary culture, undermining their efforts to connect with communities.

Scott Blandford, a public safety expert from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, believes this type of training does not lead to strong critical thinking and favors maintaining a bureaucratic system.

The Mass Casualty Commission report recommends changing the training of RCMP officers.

For 140 years, RCMP cadets have cycled through the Depot Division in Regina, Saskatchewan. However, the report recommends ending the Depot Division model by 2032 and replacing it with a three-year police degree.

According to the commission, a higher level of education would better prepare recruits for “an increasingly complex social, legal and technological work environment”.

The Depot Division welcomes an average of 1,200 cadets per year for a six-month period. The recruits then go into the field, where they spend another six months in training.

The report notes that Depot Division has recruited “very young men and women” in the past. The minimum age is 19 years.

“Too many aspects of Depot Division training reinforce an outdated paramilitary cultural tradition,” argued retired sociology professor Chris Murphy and former RCMP Deputy Commissioner Cal Corey, both members of the commission of inquiry.

“It was basically a military training camp […] where everything was focused on developing the RCMP culture, marching and discipline,” adds Scott Blandford, himself a former police officer who chose to attend the Ontario provincial police college.

He says he has often seen charges dropped because an officer could not defend the evidence he presented.

“A university or post-secondary education provides strong writing skills, not police school. That’s not their forte,” emphasizes P^R Blandford.

This isn’t the first time RCMP training has been questioned.

In November 2020, in a report entitled “Dreams Shattered, Lives Shattered” on sexual harassment within the RCMP, Michel Bastarache, a former Supreme Court Justice of Canada, pointed out that the current training had contributed to the existing toxic culture.

“From what I’ve been told, Depot Division training is all about tearing down a cadet and building him up to fit the mold of the RCMP,” Mr. Bastarache wrote.

He had noted “a significant amount of sexualized behavior, alcohol use, and abusive relationships between instructors and cadets.”

He, too, felt that the training contributed to the toxic environment within the RCMP. “I think it is time to review the approach to training that is being given to them at Depot Division and whether it is appropriate in the modern policing context,” recommended Mr. Bastarache.

Since 2020, the RCMP says it has been involved in a process to build a “healthy, diverse and professional” workforce.

In a press release issued in March, the RCMP announced the establishment of a team to study the report and its recommendations “to guide our action plan and to keep the public informed of our progress”.

Saskatchewan politicians, while acknowledging the need for better police training, are very reticent about the school closing. The latter, which has existed for almost 140 years, has had a strong impact on the region, particularly in terms of jobs and tourism.

In early April, elected members of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly passed a resolution opposing the closure of the Depository Division.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while acknowledging the school’s importance to the local economy, declined to commit to keeping it open.

Mr Blandford said a Police Studies College could be set up in Regina using the facilities of the current school.

“So we’re not closing the school completely. We simply adapt by changing our mandate. »

The commission recommended locating one campus in Atlantic Canada and the other in a northern region.