IQALUIT - The results of an RCMP employee opinion survey show police in Nunavut give low marks to their safety, work-life balance and training opportunities, and they don't think too highly of their top brass.

Steve McVarnock: RCMP V Division commander says a lack of training opportunities is being addressed.

Of those officers who answered nationwide, only 26 per cent agreed that "RCMP develops capable senior leaders with the right competencies to carry out executive responsibilities." In Nunavut, 18 per cent agreed.

Also under fire were elements of how the RCMP operates. Of national respondents, 32 per cent approved of how resources are deployed. In Nunavut it was 25 per cent. For staffing deployment (a.k.a. human resources), 21 per cent approved nationally, and 16 per cent in Nunavut.

Supt. Steve McVarnock, new V Division commander, said the survey served as a "check-up" to gauge what's good and what needs work about the RCMP's organization.

"I viewed it as a great opportunity coming in here," he said. "What a way to start, to have a report card thrown at you."

Of the low numbers on leadership approval, McVarnock said they showed a need for management to communicate effectively with those on the ground.

"There's an unknown in the lower ranks of the world we (management) live in," he said. "The onus is on us as managers to communicate our world to the rank-and-file."

McVarnock said the survey highlighted two problems which are more pronounced in Nunavut's RCMP than in most of the rest of the country. Per capita, more respondents in Nunavut voiced negative opinions of training opportunities than elsewhere in Canada.

"I could have predicted this because we are unlike any other jurisdiction in the country," he said.

Officers in remote communities have limited opportunities to take courses and get certified in new techniques and tools to help them on the job.

This week the RCMP is holding a course in Iqaluit on "containment" – how to look after a dangerous situation until an emergency response team arrives.

McVarnock said he had already been aware of the training situation in V Division, and the containment course was one example by which he was addressing it.

Nunavut officers also gave poor ratings to their work-life balance and health and safety. Thirty-one per cent of Nunavummiut officers agreed with the statement "At the RCMP, the health, safety and well-being of employees are promoted," compared to 52 per cent nationally.

McVarnock said those problems stem from the remoteness of Nunavut's communities. In detachments with only two members, emergency back-up is hours away at best. The murder of Cpl. Doug Scott in Kimmirut in the fall of 2007 made that problem clear.

New regulations introduced in 2008 established that no RCMP member should ever be the only cop in a community, and the organization had to provide a relief member if one person went on vacation.

Officers in remote detachments are always on call even when off-duty. That affects their home life because they can't really relax, McVarnock said.

A new policy created two months ago has instituted on-call pay for officers, he said.