Harper names veteran Mountie Bob Paulson new RCMP commissioner
Posted November 16, 2011 10:16 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Veteran Mountie Bob Paulson will be the next commissioner of the RCMP, opening a new chapter for the storied police force following a difficult and turbulent stretch.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the formal announcement Wednesday, saying Paulson has had a distinguished 25-year career with the RCMP.
“Mr. Paulson was chosen following a rigorous and open selection process,” Harper said in a statement. “As a senior police leader with broad experience across the RCMP’s complex mandate, he brings with him a deep understanding of the challenges facing the force.
“Mr. Paulson will provide the leadership necessary to strengthen our national police force now and into the future.”
Paulson is currently the deputy commissioner who heads federal policing for the force, overseeing everything from protection of key officials to investigation of organized crime.
An insider told The Canadian Press the choice came down to Paulson and Peter German, the RCMP’s commissioner for Western Canada.
But today the 52-year-old Paulson, a bilingual native of Lachute, Que., and former soldier, won out.
He replaces William Elliott, who announced his decision to step down earlier this year after an often stormy four-year tenure.
Paulson, was a member of the Canadian Forces prior to joining the Mounties 25 years ago. He spent most of his policing career in British Columbia before moving to Ottawa in 2005.
He has a son and two daughters
Paulson replaces William Elliott, who announced his decision to step down earlier this year after an often stormy four-year tenure. It was marked by shakeups within the iconic police force and a revolt last summer by senior officers.
Long-serving Mounties bristled at Elliott’s brash management style, complaining of abusive temper tantrums. He is to begin a new job as Interpol’s representative at the United Nations in coming days.
Paulson has led several high-profile investigations and oversaw a major reorganization of national security operations in recent years.
He gained his deputy post when Raf Souccar, one Elliott’s fiercest critics, was bumped from his post in a shakeup.
Paulson will be tasked with trying to complete the force’s transformation from a rigid paramilitary-style organization into a modern organization that puts more emphasis on the well-being of its members.
Elliott, a lawyer, former political aide and former national security adviser to the prime minister, was appointed to help overhaul a national institution in crisis.
In 2005, the Mounties were rocked when four of their members were gunned down on a farm near Mayerthorpe, Alta.
A 2006 commission of inquiry said information the RCMP passed to the United States was likely responsible for Maher Arar being shipped to Syria, where the Ottawa man was tortured into false terrorism confessions.
Elliott had been on the job for only three months when a bewildered Polish visitor died after being Tasered by Mounties at the Vancouver airport. That led to an inquiry and sparked concerns about how RCMP stun gun use.
His domineering approach and the slow pace of reforms did little to bolster morale within the RCMP.
A number of recommended moves intended to modernize the force — such as appointment of an outside management board — have yet to take place.
