JUSTICE MINISTER NEEDS TO STAND UP FOR YUKON WOMEN
NDP leader Liz Hanson says Yukon’s Justice Minister needs to demonstrate clearly that rebuilding the public’s trust and faith in the RCMP is her top priority and that as minister responsible for Justice and the Women’s Directorate she shares the disappointment expressed by many in the community after an RCMP formal disciplinary hearing failed to acknowledge the seriousness of this breach of trust.
“Yukon women are frustrated and offended they have not heard a single word from the minister about the way this hearing for the two RCMP officers who admitted to having group sex with an intoxicated woman in Watson Lake while they were off duty was handled,” Hanson adds.
“The procedure was flawed. The RCMP did not present any evidence to make the case the disgraceful and disorderly conduct of constables Sean McLaughlin and Graham Belak violated the RCMP Code of Conduct and brought disrepute to the force.”
Hanson understands that Yukon women’s groups asked the Justice minister for a meeting early this year to ask for her support for the recommendations they submitted to the 2010 review of Yukon’s police force.
“And yet again, this Yukon Party minister refused to meet with them. The minister is accountable to Yukon citizens, not the RCMP. The public’s confidence in the RCMP has been seriously eroded by this and other recent incidents and the minister needs to take the lead in addressing the problem. Her silence is unacceptable.”
It calls into question the Yukon Party’s commitment to the review of the force, titled Sharing Common Ground. And it is another example of the party setting up a pubic consultation and then ignoring the outcome. Yukoners from all sectors – First Nations, women, vulnerable people at risk – participated in good faith and have been let down yet again by the government.
“The failure by the RCMP to present any evidence at the disciplinary hearing for the two officers is a serious breech of trust between Yukon RCMP and Yukon citizens,” Hanson says. “I recognize how difficult it is to change entrenched attitudes at large institutions, like the RCMP, but I want to see greater efforts in that direction. Yukoners expect their Justice minister to advocate for positive change and to not simply support a flawed status quo.”