After months of behind-the-scenes work, the Saskatchewan RCMP is very pleased to announce our participation in Clare's Law – Interpersonal violence disclosure protocol.
"The Saskatchewan RCMP has always played an active role in the planning provincially around Clare's Law. We have been working persistently towards this day for over 10 months, to ensure the people in the communities we police in Saskatchewan are able to exercise their right to ask and participate in Clare's Law," said C/Supt. Alfredo Bangloy, Acting Commanding Officer for the Saskatchewan RCMP. "Saskatchewan was the first province to implement Clare's Law and the Saskatchewan RCMP is one of the first RCMP Divisions to implement in Canada. In order to participate in Clare's Law, changes were required to federal regulations, which we have worked diligently to obtain. We're committed to continuing to support those facing violence in relationships, intimate partner violence and gender based violence."
"Clare's Law is an innovative way to allow individuals at risk to make informed decisions around their safety. We are so pleased that individuals in rural and remote areas of Saskatchewan will not have enhanced access to this valuable program. Cooperation and information sharing between the RCMP and Saskatchewan's municipal police services will assist in identification of risk and allow for more informed safety-planning." - Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan, Inc. (PATHS)
What needed to happen in order for this change to take place?
In Saskatchewan, our police partners began following the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police (SACP) Interpersonal Violence Disclosure Protocol on June 29, 2020, which, under the Act, authorizes a police service to provide disclosure information to a potential victim of interpersonal violence. At that time, the Saskatchewan RCMP was actively part of the provincial Clare's Law committee, but could not participate fully due to our authority around disclosing information that could be considered personal information, as per Section 8 of the Privacy Act.
In the interim, while efforts were being made to make change, the Saskatchewan RCMP implemented a new, enhanced process to ensure that anyone who came forward with concerns, and was identified by the RCMP as being at risk, was provided access to victim services, relevant information and other resources to enhance their safety.
After months of hard work, amendments to the RCMP Regulations, 2014, were proposed, which would allow the RCMP, as the provincial police service, to fully participate in Clare's Law legislation. This included consultations with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and Federal and Provincial governments.
Working with Public Safety Canada, this week the RCMP added new sections to the RCMP Regulations, 2014, that allow for the Saskatchewan RCMP's participation in Clare's Law.
What can the public expect?
The Saskatchewan RCMP is actively taking Clare's Law applications. Applications can be made by:
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a person who feels they are at risk of harm by a current or former intimate partner,
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some third-party individuals with a close personal relationship with the person at risk, who may apply on behalf of that person.
Individuals can attend an RCMP Detachment in the province to make an application for disclosure under the "Right to Ask" protocol to request if there is any risk-related information regarding a current or former intimate partner.
This information can assist them in making informed decisions about their safety, the safety of a loved one, and the relationship.
Each request for information made under Clare's Law is considered on a case-by-case basis and information relating to a request is reviewed by an established committee consisting of police services, Victims Services and The Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan.
About Clare's Law (link to Saskatchewan Government June 2020 announcement – English only)
"Clare's Law" authorizes a police protocol to disclose risk information related to someone's violent or abusive past to intimate partners whose safety may be threatened.
The Interpersonal Violence Disclosure Protocol created under the Act sets out a framework and standard process for the disclosure of information. The information can be disclosed to applicants who believe they may be at risk from an intimate partner ("right to ask"), and to persons identified by police to be at risk ("right to know").