Legal Aid and Protection Available to RCMP Officers Since 1998
Mounted Police Members’ Legal Fund Sets the Record Straight
OTTAWA, June 13, 2013 – Mounted Police Members’ Legal Fund (MPMLF) set the record straight today on the legal support and protection currently available to RCMP officers across the country.
“In media reports yesterday, the impression was left that accused and aggrieved RCMP officers had to fend for themselves in our justice system. Nothing could be further from the truth,” said MPMLF Chair Paul Joyal. “There has been an independent legal fund in place for RCMP members since 1998. Our mandate is to protect the dignity and welfare of our 17,000 members and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for over fifteen years.”
The Mounted Police Members’ Legal Fund is a not-for-profit corporation that is not affiliated with the RCMP. It is funded entirely with voluntary dues from its members and acts to represent their interests in legal and policy disputes with the Government of Canada and the RCMP itself. The MPMLF also has the ability to intervene in areas that affect the collective rights of its members on any issue that may affect their dignity or welfare such as health and safety, workplace treatment, and remuneration.
Over the years, the MPMLF has represented hundreds of RCMP officers in their legal disputes; fought a wage roll-back in 2008; contributed to and supported the Pay Council in negotiating compensation packages with the Government of Canada; and, will vigorously challenge any attempt to suppress or override the rights of RCMP members as a result of Bill C-42: An Act to Amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act.
“RCMP officers may disagree about what labour relations model the Force should be following but nobody can say that the Mounted Police Members’ Legal Fund doesn’t stand with and for its members,” concluded Joyal. “We have been with them in the past and we will be with them in the future, regardless of the changes that C-42 will bring.”
For more information, please contact:
Paul Joyal (204) 471-1556
Roy Hill (709) 682-8926
For more information on the Mounted Police Members’ Legal Fund, please go to http://en.mplegalfund.com/