New RCMP boss in N.S. aims to listen and mend fences

The new head of the RCMP in Nova Scotia says his first priority will be to get out to talk to as many people as he can in the province.

Assistant Commissioner Dennis Daley takes over at a challenging time for the RCMP as the force has been buffeted by criticism coming out of the public hearings of the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC), which is investigating the murders of 22 people in April 2020.

"I don't want to presuppose because this is my third time in Nova Scotia that I know the issues," Daley, who previously served in New Minas and Halifax, said in an interview Wednesday.

"So, one of my first priorities is to get out and listen and understand exactly what's taken place in the division."

The 34-year RCMP veteran said he has a "good general sense" of evidence and arguments from the MCC, and he's looking forward to the final recommendations coming in March.

Daley said he's committed to implementing the recommendations he has direct control over, and to working with others to carry out the recommendations that encompass more than just the Mounties.

One area he said he recognizes needs work is the RCMP's relationship with municipal police forces in the province. That relationship was badly damaged after the events of that April weekend.

'Areas of disagreement'

Daley said those relationships were strong in the past and he's confident they will be again "through good conversation and good communication."

"In any relationship, there's going to be areas of disagreement and I think that's healthy in a relationship," he said.

Daley said he also has to mend fences over comments contained in a text message from a senior Mountie to the employee and management relations officer. The message was tabled as one of the documents from the MCC.

In the text, Supt. Robert Doyle made a crude comment about members of the RCMP's Emergency Response Team who had requested time to decompress together in the office.

Doyle was in charge of employee wellness when he sent a message to Kelly Sullivan, accusing the team members of "wanting to circle-jerk for two weeks."

Daley said he was "extremely disappointed" in Doyle's comment.

"It's not about the fact that he was caught or it was disclosed or he thought it was a private conversation," Daley said. "For me, it's more about the culture and the actual usage of the language."

Daley said the text sends the wrong message to the public and RCMP members. He said there would be consequences, but he did not specify what they would be.

'My intention would be to apologize'

Daley said he will also issue a public apology on behalf of the RCMP for the practice of street checks.

The practice was banned three years ago after it was determined that it disproportionately targeted Black people. Halifax Regional Police apologized in November 2019, but nearly two years later, RCMP said it would not follow suit with its own apology.

"My intention would be to apologize," Daley said.

"I think we need to acknowledge the impact that street checks made on the African Nova Scotian community, whether it be in Halifax or elsewhere in Nova Scotia."

But he said the action has to go beyond just an apology, pointing to an ongoing education program called ACE or African Canadian Experience, which all RCMP employees are taking.