You Can Depend on It

You can depend on the Mounties letting down the side, that is. This time it's about their retirement fund. This was a topic that had bubbled almost to the surface a couple of times, only to be submerged by a different lump in the stew that is the RCMP.

As the story goes, it seems that somebody noticed there were 'problems' of an undefined sort with the RCMP pension plan, at that time administered by senior members of the force. I believe the concern was that certain budgetary measures were being met from the interest or corpus of the fund. The matter was solved when the senior members opted to turn the fund over to outside management.

Well, apparently, they made a cock-up of that as well and this is where he current story lies. Former governments were informed of the problems but, for one reason or another, things were left as they were. Now the 'originators' are retired from the force - enjoying their pensions or warming chairs in CSIS or private security outfits. And the 'caca' they made is ripening for dispersal by fan.

Among other things, it seems they hired members of their families as the 'outside administrators' and paid them better-than-competitive wage scales for looking after the boodle. It seems there were 'buyouts' made that shouldn't have been made and that critics of policy were silenced or shipped off to the much desired traffic patrol at Pearson Airport in Toronto or the one man post at Okotoks. All the small potatoes crap that makes the high echelon RCMP seem like such a bunch of putzi.

And smack dab in the middle of all of it ' Zack'- the master of the horse! But he's gone and the acting superintendant, commissar, or whatever, bears a resemblance to Frau Farbessina. I hope she's whipping the boys into shape. But I doubt it. Another big expense coming up - and I'll bet we have to kick into that retirement fund to boot.