A B.C. Mountie may be facing some disciplinary action over videos he previously posted about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The officer, from Trail, B.C., was the person behind the Church of Trudeau website, which used political satire to take aim at Trudeau’s positions on issues such as immigration, LGBTQ2 rights and First Nations people.
The website now appears to have been taken down.
Kash Heed, a former police officer and B.C.’s former solicitor general, said he is “very disappointed with the videos that were actually posted in a public venue.”
“But I’m not surprised, given the fact that we’ve had several other people within law enforcement that have expressed their views in this particular fashion. It’s wrong,” Heed said.
“But again, with the credibility of the RCMP being at somewhat a low point, especially after the freedom convoy, the public inquiry with the commissioner’s testimony, I think the public trust in this institution is very troubling at this particular point. So, again, disappointing, but I’m not surprised.”
An RCMP spokesperson told Global News the content of the website fell short of the levels of professionalism expected of its officers.
“The RCMP is aware of the website and videos produced by one of our police officers,” the statement reads. “The RCMP, upon learning of the website, acted quickly to have the discriminatory and offensive content taken down as well as address any internal conflict within the affected workplace.
“A fulsome review of the highly unprofessional offending materials was completed and administrative options are being considered.”
Alistair MacGregor, Member of Parliament for Cowichan–Malahat–Langford and the NDP critic for public safety, said police officers serve communities across Canada where people come from a variety of different backgrounds, ethnic communities, belief systems and political views.
“I think police officers are necessarily held to a higher standard because of the roles that they play in our communities for keeping the peace, ensuring public safety,” MacGregor added. “But because of the great variety of people that they do serve, it’s necessary for, I think, for them to keep that in mind in the conduct of their professional jobs.”
The RCMP agreed, saying in their statement that public trust is essential for their officers to effectively serve and protect Canadians.
“As a result, RCMP employees must conduct themselves in a manner that not only meets but exceeds, the rightfully high expectations of Canadians as well as our own Code of Conduct.
“The website and videos were not representative of the views of the RCMP, nor its employees as a whole, rather, they were the expressions of an individual. The content and viewpoints on the website fell far short of meeting the levels of professionalism expected of our officers.
“Discrimination has no place in the RCMP.”
Heed said he would like to see an internal investigation conducted immediately by the RCMP to determine if the person can actually serve as a member of the force.
“We have to really question whether he can go out there, serve our communities, police our communities in an unbiased fashion, given the fact that he’s expressed strong opinions against political beliefs, gender issues, immigration and all of those significant issues that make up society here in Canada,” Heed said.
The RCMP are not identifying the officer in question, nor saying when a decision will be made about their future in policing.