Commissioner William Elliott's departure after four horrible years as the first civilian to lead the RCMP is an opportunity to truly reform the dysfunctional force.
Although he arrived with much promise, Elliott will leave in July a disappointment -- the job he was supposed to do unfinished.
His promises to bring openness, transparency and accountability proved hollow; someone else must finish the job that at best you could say Elliott only started.
From the tragic death of Robert Dziekanski to the reports that he was abrasive, bullying and didn't play well with others, his tenure saw the once-iconic force portrayed more often as a scarlet-serged embarrassment than as a proud national symbol.
Things got so bad, the government had to call in former spymaster Reid Morden and pay him to offer an assessment of the mess.
Public inquiries into the Air India terrorist bombings, the massacre of members at Mayerthorpe, Alta., and the Taser-related death of Dziekanski have documented so many failures in training, operations and leadership that sweeping change can no longer be delayed.
Elliott's departure is the opportune time and the Tories have taken an encouraging first step.
The government says it will consult the House of Commons committee on public safety to establish the selection criteria for the next commissioner.
That provides an opportunity for an actual discussion on the future of the RCMP and the kind of national police agency Canadians want.
First and foremost, I think, it is time to transform what is organizationally a 19th-century military relic into a 21st-century civilian force more like the FBI or New Scotland Yard. This is a 30,000-person, $5-billion-a-year operation run like the colonial army.
It's time to get rid of the archaic "depot" training regime and consign the phoney northwest-frontier-cowboy play-acting to where it belongs -- the police museum.
It's time for the RCMP to get out of contract policing for municipalities and provinces.
It's time to establish a meaningful public oversight system with teeth, and it's time to separate the force's operations from the political powers that be.
There are plenty of problems to be addressed -- all itemized in numerous recent reviews and analyses.
Some say some of the recent problems and outbursts were a result of frustration within the ranks with the slow pace of reform and that the government, not Elliott, should shoulder responsibility for that.
Perhaps. There is no question the glacial pace of change hasn't helped.
The Commons committee will hear from two of Elliott's fiercest critics on Tuesday -- former assistant commissioner Mike McDonell and deputy commissioner Raf Souccar, who was essentially benched two months ago as part of a shuffle of senior management.
They're the Mounties who went over Elliott's head last summer because of consternation within the force over his management style, or lack thereof.
So many senior managers have left under Elliott, in fact, that an internal successor is difficult to see -- beyond his loyalist, senior deputy commissioner Rod Knecht, and we definitely don't need a "yes" man.
Regardless, the government shouldn't be looking inside the RCMP for the next boss.
Sure, the candidate must be familiar with its unique culture and the criminal justice system.
But more than that, we need someone who can bring real reform and continue the new tradition of civilian leadership begun with Elliott's appointment.
The RCMP must be modernized and its role must be more clearly defined.
Elliott's replacement must be equipped to carry out that mandate and he or she must receive the government support necessary to implement change.
Is that too much to ask?
