OTTAWA – The federal integrity commissioner says RCMP pilots doctored flight manifests in order to fly over-loaded aircraft, but dismissed several other serious allegations from a whistleblower for lack of evidence.
Commissioner Mario Dion says he could not establish whether the RCMP flights posed a danger to the life, health or safety of anyone because the true weight of the flights is not known.
Dion’s report remains under a legal challenge from the federal government, which wanted to quash his findings before they could be made public.
However a judge rejected the bid by the federal attorney general and Dion says his mandate includes public disclosure of wrongdoing.
Dion says several other serious allegations from a whistleblower – including that RCMP planes were flown without valid airworthiness certificates and that pilots with lapsed credentials were scheduled to fly – could not be substantiated on the balance of probabilities.
Dion says he did not refer the falsified flight manifests to legal authorities because Transport Canada is aware of the issue – and, besides, he says the RCMP of all people should be expected to respect the law.
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