Supreme Court to examine timeliness of tribunal’s decisions on RCMP labour issues

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will look at whether a tribunal’s decisions on RCMP labour issues should be issued within strict timelines.

The top court has agreed to review the handling of cases by the RCMP External Review Committee — an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal that examines appeals of labour relations matters and provides recommendations to the RCMP commissioner.

Several RCMP members went to Federal Court after waiting many months for the external review committee to address their appeals of internal decisions on harassment complaints or disciplinary matters.

The members asked the Federal Court for an order requiring the committee to make findings and recommendations on each of their appeals within 30 days, and a second order requiring the committee to publish service standards applicable to every appeal file.

The Federal Court dismissed the members’ arguments but the Federal Court of Appeal later accepted them in part.

The Court of Appeal ordered the external review committee to issue findings and recommendations in the outstanding appeals within six months, but allowed the committee to apply — on reasonable grounds — for an extension of time.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2026.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press