RCMP running short of officers to protect cabinet ministers from a growing number of threats

The RCMP's close protection unit is running short of the specialized officers it needs to protect elected officials, undermining its ability to respond to federal ministers' growing demands for security services, new figures show.

In the Ottawa region alone, 75 positions out of a total of 315 in the RCMP's protection unit are unstaffed — a vacancy rate of 24 per cent — according to data obtained by Radio-Canada. Similar vacancy rates afflict the RCMP's close protection units in other parts of the country, the RCMP said.

Several RCMP and government officials said the shortage of officers is complicating the force's efforts to protect the prime minister, the Governor General, Supreme Court justices, diplomats and foreign dignitaries.

"Even for the prime minister, they are short-staffed at the moment," said a government source.

The situation is ramping up tensions between the RCMP and the federal government. The police force says it has to earmark its resources for certain ministers or events based on threat evaluations that don't always agree with the demands of ministers or their political staffers.

International Cooperation Minister Harjit Sajjan abruptly cancelled a planned summer appearance at the opening ceremony of an international AIDS conference in Montreal, citing his concerns about the protection offered by the RCMP, sources said.

A number of other ministers are unhappy with the Mounties' protection and sometimes wonder whether the RCMP is taking their concerns seriously, said sources in ministerial offices.

The labour shortage is depressing morale among protection officers struggling to balance their work and family lives. Several sources said they fear that the number of hours worked by team members — often outside of Ottawa itself — exceeds acceptable standards.

"The only reason we are surviving right now is that the members agree to work overtime," said an RCMP source.

The RCMP is modernizing its protection officer training. About fifteen officers have just completed that training and are ready to join this specialized unit.

But recruitment isn't keeping up with attrition and sources say it will take years to recruit and train enough new protection officers to meet the demands of a worsening threat environment for public figures.

The RCMP has requested additional funding for the close protection unit. That request will be studied by the federal cabinet in the coming months.

Supt. Sean Martell, director of RCMP protective services, said "there is more that we want to do." But faced with a shortage of employees specializing in close protection, he said, the RCMP is forced to "prioritize" resources toward essential needs and the most tangible threats.

"We are fortunate that we have very highly trained, very specialized, very dedicated individuals that get the job done. Everything is covered all the time, but at the same time, we realize a need to grow the teams," said Martell.