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Police - RCMP External Review Committee (ERC). Benison v. Canada (Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee)
In Benison v. Canada (Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee) (Fed CA, 2026) the Federal Court of Appeal considered an appeal, here brought against the dismissal of a JR seeking "orders of mandamus to (1) compel the RCMP External Review Committee [ERC] to complete its review of the appeals they had filed of certain internal RCMP decisions within 30 calendar days of the Decision and (2) to publish and report on the service standards that apply to the review of every appeal file before it".
Here the court reviews the RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) statutory tribunal regime:A. The Statutory Framework
[7] The ERC is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal established through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R-10 [the Act or the RCMP Act]. It is seized by the RCMP’s Office for the Coordination of Grievances and Appeals when a member of the RCMP initiates an appeal of an internal RCMP labour-related decision. The ERC then analyzes the file and issues non-binding findings and recommendations to the RCMP Commissioner, who decides the appeal and thus may or, with justifications, may not follow the ERC’s recommendations.
[8] ERC review is required for files that raise certain subject-matters before they can proceed to an appeal before the RCMP Commissioner. While members can request to opt-out from the ERC process under subsection 45.15(3) of the Act, the RCMP Commissioner may decline such requests.
[9] In 2014, legislative and regulatory amendments [the 2014 amendments] significantly extended the range of matters which required referrals to the ERC before they could proceed to an appeal: Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act, S.C. 2013, c. 18 [Enhancing RCMP Accountability Act]; Royal Canadian Mounted Police Regulations, 2014, S.O.R./2014-281 [the Regulations]. Following the 2014 amendments, these matters included the review of appeals of: (1) sanctions exceeding one day of pay; (2) administrative discharges and demotions, including on grounds of disability, absence or leaving duty without authorization, or conflict of interest; (3) directions to resign, recommendations for dismissal or dismissals; (4) stoppage of pay and allowances following suspension; and (5) harassment complaints: s. 45.15 of the Act, s. 17 of the Regulations. As a result of the 2014 amendments, the ERC’s caseload increased: while it previously received a yearly average of 31 cases, this number increased to 102 beginning in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
[10] Following the 2014 amendments, the ERC adopted a prioritization system to address its increased backlog, which classified appeals depending upon the nature and severity of the decision under appeal and the date at which they were filed. The severity ranking lists eleven types of decision, with discharges and dismissals without pay pegged at the highest level of severity. Financial penalties and the dismissal of a harassment complaint following an investigation are classified at the lowest levels of severity. This latter class of decisions excludes complaints for racial and sexual harassment, which have a higher priority even if they have been dismissed after an investigation.
[11] Acting under section 28.1 of the Act, the ERC produced service standards respecting the time limits within which it is to deal with grievances and appeal cases that are referred to it. First, a "“prescreening service standard,”" which took effect in April 2020, requires that 85% of all files coming into the ERC be prescreened within 30 days of receipt. Prescreening ensures that case records referred to the ERC are complete and that there are no preliminary issues that would prevent their review. It also allows cases to be prioritized according to their impact. Second, a "“findings and recommendations service standard,”" which took effect on April 1, 2022 and applies prospectively, commits the ERC to issuing its findings and recommendations in 75% of files coming into the ERC within the year following their intake.
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