The RCMP has a new interim commissioner to replace Brenda Lucki. What we know

The RCMP has named a new interim commissioner to replace Brenda Lucki, who retired on Friday.

Michael Duheme, who served as deputy commissioner of federal policing, will take the helm starting Saturday, and will be in the role until a new commissioner is appointed, the government said Friday. It’s unclear when that appointment will be made.

“The government will now undertake work to identify an exceptional new leader who will keep our communities safe, while advancing the reforms necessary to maintain the confidence of all Canadians,” it said in a news release.

“Details about the process to identify a new permanent Commissioner of the RCMP will be announced in due course.”

1:45 Trudeau says Michael Duheme is ‘excellent’ as interim RCMP commissioner

After almost five years on the job, Lucki announced last month she was stepping down as the head of Canada’s national police force.

Lucki was appointed in 2018 and was the first woman to permanently hold the role. She faced intense criticism in recent years for the RCMP’s handling of multiple crises, including the mass shooting in Nova Scotia and the response to the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests in Ottawa and at border crossings across the country.

1:53 Next RCMP boss faces issues of racism, sexism within the force

Multiple sources told Global News last month that the government was not planning to extend Lucki’s mandate.

“Today I announced that I have made a personal decision to retire. This was not an easy decision as I love the RCMP and have loved being the 24th Commissioner,” Lucki said in a Feb. 15 statement.

“As commissioner, I was asked to modernize and address the RCMP’s internal challenges. This was a significant mandate and with the support of my senior executive team and the commitment of all RCMP employees, we’ve accomplished a lot.”

1:40 RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki retiring in March

She added that she leaves the post “knowing I did my best and take comfort that the RCMP is well placed to shine in its 150th year.”

Lucki had been accused by some top RCMP officials of political interference for allegedly pressuring staff to release information about the Nova Scotia shooter’s firearms at the behest of the federal government, which announced gun control legislation days later. The commissioner has denied she was acting at Ottawa’s behest.

During the public inquiry into the government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act in response to last year’s protests, evidence was presented that showed Lucki told a government official she believed city police had not yet exhausted “all available tools” to end the occupation.

That email was sent hours before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the emergency powers that Lucki later defended as helpful to police in clearing the blockades. The public inquiry tasked with examining the government’s use of the emergencies act found it was warranted, but that failures by police and politicians to address the protests led to the chaos.

Trudeau on Friday said Duheme will be an “excellent” interim commissioner.

“As we move forward with the search for a permanent new commissioner for the RCMP, with an excellent interim commissioner that we’ve just announced today, I can assure you that we are very much looking at how to ensure that the RCMP can continue to offer the very best service to Canadians from coast to coast to coast.”