WATCH: 16×9’s investigation into RCMP equipment and training has struck a chord with many frontline officers. The RCMP won’t comment, so Carolyn Jarvis went to Ottawa to look for answers.
OTTAWA – The opposition parties accused the Conservative government of failing to protect public safety in the House of Commons Monday in the wake of a Global News 16X9 report which aired this weekend. The 16×9 report investigated the incident of the Moncton gunman who killed three RCMP officers and wounded two others.
NDP MP Randall Garrison cited the 16×9 investigation when asking the government if it was providing adequate training and resources for RCMP officers while simultaneously cutting its budget.
“The RCMP has been forced to reallocate resources and to move 600 officers from organized and financial crimes to respond to national security threats, a situation the RCMP commissioner called ‘unsustainable,’” he said.
“Does the minister think this situation is acceptable?”
WATCH: Liberal MP Wayne Easter references 16×9 investigation into RCMP readiness during Moncton shootings in heated exchange in Question Period
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Liberal MP Wayne Easter echoed Garrison’s criticism and highlighted the fact that anonymous RCMP officers spoke to Global News about the lack of resources.
“The rank and file RCMP officers came out this weekend, put their jobs on the line, to tell the Canadian public they feel betrayed by this government because they’re not getting the funds for training,” Easter said.
But Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney suggested otherwise, saying the government had increased the RCMP’s budget by one-third and suggested the NDP’s refusal to support Bill C-51 was proof they fell short on public safety.
WATCH: NDP MP Randall Garrison raises 16×9 investigation into RCMP readiness during Question Period
Questions were raised in the 16×9 report about the RCMP’s training and preparation for such an event, including the years-long delay in rolling out the carbine program – a semi-automatic weapon.
Under Fire, a five-month long investigation involving a team of 16×9 journalists, looked at one of the most horrific killing sprees in Canadian history – a lone gunman, armed with a semi-automatic rifle who killed three Mounties and wounded two others.
The officers who first responded to the call were armed only with 9 mm sidearms, and a few had shotguns.
READ MORE: RCMP sends out defensive internal memo hours before explosive 16×9 investigation
On the weekend, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson sent out an internal memo slamming the report as “gotcha” journalism.
The Mounties repeatedly refused on-camera interviews.
You can watch the entire episode of Under Fire, here.
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