In recent weeks, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top cop, Brenda Lucki, has faced mounting criticism over her leadership of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). In Canada everything goes by the wish of Trudeau. And if you dared to defy his diktats, the “liberal” PM will hunt you down. But let me also inform you that this ‘once upon a time’ Trudeau lackey is not a bad player. It looks like she is following the good old saying “If I go down, I am taking everyone with me”.
So, is it possible that even Trudeau and his government might be in trouble? Who is this person eyeing Trudeau and what kind of troubles are we talking about? Stay tuned to find out.
On Feb 15, 2023, Brenda Lucki, commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), has declared her retirement and will vacate her position in the coming month. “Personal decision” was the reason she stated to leave the post after serving for five years. Brenda Lucki was appointed by Justin Trudeau in March 2018 to become the RCMP’s 24th commissioner, replacing Bob Paulson.
The departing commissioner had a difficult year since she was the target of accusations of political meddling and received mixed reviews for how she presented herself in front of commissions and in public investigations.
Even after a hell lot of criticism, she was still able to survive and continue to serve because she had the support of Justin Trudeau who wouldn’t take any strict action against her. So, she continued taking controversial decisions without much fear.
But the twist in the story came after the federal government issued “no brutality order”.
The national police force was engulfed in a slew of scandals involving claims of sexual harassment, bullying, and a hostile work environment. Brenda Lucki and RCMP in particular were continuously on the radar of immense and increasing hatred of the public as well as the government for years due to insane violence executed by them in number of previous incidents.
The first major controversy that brought Brenda Lucki under scrutiny was the RCMP’s handling of the Indigenous land dispute in British Columbia. In February 2020, the RCMP was authorized to enforce a court order that allowed Coastal GasLink to access land claimed by the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. The move was met with protests and blockades by Indigenous activists and their allies, who argued that the land in question was unceded territory.
In the following days, the RCMP carried out a series of raids and arrests, which led to a further escalation of tensions. The police action was criticized by many who felt that the RCMP’s approach was heavy-handed and insensitive to the concerns of the Indigenous community.
In the aftermath of the events in British Columbia, Brenda Lucki faced calls for her resignation from Indigenous leaders and their allies. At a press conference in February 2020, Brenda Lucki defended the actions of RCMP, stating that the force was only enforcing a court order and that the use of force was necessary to ensure public safety.
However, comments of Brenda Lucki were met with skepticism and outrage by many who felt that the RCMP was acting inappropriately and contributing to a climate of fear and hostility towards Indigenous people.
But after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, the rage of public went out of hands. The RCMP was widely condemned for crossing all the limits of brutality.
It finally compelled the federal government to intervene and take action. The government asked the RCMP to scale back its harshness. They urged the police force for a less lethal intervention and passed a “no brutality” order.
But shockingly the federal police force was so firm in its character that it said a clear ‘No’ to even to its masters in the government.
Brenda’s aggressive defiance of Trudeau’s orders undoubtedly enraged him. How can ‘Liberal’ Prime Minister sit quietly after Brenda bit the hands that fed him? We all know that Trudeau will not miss a chance to pursue his personal grudge against her.
Last year in November, she was asked to respond to critics about her performance as commissioner, Lucki asserted saying, “I’m absolutely staying on as commissioner of the RCMP.”
But what happened that prompted Brenda to resign from her post so quickly that she couldn’t even wait until May 23, that marked 150th anniversary of RCMP. A top cop who always stood up for RCMP, who always believed in her force no matter what, who even went against her federal masters for RCMP and who genuinely loved serving the force didn’t care to attend a very important milestone for the federal force? Why? Allow me to explain.
Brenda Lucki announced her retirement just days ahead of ‘Freedom Convoy’ report which was prepared under her. The eagerly awaited report from the committee looking into how the federal government handled its unprecedented deployment of the Emergencies Act in response to the “Freedom Convoy” protests last year will be made public on Friday. Brenda has resigned a few days prior to its release.
So, is there anything in the report that, if made public, will put the federal government or Brenda in danger? Brenda has been working with the Trudeau administration for many years, and it is clear that after her defiance of Trudeau’s diktats Brenda is in trouble.
“I never wanted to be seen as running away and I know there’s so much more to do. But it’s my time,” she said.
“The ‘Brenda’ in me had to take quite a few hits on the chin at times when I needed to stay quiet and not engage in the noise,” she stated in her memo.
Brenda’s resignation has raised many eyebrows and only time will tell that what happens after the report comes out. It is clear that the report will create controversies but who will get engulfed in them is unclear.
