Harper government to cut funding of RCMP police complaints commission

According to estimates tabled by the federal Treasury Board, the RCMP Public Complainants Commission which oversees the RCMP will face a substantial cut in funding from the federal government. Commission chair Paul Kennedy has warned that the cuts will force him to cut a policy division created in 2007 to explore the use of tasers and which was responsible for the creation of the new RCMP policy. See the discussion of the new policy in the February 13, 2009 blog entry entitled "RCMP admit dangers of tasers and establish new policy for use and training." The policy division is currently conducting research on how the police deal with mentally ill suspects.