Shortly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, I saw RCMP leadership both at its best and its worst. In British Columbia at the RCMP headquarters where I worked, the divisional commanding officer quickly lost patience with national headquarters and jumped into action.
In Ottawa, the RCMP headquarters was stalling over the wording of a news release drafted to urgently inform the public as to why a heavily armed RCMP shut down all access to Vancouver International Airport. Our commanding officer basically said the hell with it — the exact words I heard were “it would be unconscionable not to” quickly inform the public.
