Pubdate: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Copyright: 2007 The Ottawa Citizen Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n365/a02.html Author: William Lin and Carly Weeks with files from Richard Watts, Ottawa Citizen RCMP ORDERS PROBE OF WITNESS CASE Police to review facts concerning man who committed murder while in protection program William Lin and Carly Weeks with files from Richard Watts The Ottawa Citizen The RCMP has ordered a thorough review of facts concerning a former informant-turned-agent over allegations he abused the Witness Protection Program. Assistant Commissioner of Federal and International Operations Raf Souccar ordered the review after the Citizen reported on a man formerly known as Richard Young, who allegedly supplied false information and later committed murder as a protected witness, RCMP spokesman Martin Blais said yesterday. The review, which will be conducted by RCMP officers in British Columbia, will include a "complete briefing of the facts surrounding the investigation of Mr. Young conducted in 'E' Division," said Sgt. Blais, referring to an RCMP division in British Columbia. Opposition parties are also calling on the Conservative government to look into allegations of the program's potential abuse, as well as concerns over its secrecy and lack of accountability. "We don't know if there's systemic issues here, or if it's isolated," Liberal public safety critic Sue Barnes said yesterday. "I think it raises some disturbing questions about the operations of the Witness Protection Program." NDP public safety critic Joe Comartin wants the federal government to launch an independent inquiry into the case of the informant-turned-agent who later committed murder as a protected witness. Mr. Young allegedly provided false information about a man the RCMP believed was a major drug dealer in Victoria. The man was later promoted to a paid agent, despite doubts about his credibility that were raised by a police polygraph specialist. After participating in an RCMP-initiated drug "buy and bust" in 2001, Mr. Young was put in the Witness Protection Program. He was later convicted of murder, but because he's a protected witness, no details of the case can be published or released. Now, opposition parties are speaking out about what they say are indications the Witness Protection Program is too secretive and may be rife with abuses the public is never told about. It may be time to change the way the program is run to increase the level of accountability and ensure problems or abuses aren't ignored, they said. "I think a number of us for a long time have felt uncomfortable with the fact it's just the police services that make the decision on whether somebody's going to be allowed in this program and feel that we need an oversight," Mr. Comartin said. He said the protection program, which costs between $2 million and $3 million a year, is not accountable and must be changed to include the use of judges, so police forces aren't solely responsible for choosing who is allowed in the protection program or promoted from RCMP informant to agent. "Oversight in itself is not sufficient. We need actual intervention by judicial authorities as the process is ongoing -- not after the fact," Mr. Comartin said yesterday. "I want to prevent the abuse and the only way you can do that is to have the intervention before the process starts. Mr. Comartin and Ms. Barnes said they plan to raise the issue at the House of Commons public safety committee in order to determine whether there are widespread problems within the Witness Protection Program. Ms. Barnes said she wants officials from the program to appear before the committee to get the full answers surrounding this case and whether there are problems with the program's operations. "At this point, we don't have sufficient information," she said. Tom Bulmer, a lawyer who took on the case of the accused Victoria drug dealer after he was introduced to him through Mr. Young, had accused the RCMP of negligence for dismissing a polygraph report that questioned Mr. Young's credibility. He also had suspicions about Mr. Young. Mr. Bulmer said in an interview that he would like to see federal politicians amend the act so the public is better protected. After all, Mr. Young, who was convicted of killing someone while using his new identity, was handed money and inserted into a new community where he committed the act, Mr. Bulmer said. "There has to be a balance to protect that other community as well," Mr. Bulmer said, noting police routinely put out public and media warnings on newly released offenders. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day was not in Ottawa yesterday, but a spokeswoman said he is aware of the issue. "Minister Day is looking into these reports and has asked for a full briefing. Tackling crime in all its forms is a priority of this government," spokeswoman Melisa Leclerc wrote in an e-mail. But Mr. Comartin said the federal government needs to hold an independent inquiry to address the disturbing issues raised by Mr. Young's story. "There definitely should be an independent one," he said. "We're not sure that we're being given accurate information." Although there is a clear need to keep details of the protection program from the public, such as any information that could identify witnesses, Canadians deserve to have some information about the program, said Edward Prutschi, a Toronto criminal lawyer. "There's a very clear reason why Canadians want accountability from the program," he said. "Should things like overall cost of the program, number of persons in the program, identifying issues like that don't actually give you an indication of who the person is or how the program functions. Should Canadians be able to access that kind of information? I think the answer is yes." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman