Opposition leaders rap Higgs for 2021 removal of top RCMP officer

Opposition leaders say new information about the 2021 departure of the RCMP's top officer in New Brunswick is another example of Premier Blaine Higgs blaming others for his lack of leadership.

CBC News revealed this week that J Division commanding officer Larry Tremblay raisedconcerns about a Higgs government vision that "blurs the lines between politics and policing" in a July 2021 letter.

The province had asked for Tremblay's removal from the position, leading to Tremblay's retirement from the RCMP later that year.

"It's yet another example of political influence from the premier where it shouldn't be," Liberal Leader Susan Holt said Monday. "We need our public safety leaders at the RCMP to be independent, and we need their work to be clear and transparent.

"This is another example of a lack of leadership from Higgs."

WATCH | 'They're not kings': Liberal, Green leaders on RCMP letter:

Opposition leaders question Higgss role in RCMP leadership change

2 months ago

Duration 1:06

Susan Holt and David Coon say theyre concerned by former N.B. RCMP assistant commissioner Larry Tremblays 2021 letter citing political interference.

Green Leader David Coon agreed.

"It's more of the same," he said, accusing Higgs of believing he is "the boss of everybody. It was no surprise to me at all."

Then-public safety minister Ted Flemming asked for Tremblay's removal in a July 15, 2021, letter, invoking a section of the province's policing contract with the RCMP.

Flemming told then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki he didn't have confidence in Tremblay to ramp up the fight against drug crime in the province.

In his July 26 letter to Lucki, Tremblay said the force had been fighting drug crime, but the province had never identified it as a priority.

Instead, the Higgs government had a "different vision" of police independence, Tremblay said, and the force must remain "independent and free from influence."

A spokesperson for the Public Safety Department refused to comment on the letter obtained by CBC News. The RCMP also refused to comment.

Under the policing contract, the province can set goals for the RCMP as the provincial police force but operational decisions are up to the force itself.

Tremblay's letter did not identify specific examples of blurred lines between politics and policing but said there were differences between the RCMP and the province on issues, including Crown-Indigenous relationships and how to handle legal protests.

Holt and Coon agreed with policing expert Chrisitan Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College, that a provincial police commission like the boards that exist in Saint John and Greater Moncton would safeguard police independence.

Coon said the model is used elsewhere in Canada and is a good suggestion.

"To have buffers between politicians and those who deliver public services I think the case has been made repeatedly."

The Green leader said Higgs's top-down, hands-on approach was a continuation of how former premier Brian Gallant governed.

Holt said public concern about crime is real, and rather than doing real work to address it in 2021, Higgs opted instead to look for someone he could fire as he has done when problems have erupted in other areas such as health care.

"It seems the premier doesn't have answers for them, so went looking for somebody to blame," she said.