Crooked in Canada

I think it is pretty safe to assume that we have considered the police a little corrupt, even underhanded from time-to-time, and that more often than not they get away with such behaviour. Don’t get me wrong, I would trust Canada’s national police force before I would trust that of another country, but I wouldn’t assume for one minute that every ranking member in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was on the up and up.  Would you?

That being said, how about the House of Commons four party leaders banding together in a rare show of support, and nailing RCMP deputy commissioner Barbara George with a contempt tag? I think it’s pretty cool, and from there I hope it signals that Barbara George is finally off the taxpayer’s payroll, and that she is well on her way to facing criminal charges for deliberately misleading a police probe into management of the RCMP’s $12 billion pension and insurance fund.  She was trying to save her own ass at the time.

The question as to whether she herself misused public funds or mismanaged the pension and insurance fund/plan should be asked and thoroughly investigated again now that she has been held in contempt by our sitting MPs. No stone should be left unturned and if she has abused her position of authority in any way, shape or form, she should go to jail if she is convicted of anything, including perjury.  She is (at least for now) a government official, and of all people, government officials shouldn’t be above the law.

I understand that George is still an RCMP employee, that she is currently on what we call a “paid leave of absence” after she was suspended for 8 months, and that that suspension had nothing to do with any allegation that she misused public funds or mismanaged the insurance or pension. If that is the case, perhaps now that George has been found in contempt by Parliament, now would be a good time for the RCMP to reconsider their position when it comes to George.

Now would also be a good time for George to resign, no golden handshake, no nothing.  I don’t think a disgraceful exit is worth anymore than the pension she has earned and a severance package should be totally out of the question.