Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Brenda Lucki will be retiring next month from her role leading Canada’s national police force.
Lucki was approaching the end of a five-year term, which began on April 16, 2018. She was the organization’s 24th commissioner and the force’s first permanent female commissioner.
Her last day will be March 17.
“This was not an easy decision as I love the RCMP,” she said. “I leave knowing I did my best and take comfort that the RCMP is well placed to shine in its 150th year.”
“I’m so proud of the steps we’ve taken to modernize—to increase accountability, address systemic racism, ensure a safe and equitable workplace and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples,” she stated, adding that the organization had made “great progress.”
Criticism
Lucki’s time as top Mountie included calls for her resignation in June 2022, after allegations of political interference in the police investigation of the Nova Scotia shooting in which a gunman killed 22 people.“Alberta has lost confidence in RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and is calling on Canada’s minister of public safety, Marco Mendicino, to immediately rescind her appointment,” Shandro said.
He also criticized Lucki’s contribution to two major public inquiries held during her tenure, including the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC), which held weeks of hearings on the Trudeau government’s invocation of the use of emergency measures to shut down the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa earlier this year.
Lucki testified at the POEC on Nov. 15 that RCMP officers had the legal means to clear protesters in Ottawa as part of the Freedom Convoy without the use of the Emergencies Act, but said she did not communicate that information to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before the act was invoked.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino thanked Lucki for her years of service.
Mendicino said the government will begin the process of appointing the next commissioner of the RCMP and will be “searching for an exceptional new leader who will keep our communities safe while advancing the reforms necessary to maintain the confidence of all Canadians.”