Stan Lowe announced last week on behalf of the BC attorney general that no RCMP officer involved in the death of Robert Dziekanski in October, 2007 would face criminal charges. Readers of Paul Palango's latest book, Dispersing the Fog: Inside the Secret World of Ottawa and the RCMP, would not be surprised.

In an earlier book, The Last Guardians, he provided ample evidence for the decline of the ethos and effectiveness of the RCMP. What once deserved the respect of Canadians does so no longer. What once put fear into the hearts of outlaw bikers and white collar criminals now inspires mirth.

Instead of dealing with the dysfunctional reality the RCMP has become, the Mounties have responded with massive PR-offensives. The result is an epidemic of scarlet fever among politicians the likes of which used only to be found among small-town high-school girls for the local constable. "We love our Mounties," they say in chorus. But why? "What is there to love?" asked Palango. His answer: precious little.

Palango provided evidence beyond a reasonable doubt in support of his thesis. The heart of the story, as both former RCMP Inspector Bill Majcher and Dorothy Franklin, a former director of law enforcement in the federal solicitor general's office, said: "the RCMP is a cult." At the centre of any cult is the oath. An ordinary cop swears allegiance to the sovereign or to Canada but the RCMP oath "is essentially an oath of allegiance to the RCMP." That makes the Mounties unique. "There is no police force like it in the world, and for good reason."

Two accounts stand out. The first occurred to the unfortunate Mr. Dziekanski (you can watch it on YouTube). Police self-defence instructor Robbie Cressman said that "one properly trained officer" could have handled the situation. Instead one finds "an excellent example of improper training and the application of that poor training." The four horsemen of Dziekanski's apocalypse "did nothing right." Not a single procedure in the National Use-of force Framework protocol was followed.

But then, a Singapore Airlines jumbo jet had just arrived and the airport wanted the area closed. Zap! No wonder the locals started throwing eggs at RCMP cruisers.

In Kamloops last May Frank Lasser, 82, was thrice Tasered in his hospital bed after wielding not a stapler like Dziekanski but a jack-knife. "Get him," said the sergeant, "we got more important work to do on the street tonight."

Palango provided a politically incorrect but commonsensical explanation. Instead of big guys in their 20s, the RCMP now takes 48-year old cadets and little guys and gals. Unable to defend themselves physically, they rely on technology. You don't have to be big to zap somebody.

Even more politically incorrect, Palango questioned the presence of women Mounties. According to Bill Majcher, "it's rare to find a woman doing a dangerous assignment at 3 a.m. That's not fair to anyone." Especially not to the men who have to take up the dangerous slack and end up in controversial situations, "the kiss of death to a career." Women avoid trouble and get promoted.

The other big story concerned Maher Arar. He explained how yet another massive PR campaign made Arar and his wife Monia Mazigh "politically bulletproof" and discussed the limitations of the O'Connor report that investigated selected aspects of the Arar affair. He raised questions about Arar's experiences in the US, in Syria, and in Canada that no official has. Indeed, he pointed out that Arar has never answered a single question under oath.

For example: Palango analyzed Arar's famous October 12, 2001 lunch at Mango's Café with Abdullah Almalki, a person of interest to CSIS because of his association with the notorious Khadr family, and their walk in the rain to converse –a bit of elementary tradecraft designed to prevent electronic eavesdropping. Second, he raised a commonsensical question: if Arar had been tortured in Syria, why has no one seen the physical evidence?

Since Ottawa is unlikely to do anything about the RCMP, it's up to the provinces. The renewal of the RCMP contract in 2012 provides the occasion. It turns out that is takes less than $100K to put a sheriff on the QE II but $160K for an RCMP. Why should Albertans waste money for the next 20 years with these incompetent agents of Ottawa?

Someone should give Premier Stelmach Palango's book for Christmas. He could perform a service both to Albertans and to the rest of the country.