Senior RCMP officer says pension issue taking toll
Chief Supt. Fraser Macaulay tells CBC he was transferred to DND 'penalty box'
Last Updated: Sunday, April 1, 2007 | 3:36 PM ET
CBC News
One of the RCMP members to come forward with allegations of fraud and corruption within the highest ranks of the force has reiterated claims that he was transferred to another job for asking too many questions.
Chief Supt. Fraser Macaulay talked about the impact of being moved in October 2003 to the Department of National Defence in an interview with CBC News: Sunday.
"It was very commonly known as the penalty box. You knew when you were there and people knew when you were there and there were times when I could walk down the hall and pretty well clear a hallway in the beginning."
Several members of the RCMP went public last Wednesday with allegations of fraud, nepotism and corruption against their own leadership.
The most senior member of the team was Macaulay, a career Mountie who worked his way up through the ranks to become a senior-ranking human resources officer in Ottawa.
He alleged that after he tried to alert his bosses to what he called corrupt practices, he was lied to, shunned and eventually pushed out of his job, spending two years at the DND.
"The RCMP has had a small group of managers, who through their actions or inactions, are responsible for serious breaches in our core values, the RCMP code of conduct and even the Criminal Code," he told the parliamentary public accounts committee on March 28.
Ontario NDP MP David Christopherson told the committee "either this superintendent deserves to be medalled for courage, or his career is effectively over, but that is one hell of a statement to make here in front of a parliamentary committee. This is far from over."
Difficult times: Macaulay
In the CBC interview on Sunday, Macaulay became teary-eyed when he talked about the toll the controversy has taken on his family.
He said while his wife has been supportive, the last few years have been difficult.
Macaulay and the others told the committee how they believed the RCMP pension fund had been used to hire people who were not doing pension work, people who in most cases, they claim, were related to senior members of the force.
They told MPs how they reported their findings to senior management, but were allegedly stonewalled and punished, despite a series of investigations confirming there were problems.
"They were people at the senior management level, and as we've said, the ultimate authoritarian in this was the ex-commissioner [Giuliano] Zaccardelli," Macaulay alleged on CBC News: Sunday.
When contacted by the program, Zaccardelli called the allegations "baseless."
"Not one piece of evidence was brought forward," he said. "I'm not saying mistakes weren't made, but we corrected them. Not one cent is missing from the pension fund."
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges

- The estranged partner of a young mother who was stabbed to death along with her parents at their home in Aylmer, Que., has been charged with first-degree murder Friday. more »
- Wildfires, high winds put northeastern Ontario on alert
- It's going to be a tense weekend in northeastern Ontario where strong, shifting winds have been fuelling a forest fire that has blanketed the Timmins area with smoke and ash. more »
- Labrador fire out of control
- A forest fire continues to burn out of control in Happy Valley-Goose Bay today, according to provincial firefighting officials. more »
- The risks and responsibilities of taking on Mt. Everest

- The deaths of five climbers last weekend on Mt. Everest, with more summits underway this weekend, fuels the debate about the risks and responsibilities of high altitude climbing. more »
Latest Canada News Headlines
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- The federal government is shutting the Canadian consulate in Buffalo less than two years after costly renovations, while dropping a requirement for visas to be renewed outside the country, CBC News has learned. more »
- Wildfires, high winds put northeastern Ontario on alert
- It's going to be a tense weekend in northeastern Ontario where strong, shifting winds have been fuelling a forest fire that has blanketed the Timmins area with smoke and ash. more »
- Labrador fire out of control
- A forest fire continues to burn out of control in Happy Valley-Goose Bay today, according to provincial firefighting officials. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
The National
The Current
- What does it take to get fired at the RCMP? May. 25, 2012 5:02 PM After a senior Mountie was demoted for disgraceful conduct including sex with subordinates, exposing himself and drinking on the job, some former employees wonder what you have to do to get fired.
- Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- Canada ending 'Buffalo shuffle' for visas, closing consulate
- What a Greek euro exit could mean for Canada
- Third B.C. salmon farm quarantined
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- Police probe Halifax homicide after shooting
- Ottawa man in hospital after lightning strike

