The new man in charge of holding the Mounties to account is a Toronto estate lawyer who describes himself as "collegial." But his predecessors question whether a "neophyte" with that mindset is up to the job. Ian McPhail, who has spent most of his career focusing on wills and real estate, acknowledges he has much to learn about the RCMP.
"Look, you probably know more about the background there than I do," Mr. McPhail said in an interview last week. "I'm going up Monday, it will be my first day on the job."
So why did Steve pick him, I wonder?
Oh. I see.
While he has worked as a Conservative organizer and chaired Ontario government bodies, he has never before tried to police the police.
Shirley Heafey, the RCMP Complaints Commissioner from 1997 to 2005, spent two years inside the agency as a vice-chair before taking the helm. Prior to that, she worked for the Security Intelligence Review Committee, the oversight body of CSIS, Canada's spy agency.
Asked about Mr. McPhail's appointment, she said the Mounties "are going to love to have him there. He's just a caretaker. There's no power to do anything unless you really push the envelope," she said. "He's coming in cold. There's no way he can do anything in a year . . . he's a complete neophyte."
But that’s exactly what Harper wants. To get nothing done on this, and many other files.
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