Confidential documents critical of the Independent Investigations Office's chief civilian director will be considered as part of a review being conducted by a special committee, Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris said Friday.
"We're going to consider everything," Morris said in response to a Province newspaper story that says the IIO has become dysfunctional under the leadership of Richard Rosenthal.
As of June, about 25 per cent of the IIO's roughly 50-member team has left the civilian-based organization, which investigates police-involved deaths and serious injuries, according to the newspaper.
The report also says an August 2013 internal survey of 30 staff members identified "significant issues and concerns with high level leadership."
Rosenthal has been in charge of the IIO since its inception in September 2012, when it opened its doors on the same day an RCMP emergency response team member shot and killed Greg Matters on his Pineview property near Prince George.
Matters, 40, was a 15-year veteran of the Canadian military who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Following an investigation, the IIO concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing.
An administrative review of that investigation is now underway, and Morris said that too will be considered once it's completed.
"I will be definitely be looking out for that along with every other documentation to go with that file," Morris said.
In April, Morris was named chair of the bipartisan legislative committee established to evaluate the IIO's performance.
The committee has met four times, most recently on June 10, when Rosenthal gave an overview of how the IIO works. According to a transcript of that meeting, Rosenthal said seven investigators have left -- three former police officers and four civilians -- for a variety of reasons, including family reasons and opportunities elsewhere.
"Others have been that people didn't feel that they were a good fit with the organization or it wasn't doing what they had expected," Rosenthal said.
Rosenthal went on to say the "creation of a culture" has been a challenge.
"We spent our first year of operations really emphasizing credible, competent, fair investigations in a timely manner and transparency through public reporting," he said. "As a result of our strong emphasis on that, we did not put as much emphasis on the building of the culture in the first year of operations, and that's what we're doing now."
About two-thirds of the IIO's investigators, which make up about half the IIO's 56 full-time equivalent staff, are former police officers, according to the organization's website. Police officers must not have served in B.C. for at least five years if they want to work for the IIO.
As for the goal of making the IIO a completely civilian organization, Rosenthal told the committee only time will tell.
"In Canada the type of experience you need to process an evidence scene or to do traffic collision reconstruction is generally only obtained in policing," Rosenthall said. "In the U.S., interestingly enough, it is actually civilians who generally do that job. And by the way, there are actually quite a number of Canadians in the U.S. who are doing the work."
Morris said the committee must have a report ready by early next spring.
"We do have to keep moving on this, there is a lot of material to cover," Morris said.
Morris was the North District RCMP superintendent for seven years ending in 2005, when he retired after 32 years as a Mountie. Morris has said he has a letter from the Conflict of Interest Commissioner saying there is no conflict and believes the nearly 10 years he's been away from the RCMP has provided enough time for him to view the IIO objectively.
On Friday, the committee launched a web portal where public comments can be submitted. It's found at www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/iio and the deadline for submissions is Sept. 26.
Submissions can also be faxed to 250-356-8172 and mailed to Special Committee to Review the Independent Investigations Office, Room 224, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C., V8V 1X4.
Whether in-person public hearings will be held is still to be determined, Morris said, but added he's leaning towards a strictly online process.
