OTTAWA - A New Democrat MP is bringing in a private member's bill to create a civilian watchdog agency that would be able to investigate deaths or serious injuries which occur in RCMP custody.
Nathan Cullen says his proposed civilian investigation service would ensure that outsiders look into such events, ending the practice of having the RCMP investigate its own members.
Cullen says public trust in the Mounties has eroded after a number of incidents in recent years and his bill would help rebuild confidence in the force.
Private member's bills rarely become law.
The government has said it is looking at RCMP reforms, but first it wants to see the report of the Air India inquiry, which is expected soon.
Linda Bush, whose son, Ian, was shot to death in a northern B.C. RCMP detachment in 2005, says she fully supports Cullen's bill.
She says she hopes a new oversight agency will prevent the kind of tragedy which struck her family.
Bush says she never got a satisfactory explanation of what happened the night her son died, although the Mountie involved was formally exonerated by the force.
