A6

Jim Bronskill
THE CANADIAN PRESS

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OTTAWA - The watchdog over the RCMP won't be invited back for another term, prompting one critic to accuse the government of muzzling him.

The government says it's not renewing the appointment of Paul Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

Kennedy, who assumed the job four years ago, has harshly criticized the RCMP's use of Tasers and recently sparred with the government over his budget.

In a statement Friday, the government thanked Kennedy for his service, but gave no reason for not extending his term.

Don Davies, the NDP public safety critic, said Kennedy's departure is the latest example of the Conservative government's inability to withstand negative comments.

"I think it's wrong and I think it's unfortunate," he said.

"It smacks of political partisanship. I don't think they like to be criticized and I think they like to put their own people in."

Davies noted others have been marginalized for saying things the government doesn't like, citing parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page, author of unflattering reports about federal spending, and diplomat Richard Colvin, who raised alarms over the treatment of Afghan detainees.

Kennedy is preparing to release a report on RCMP actions in the high-profile case of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died at the Vancouver airport in October 2007 after being Tasered by the Mounties.

A Public Safety official called Kennedy last week to tell him he won't be renewed. Kennedy's term expires at the end of December and a replacement has yet to be named.

He declined comment Friday.

Kennedy, a veteran public servant, is a trained lawyer who spent 25 years with the federal Justice Department before joining the then-solicitor general's portfolio, now Public Safety, where he retired in May 2005 as a senior assistant deputy minister.

The government has been working on a long-awaited modernization of RCMP oversight. But it has outlined no timetable for making changes.

Kennedy has taken a keen interest in the process, arguing his office doesn't have enough powers to properly oversee the RCMP.