Under mounting pressure from animal-rights activists, the RCMP is testing a synthetic alternative to its standard-issue muskrat hat. Though not as famous as the postcard Mountie's buff-coloured stetson, the blue-topped, flap-eared fur cap has been in use for 70 years and in such a wintry country is the police force's real headgear workhorse. Photo: Postmedia News files When the Conservative government announced two months ago that it was ordering the RCMP to reverse its decision to curtail the use of muskrat fur hats, it raised questions among bureaucrats over whether the government had the authority to do so, internal emails show.
The emails, obtained by Postmedia News under access-to-information laws, suggested that in the past three decades there had never been any written orders — known as ministerial directives — related to what Mounties wear and that such decisions were the domain of RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson.
“From a legal perspective, there do not appear to be any prior Ministerial Directives (we have gone back to 1981) that would provide a precedent for the Minister directing the RCMP with regard to uniform/headwear,” Mark Potter, director general within Public Safety Canada’s law enforcement and policing branch, wrote to his colleagues on Oct. 1.
“Also, the regulations flowing from the RCMP Act indicate that the Commissioner is responsible for non-formal uniform/headwear decisions.”
Nevertheless, the RCMP complied with the government’s wishes and will allow members the choice of sticking with the traditional muskrat fur hats or wearing new wool toques in the winter, a spokesman confirmed Friday.
Sgt. Greg Cox said a contract for the toques will be awarded in the near future. “Once both hats are available, they will be issued to members who will have a choice as to which winter hat best suits their climate and operational needs,” he said.
RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
A spokesman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney refused to say whether a formal ministerial directive had been issued to the RCMP. “Our Government agrees with the RCMP decision to ensure that all RCMP members have access to the iconic muskrat fur winter hat,” Jason Tamming said in an email.
Giving members a choice over wool or fur hats was not what the RCMP had wanted.
In late September, the RCMP announced that it was undertaking a “significant move away” from the use of muskrat fur in its winter hats in favour of merino wool toques after listening to the concerns of the public and employees.
The wool toques would become the new “standard” winter head dress. The muskrat fur hats would be reserved only to those working in “extreme winter conditions.”
Media lines prepared at the time noted that there would be a cost savings as well. The fur hats cost about $48 each, whereas the wool toques cost about $20.
The decision was hailed as a victory by The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals.
But on Sept. 30, Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq told the House of Commons that the government would “stand up for Canada’s hunters and trappers,” and that Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney was taking action to ensure that the fur winter hats would not be discontinued.
“The RCMP decision, which is causing much glee among anti-fur activists, is being fully overturned,” she said.
That afternoon, Meribeth Morris, a senior departmental assistant in the public safety minister’s office, sent an email to Lynne Cyr, a special advisor in Public Safety Canada’s law enforcement and policing branch, asking that a ministerial directive be drafted by the next day.
The directive “should be based on freedom of choice” for members to decide whether they wish to be issued wool or fur hats, Morris wrote.
The next day a proposed directive was drafted. It stated, “I direct that the RCMP maintain its current policy … as it relates to fur hats to its members and cadets.”
But the wording created some confusion. By reverting to the original policy, did this mean wool hats would be scrapped altogether, asked Kathy Thompson, assistant deputy minister in Public Safety Canada. “So when they say return to original, where’s the choice?” she asked.
Thompson also wondered whether the RCMP had been consulted to determine whether the force still had a supplier for the fur hats.
Internal emails suggested that instead of a written order, the minister’s office would work informally with the RCMP on developing a hat policy that respected the government’s objectives and met the RCMP’s operational requirements.
Dquan@Postmedia.com
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