.I - I iienaoncrm'anai uninsca i-laistead Chit-f Financiai Cit't'icer Hilliegalnidtoln Iqaluit Stephanie Bin-tie? Citief legal tif?t?t?l' .ionatltan Chief Operations iciimcti wasniaaca (Lina Haven Matthew Gee Office a: 'vnimaa Sara 'l'nitkit?ut: {irilnr't?is? Statute Admin. Qiraaul. Fin tips. Analyst iintrastate?-gmamtca Lc-Lr'rto'iJc ArnAc _oo_3ti_ LEGAL SERVICES BOARD OF NUNAVUT with regionai of?ces in Cambridge Bay, a Rankin iniet Box 125, Gjoa Haven, Nunavut XOR-1J0 (367) 360-4600 Telephone (857) 360-6112 Fax 13 June 2019 Michelaine Lahaie Chairperson Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP 50 Queen Street, Floor Ottawa. Ontario Delivered by hand and via email to: Dear Ms Lahaie, Re: Request for Review of RCMP in Nunavut write to request that the Commission conduct a review pursuant to 5. 45.32 of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act to ensure that the activities of the RCMP in Nunavut are being carried out in compliance with the Act and other relevant RCMP policies and guidelines regarding conduct, service standards, oversight of conduct and service standards, and training. The Legai Services Board (L58) is the territorial legal aid provider for Nunavut. We emplov more than 50 staff including staff lawyers and Inuit court workers who provide front iine access to justice and representation to eligible Nunavummiut. We also relv on a dedicated panel of more than 30 private lawyers to support our work. The context for legal aid in Nunavut is unique in Canada for several reasons. Our clients our predominantly Inuit. And, as there are only a handful of resident lawyers in private practice in Nunavut; in one way or another the LSB is involved in almost every criminal; family and child protection case herefew justice institutions that tries to maintain a presence in all of the communities in Nunavut. We have regional clinics in Iqaluit; Rankin inlet; and Cambridge Bay. We have an office in Gjoa Haven. We have court workers living and working across the territory and our staff and private lawyers visit every community multiple times a year. Our work brings us into direct contact with the RCMP in numerous ways. We live in the communities they police. We advise clients who are being investigated or have been arrested or are trying to repert a crime. We try criminal cases where RCMP officers are directly involved as witnesses and support to the prosecution. We have also represented clients at public inquests where RCMP actions have been part ofthe events being reviewed. Based on our experience and our observations; the LSB has significant concerns about systemic issues regarding the RCMP policing of communities in Nunavut. We are concerned about the quality of service general; the conduct of members; repeated and systematic instances of unnecessary violence; a lack of oversight to ensure that policing is delivered in accordance with RCMP conduct requirements and service standards; and the lack of training provided to officers to support better policing in the particular cultural context ofthis jurisdiction. In support of this request for a review; I am providing the following summaries of incidents that we have discovered in our file work in the course of litigation or through community outreach efforts or through our staff?s own personal experiences in the communities. These summaries not comprehensive. They cover a small fraction of the occurrences that LSB has observed over the past few years. The LSB lacks the resources to track and record every incident of substandard service or misconduct on the part of the RCMP. Some of the incidents below are a matter of public record or have been recorded in disclosure or in RCMP notes. Most have occurred within the past three or four years. Some are very recent. page 2 of 18 Given the small communities in Nunavut and our obligations to maintain solicitor-client confidentiality, i have genericized and anonymized the information below. i ask that the Commission endeavor to maintain confidentiality ofthe details to the extent it is possible under your Act. lam not filing an individual complaint in respect of any ofthese incidents. Should the Commission decide to conduct a further review or consider the issue in more detail - the LES would be willing to work with you, subject to solicitor-client confidentiality and concerns about client safety, to facilitate access to more complete information and documentation. In my opinion, however, these summaries provide an accurate picture of the nature ofthe issues with RCMP policing across Nunavut. Community members across Nunavut frequently report across that RCMP detachments fail and struggle to meet acceptable service standards. it is often reported that members of the community have phoned the police and waited excessive amounts oftime before a response or that they have been told that the matter is not a sufficient emergency for the on?call officer to attend after hours, or they have been told to stop calling the police despite the seriousness, where personal safety and property are at real risk. There appears to be a particular pattern of poor service when it comes to women in domestic and sexual assault matters. i. in one recent case, a woman had called the police numerous times in the past to report her fear of being assaulted by her common law spouse. When she would call the police, her spouse would leave, and the police would not pursue him. The last time she called, the RCMP told her to stop calling. As a result, the client felt she could not rely on the police to protect her. Her spouse then sexually assaulted her. She ended up facing criminal charges for actions she took to defend herself from further violence. page 3 of 18 ii. Another individual recently reported calling the RCMP when an unwanted and intoxicated man broke into her home. She was told that the RCMP officer was sleeping and that he would be sent over when he woke up. Recently a woman was found injured in a shipping container. She was taken to the RCMP detachment for assistance. There was no answer at the detachment. iv. Another individual posted the following story to a social media site: her ex? partner, who is under a no-contact order because of a prior history of violence, showed Up intoxicated at her home and started arguing with her guests, she phoned the RCMP. She was told that it was not an emergency and to phone back during business hours. v. in another recent incident, a woman called the poiice to report a spousal assault. RCMP attended her residence and noted that she was intoxicated and had sustained a head injury. The attending officers alleged that "in plain sight? on the kitchen counter was a small amount of marijuana and arrested her for possession for the purpose oftrafficking. They further obtained an inculpatory statement from her while she was intoxicated and her head was in need of medical attention. Later, officers conceded to having opened her kitchen cupboards in violation of 5.3 ofthe Charter to search for the marijuana. vi. In another situation, a young woman attended at an RCMP detachment to report a sexual assault. Instead of taking her statement, the RCMP charged her with breaching her own conditions. All of these individuals were Inuit women who either were at risk of" or had suffered - physical andXor sexually assault. lnuit women experience among the highest rates of violence and sexual violence in Nunavut and in the country. In the current climate of page 4 oi" 18 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, it is incumbent on the RCMP to ensure that its officers in Nunavut take all calls involving possible domestic and sexual violence in Nunavut communities more seriously and with a commitment to effective, timely and reSpectful service. There is a perception in the communities that the RCMP officers working in Nunavut - who are mostly male have not received adequate training in dealing with Inuit, particularly Inuit women, who have been victims of sexual assault. i. For example, the RCMP showed up at a house to deal with a complaint against a 19 year-old woman. She was known to the police as being a complainant in a sexual assault case. She left the house before the RCMP arrived. The RCMP chased her and kicked her feet out from under her, pinned to the ground and placed her under arrest. At the detachment, she was made to put on a suicide gown. She refused to remove her underwear. One of the male officers then proceeded to enter her cell and forcibly remove her underwear. At the time of the incident, there was a female guard present at the detachment. In this case the RCMP conduct resulted in her charges being stayed. ii. A father of young woman called the RCMP to report a sexual assault. When the RCMP arrived, the accused was observed in the act of a sexual assault involving full penetration. There were signs of violence and the residence was in a state of disarray. The RCMP arrested the accused. The complainant was left in the residence, unclothed, and given only a blanket to cover herself up. She was not offered any assistance including not taken to a health centre. She was completely disregarded by the police. page 5 of 3 in another situation where a woman was brought into the RCMP detachment on an investigative file. She was known to the RCMP to have been a recent victim of sexual assault. She was combative and possibly suicidal. She was placed naked in a restraint chair and left in the cell alone for an extended period oftirne. As is the case with domestic assaults, Inuit women are subjected to some of the highest rates of sexual violence in the country. As these incidents which again are reflective of a larger pattern and course of conduct demonstrate, the RCMP has not provided adequate training, or the force lacks sufficient policies or oversight, to prevent the ongoing re- victimization and re-traumatization of sexual assault survivors by the officers whose job it is to serve and protect our communities and residents 3. islstemicv?iolgnce Members of the communities, people accused of criminal charges, and lawyers working on criminal files have all raised concerns with what appears to be the systemic presence and persistence of police violence in Nunavut. RCMP?related deaths in Nunavut occur at nine times the rate that police?related deaths occur in Ontario; between 1999 and 2015, there were 14 RCMP related deaths in the territory -- manv ofthese were the subject of formal Coroner?s inquests with recommendations on how to reduce violence and improve policing.1 This statistic alone could justify a review of RCMP practices in Nunavut. There have been calls in the media and in the legislature for greater oversight.2 The LSB is aware of dozens of incidents of unnecessary and often gratuitous RCMP violence, including the following: page 6 of 18 ii. A young man was arrested for breaching the conditions of his probation. Angered by something the man said, the officer driving the truck slammed the brakes causing the man to hit his head on the plexiglass partition. Once at the detachment, the man was restrained in the restraint chair for almost three hours. While in the restraint chair, he was pepper sprayed in directly into both of his eyes. He was not released from the chair in order to wash his face. He passed out in the chair. Another instance involved a woman who was arrested for assaulting a peace officer. While being arrested, the woman was struck twice on the side of her head with an open palm. in cells, the RCMP reported that she attempted to kick one of the officers, and that the officer ?grabbed the top of her head and forced her to the ground, face down?. The cell block footage, however, shows that the kick either did not connect at all, or hardly connected. It further shows that after this ?kick?, the officer reached into the cell with his left hand, bracing himself against the wall with his right hand. He grabbed her by the head and pushed her face down to the ground. A second officer then moved to restrain the first officer, but he is too late. When the first officer removed his arm from the cell, it appeared as if he has a handful of the arrestee?s hair. Another incident that recently occurred demonstrates the needless escalation to violence that is often seen in Nunavut. The RCMP were called to attend a house in relation to an aggressive and intoxicated man who was not wanted in the home. Upon attending the residence, the officer located the man smoking outside. After a briefdiscussion, the man was advised he was under arrest for mischief, and told to enter the police vehicle. The man was reluctant to enter the vehicle. The officer then asked him whether he would have to use force to get him into the vehicle. Over the objections of the man, the officer tasered him. The officer then kicked at the arrestee?s feet, and when he did not fall down, the officer struck him in the face with the taser. A second officer then arrived and page 7 of 18 immediately deployed pepper spray in the man?s face, who went to the ground and shouted that he could not see. He was helpless at this point and not resisting. Despite that, the first officer again kicked the man and then tasered him a second time. iv. In another recent case. an 18 year-old man and an 18 year-old woman were outside his parent?s horne smoking a cigarette. Police arrived in reSponse to call that alleged she had been fighting with his parents. An altercation between the of?cer and the young man ensured where the young man was thrown to the ground. choked and punched twice in the face sustaining a black eye. Then an officer kicked the young woman as she stepped in to tell them to stop hurting the young man. They were both held in the cells and released the next day without charges. The young woman was reported in the media as saying: feel so angry because they shouldn?t be hitting us. There?s people in my community that went through the same situation. it really needs to stop; this violence against us lnuit needs to stopi3 v. Just three weeks ago. the RCMP were filmed making an arrest for a mischief and a possible breach of probation. There were no reports of violence. in the video, which has been circulated on Facebook. the arresting officer can be clearly seen to forcefully and unnecessarily pull the accused arms up high behind his back and march him to the police vehicle. Then officer can be clearly seen opening the door and then deliberately banging the detainee?s head into the side ofthe vehicle before putting him in. It is clear that the violence is necessary to the arrest. vi. A man was arrested and placed in custody. While in the cells, he suffered an epileptic seizure that left him in a confused. semi-conscious state. When the officers observed that the arrestee had put his face in the toilet bowl for a i fun-law page 8 of 18 vii. prolonged period of time, they entered the cell, removed his head from the toilet bowl and laid him on the floor. The arrestee woke up with a start, and leapt backwards, away from both officers. immediately, an officer struck him on the face with a closed fist once and then struck him two more times with a closed fist while a second officer restrained him. Both officers then physically restrained him at his torso and legs whiie a third officer entered the cell with a restraint chair. Two more officers entered to observe the arrestee?s placement in the restraint chair, where he was left without any medical attention for two hours. Another recent incident, the RCMP received a call that some young children were in the care of their intoxicated father. The RCMP attended the house on snowmobile. and the father answered the door, appearing intoxicated bot calm. The members asked to see the children, and found them both sleeping and safe, so they left the residence. Upon reporting to Family Services that the situation appeared to be fine, the social worker indicated that she wanted to collect the children anyway. The RCMP returned to the accused?s home once again by skidoo, and entered without a warrant. The accused was with his children and was very upset by the intrusion. The social worker indicated she was taking the kids because he was too intoxicated to look after them. He started yeiling, held his children in his arms. At this point, RCMP arrested him for obstruction and forcibly took the kids away. When the members attempted to handcuff him, he resisted. An officer tasered him in front of his children. They placed him, intoxicated and handcuffed, on the back of the skidoo in a blizzard without a helmet, and on the way back to the detachment got in an accident. The accused fell off the machine, and could have been seriously injured. The case of Bernard Naulalik is well reported. He was subjected to three discrete incidents of significant and unaccountable violence at the hands ofthe RCMP, page 9 of 13 one in 201-41 and two in 2016. 4 Cine of the more disturbing elements ofthis case is that some of the violence appeared to be retaliation for Mr. Naulalik?s earlier complaints. ix. See also 2 above and 4 and (vii) below. While a certain degree of physical force is incidental in any arrest, as is detailed above and as is commonly reported across Nunavut, there appears to be casual and gratuitous practice of unnecessary violence against Inuit detainees and arrestees. And there is little or no oversight or accountability on the part of senior officers. Because so few of the officers are Inuit, or indigenous. or members of racialized communities. the effect ofthe violence are worse than they would be in most southern communities. Violence in this context perpetuates an ?us vs. them? mentality both among Nunavummiut and police officers. Attitudes of hostility toward community members appear to be inherited by newer members of a detachment from the more senior members. Positive interactions and relationship building between the RCMP and the communities they serve is infrequent. The police cannot do theirjobs properly in the face of such distrust and fear. And the communities suffer from having reduced access to police services. 4. Warrantiess Entry of Homes Warrantiess entry of homes is an ongoing and frequently observed phenomenon in Nunavut a complete disregard for the sanctity of individual?s homes and the law. The law places very strict limits on the power of police to enter a person?s residence and arrest an individual when they are in their private dweliing ?this has been one of the foundational principles of the common law for hundreds of years and enshrined in the Canada?s constitution and Charter, which the courts have repeatedly affirmed and upheld. Despite page 10 oF13 this, repeated and flagrant breaches of Nunavummlut?s 5.8 Charter rights have been documented in almost every community in the territory. As is evidenced in the examples provided below, RCMP members often take the approach that they are entitled to enter a private dwelling without a warrant including to effect an arrest even when the legal requirements for doing so are absent. In fact, several clients (in particular those from Pangnirtung) reported asking RCMP members directly whether they had a warrant to enter, and were told that a warrant was not needed. The RCMP received a complaint that someone had entered a residence and refused to leave. The police located the accused alone in his property with the door open. Members shouted to him repeatedly that he was under arrest for assault with a weapon and uttering threats, and directed him to leave his shed and step outside. As was his right, the accused refused to do so. He remained in a seated position on his bed. He was holding two butter knives. He posed no risk to any of the officers, to any member ofthe public or himseif. The RCMP had absoiutely no grounds to enter his private residence. They were obliged to wait outside of his residence to effect his arrest if and when he chose to leave, or apply for a warrant to enter his dwelling and arrest him. However, in disregard of the law, an RCMP officer entered the shed with a taser. He grabbed the accused by his collar and forcibiy removed him from his shed and brought him to the detachment. The accused, who had a history of trauma, was upset at what had transpired, made threats of suicide, and at one point took off his shirt and put it around his neck. RCMP members removed all of his clothing from his cell. At one point, the accused moved forward and attempted to kick the member but did not make contact. He was then struck in the face (with what appears to be a taser) and was taken to the hospital where he received stitches as a result of the assault. page i 1 01?13 iv. in another example, where RCMP members received a complaint that, earlier in the afternoon, a community member had made some threats over Facebook to an elder. RCMP members attended the man's home to arrest him. They had no right to enter his house to arrest him. One member ascended the front steps of the house, while the other remained at the bottom. The man met the member at the front door of the house and immediately tried to lock the door. But the RCMP officer pushed the door open and arrested him. The RCMP received a report of a sexual assault. Upon investigation, they learned from the complainant that her boyfriend?s brother had tried to rape her. The complainant advised RCMP that the man lived across the street. Approximately 20 minutes after receiving the initial cail for service, three RCMP members attended at the man?s home. The man came to the door. An officer explained the situation to him and one member asked him to step outside. The man asked ifthey had a warrant. An RCMP officer grabbed him forcefully pull him outside. Yet another exampie of unlawful entrv arose in the summer of 2018. After receiving a call that suggested a men might have assaulted his common law partner. Officers attended the man?s residence and entered the home without his permission and without a warrant. After determining that no assault had occurred, the officers began searching the house and opening copboards without the man?s consent. They located marijuana paraphernalia on the kitchen counter, and a bag of what was believed to be mariiuana under the kitchen sink. The man was arrested for possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. An individual was identified as being the suspect in an impaired driving incident that resulted in injuries to a child. Officers were directed to wait outside his home and wait until he exited in order to effect his arrest, and not to enter the page 12 01?18 home. After staking out the home for hours, the suspect came outside for a cigarette and to let his dog out. One of the two officers who were stationed outside the home yelled at him that he was under arrest. The suSpect went back inside. Both officers then pursued him, kicking their way through two doors into the home. The suspect was pushed up against a wall, forcibly restrained and arrested. vi. The RCMP attended a home to assist in the illegal eviction of a local couple. The tenant was the son of longtime tenant who had recently passed away. Through his counsel, the tenant had asserted a right to stay in the unit, and reminded the local housing association ofthe mandatory process required for a landlord to terminate a lease in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act. Despite this, the housing association decided to carry out the illegal eviction and called upon the RCMP to assist. While the illegal eviction was in progress, the tenant?s counsel spoke to the RCMP sergeant on the phone, and told her clearly that the eviction she was effecting was illegal, as it was absent an Order issued by the Rental Officer or a judge. The RCMP officer?s resoonse was simply ?Take it up with the housing association?. vii. The RCMP were called in response to a disturbance. By the time they arrived on scene, the suspect had returned to her home. The police attended her residence and she locked the door and would not allow them entry. She was within her rights to do so. The police had no authority to enter her house without a warrant. The residence?s windows, which were ajar, were approximately eight feet from the ground. One officer reached into the home and grabbed the accused?s arm. A second officer deployed pepper spray into the accused?s home, causing her to fall to the ground. The officers then entered her home and arrested her. This charge was stayed by the Crown because of the egregious conduct of the police. page 13 of 13 These occurrences demonstrate a total and willful disregard of the law, specifically 5.8 Charter rights. It defies belief that this many members of the RCMP are unaware of their legai obligations and limitations with regard to entering the homes of private citizens. The oniy reasonabie conclusion is that some of the RCMP officers do not vaiue these rights, and they depend on the inability or unwillingness of Nunavummiut to assert them. 5. Failure to Provide Medigal Attention There have been numerous reports from individuals who have been detained, arrested and later held in detachment cells that repeated requests for medical attention have gone unheeded. RCMP policy dictates that immediate medical assistance must be sought when a person exhibits any signs of illness or injury. Unfortunately, this policy is often disregarded. ii. A man was held overnight under the Liquor Act. He woke up and was having trouble breathing. He called for help and banged repeatedly on the door of the cell asking for assistance. He was ignored. He reported that he was still having trouble breathing the next morning when he was being released. He went to the hospital where it was discovered he had a collapsed lung. An individual was arrested after an altercation and placed in cells. There, he repeatediy informed the guard and the officers that his right arm was in pain and that he needed medical attention. The detachment guard also became concerned. and reiterated the arrestee?s need for medical attention, to which the officer replied ?he can take himself to the health center when he is released?. After 15 hours in custody, the arrestee was released and went to the health center, where it was determined that he had a severe compound fracture page 14 of 18 in his arm. He was sent to Winnipeg to be fitted with a cast, and could not work until its removal three months later. Most tragicaily, is the death of Paul Kayuryuk. which was the subject of an inquest in Baker Lake in 201?. Mr. Kayuryuk was found unconscious at the local dump by a community member, who called dispatch seeking medical attention for Mr. Kayuryuk. Despite being told by the complainant that he knew Mr. Kayuryuk was not a drinker, the members proceeded to bring the unconscious man straight to cells under the assumption that he was drunk. Mr. Kayuryuk was diabetic. No medical treatment was sought, deSpite three separate guards espressing increasing concern throughout the night. The following day, the family learned of Paul?s incarceration and attended the detachment to notify the officers that he was a diabetic and not a drinker. He was sent to the health center, where it was determined that Mr. Kayuryuk had suffered a stroke. He was evacuated to Winnipeg but unfortunately Mr. Kayuryuk died two weeks later from complications. iv. See also 3 (vi) and (vii) These issues have been raised with the RCMP before, including in the recommendations of the juries in both the Paul Kayuryuk and Tommy Anguillianuk lnquests which had several specific recommendations that the RCMP provide better training and adopt more proactive policies to ensure the health and safety of detainees. These recommendations have, for the most part, been ignored. The pattern here is highly problematic: RCMP officers who are mainly white southerners demonstrating an indifference to following their policies in respect of ensuring the health and wellubeing of Inuit detainees. These practices raise concerns that they are operating page 15 oflg under old tropes and racist assumptions that the Inuit are malingers, or exaggerating, or, worse, not deserving of the same care as other Canadians. 6. Opigrati?g Outside of Police ?ole There are scores of examples of the RCMP using the authority that comes with their position to act outside of their defined roles. This includes providing unauthorized support to other agencies (see 3 (vii) and 4 (vi) above); interfering in the bail process by engaging improperly with sureties or behaving inappropriately in bail hearings; and overholding people in custody in defiance of their rights or court processes. 7. Racism and Cultural insensitivity its referenced above, the vast majority of officers who serve in Nunavut are not lnuit or indigenous or are not members of racialized communities. Most are white southerners who do not speak Inuktitut and do not have a knowledge of - or history living in .. lnuit or indigenous or northern and remote communities. Community members and the staff and lawyers of the LSB have experienced the effects ofthis in countless ways from a simple lack of cultural awareness and understanding, on one end of the spectrum, to outright racist comments, attitudes and actions on the other hand. This was noted in the recent report on the Commission on MMIWG who called for more inuit police officers. Similarly, one of the jury recommendations in the inquest into the death of Kunuk Qamanio, a young man with a history of mental illness who was shot and killed by an RCMP officer, was that the RCMP develop and implement a robust plan to hire more inuit members. in the Naulalik case referenced above, Cst. Jeffrey Dillon?s notes contained the following comment: Member warned subject that if he fights police, the police will fight back. it is this member?s experience with innit in the North that they need to hear a direct page 16 01?13 consequence shouid they decide to follow through with their threot. Sometimes this prevents fightS Similarly. in the inquest into the death of Solomon Urayasuk, an RCMP officer testified that he was not provided any cultural training before coming to Nunavut and that a superior based in Toronto had told him that the Inuit "when intoxicated, become hostile and combative, without provocation.? 5These attitudes remain in place and are frequently encountered during the course of our work. in addition to being staffed by officers without ties to the culture and communities here. the RCMP has a long and troubled history in Nunavut. They were the face of and the force behind manv problematic government policies that showed a complete disregard for the sanctity of lnuit homes, families and property, for example. the forced removal of families to the high Arctic, the removal of children form homes and communities to residential schools, and the shooting of sled dogs. Overt demonstrations of racism and cultural sensitivity or similar attitudes reflected in the systemic issue discussed above. perpetuate trauma, limit the effectiveness, and deprives communities and individuals of an essential and effective police service. There is currently a one?day course offered for RCMP officers serving in Nunavut called ?Inuit Perceptions?. It is clearly not sufficient to the sopport. guidance and direction required to assist officers working in Nunavut. There have been numerous recommendations to the RCMP to improve their training most notable included in the jury recommendations in the Felix Taqqaugaq Inquest Finally, as referenced above, all ofthe incidents and issues raised in this letter reflect a fraction of the occurrences that the LES has observed or been involved in over the years. I i page 17 of 13 current state of policing in Nunavut is not being delivered to the standards that are required by the Act and the polices and guidelines covering conduct, service standards, oversight of conduct and service standards, and training. There are front line members of the RCMP in Nunavut who try to provide excellent service and have engaged in the process of trying to understand and be sensitive to the cultural differences and the history of colonialism and the RCM P?s role in that. But the issue here is that those efforts are lost or their positive effect is limited by the systemic problems with service delivery, with racist and culturally insensitive attitudes and by a lack of transparency and accountability and oversight on the part of senior officers in the RCMP. Nunavummiut are entitled to receive services ofthe same character and quality as other Canadians. it is so important to the people here and the communities that they can trust and rely on the RCMP to deliver services to the highest standards. A review conducted by the Commission with recommendations for improvement would not only improve service delivery but it would have a direct and positive effect of the lives of people in Nunavut. As mentioned above, the LSB is willing to assist in the Commission gathering further information or to discuss any of these issues in further detail. ,m Best Regard it . - 5 1 Benson Cow-an .- Chief Executive Officer page 18 of 18