To respond to emerging threats, the RCMP needs to refocus on its core mandate

opinion

RCMP members march on Parliament Hill in September.

Kevin Lynch is a former clerk, and Jim Mitchell a former senior executive, of the Privy Council Office. They are co-authors of A New Blueprint for Government: Reshaping Power, the PMO and the Public Service.

Iconic institutions are notoriously difficult to modernize. Despite the revolution of electronic mail, new and sophisticated parcel-delivery competitors, and increasing consumer choice, Canada Post and its unions have clung to their old business model, losing customers by the millions and costing taxpayers in the billions. To its credit, the Carney government has said enough is enough, instituting a long overdue restructuring.

Another, much more iconic, organization is in serious need of modernization – the RCMP . Here,