On Wednesday morning, Public Works published a tender for Taser-brand conducted energy weapons, cartridges and holsters. The weapons are for RCMP recruits, training in Regina.

Alison Crawford

This news caused me to dig through a pile of recent reports on the RCMP. I laid my finger upon "Final Report Concerning the RCMP's use of Conducted Energy Weapons" by Paul Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

Among his many suggestions, Kennedy recommended Mounties only allow corporals in urban settings or constables in rural areas with at least five years of operational experience to use Tasers.

Scanning the tender once more, I noted it doesn't actually say how many Tasers the RCMP wants to purchase. At 09:15 on Wednesday, I dialed the contact at Public Works listed on the tender. She advised me that while she knew the answer, she had been instructed not to talk to the media. She suggested I call media relations at Public Safety.

By noon, Public Safety told me I had to call RCMP media relations. I did. At 17:00 on Wednesday, I was assured I'd get the information on Thursday. It is now Friday afternoon and despite another message left on the RCMP answering machine, still no response.

That put me in mind of another recent report on the RCMP by David Brown called "Rebuilding the Trust." On page 38 he wrote, "Recent incidents have highlighted systemic weaknesses in RCMP communications including: slowness of response (...) The current reactive poster has fuelled uncertainty and eroded the trust of the public and the members alike."

Alison Crawford

Update: The RCMP ultimately responded to my request as I was driving home on Friday evening. The RCMP want to buy 75 new Tasers for officers in Saskatchewan, with six weapons going to Depot where new Mounties are trained.