RCMP reverses decision on officer slated to replace N.B.'s top cop
CBC
The RCMP officer slated to take over the top policing job in New Brunswick won't be taking the position after all, a spokesperson for the RCMP in Ottawa has confirmed.
Sgt. Caroline Duval said "a decision has been made by the RCMP to not proceed with the pending appointment of C/Supt Kevin Leahy as Commanding Officer in New Brunswick."
No reasons were given for the decision.
In an emailed statement, Duval said Chief Superintendent Leahy "remains an active member of the RCMP."
Leahy currently heads the Parliamentary Protective Service in Ottawa.
Duval said the RCMP will ensure an interim commanding officer "will be put in place until a permanent replacement is named."
Leahy was in line to take over for Assistant Commissioner Larry Tremblay after Tremblay was pushed out of the job earlier this year by the Higgs government.
In July, Public Safety Minister Ted Flemming used Article 7.4 of the province's policing agreement with the RCMP to ask for the immediate replacement of Tremblay.
In a letter to the head of the RCMP, Flemming said Tremblay "no longer commands my confidence" and should be replaced.
Flemming told RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki in the July 15 letter that Tremblay had been an "an exemplary public servant" but that, "regrettably," he was not helping the government "drive significant change" in law enforcement.
Flemming said the government considered it particularly urgent to make drug crime and crime driven by drugs the top policing priority in the province and to "reverse the trend of diminishing RCMP accountability to local government leaders."
Public Safety released the letter after a request from CBC News. Before its release, an RCMP spokesperson said Tremblay had made "a personal decision" to retire at the end of this month.
Tremblay has not responded to a CBC request for an interview, while Duval said a similar request to talk to Leahy was declined.
Under the RCMP's 20-year agreement to provide provincial policing services in New Brunswick, the commanding officer of J Division acts "under the direction" of the Public Safety minister.
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