The RCMP's civilian commissioner will push forward with an agenda of change in the coming year, while his leadership is further tested by an unrelenting conflict with a pack of senior Mounties.

It was in late July when word leaked out that an unspecified group of top Mounties had made formal complaints about the way Commissioner William Elliott went about his work.

They alleged Elliott was abrasive with subordinates, often displaying abusive and bully-like behaviour towards them.

Paul Kennedy, the former RCMP complaints commissioner, told CTV.ca that it was an unprecedented conflict, which involved numerous Mounties -- not a lone individual.

And the officers leading the charge were dedicated career Mounties, the types of people that Kennedy describes as being "the heart and soul" of the RCMP.

The discord inside RCMP headquarters was serious enough that former CSIS director Reid Morden was paid more than $28,000 to complete a "workplace assessment."

To the public watching the drama unfold, it appeared that Elliott's job could be on the line.

In August, Morden reported to Ottawa that there was a high level of tension within the senior ranks regarding the glacial pace of change in the organization.

Elliott emerged from the conflict bruised, but not beaten, and he publicly acknowledged that he is "far from perfect."

After vowing that he and his colleagues would "try and be a more effective team," the Mountie boss went to work reorganizing the people at the top of his organization.

Elliott reduced the number of deputy commissioners in the top brass and he replaced Deputy Commissioner Raf Souccar, who was one of his main critics. Other top Mounties simply retired from the force.

With the turmoil over, Elliott believes "the mood of the senior leadership of the RCMP is very positive" at the end of 2010, according to statements he provided to CTV.ca through his office.

"The new team is united and focused on delivering the highest quality services and continuing our efforts to bring about positive change in the RCMP, to make us more efficient, effective and accountable," he said.

While the commissioner doesn't anticipate any further reorganization of the senior leadership "in the immediate term," Elliott said "further realignments of responsibilities are possible as we continue to work to improve our operations."

Elliott said an additional announcement about a senior appointment is expected before Christmas.

Linda Duxbury, a Carleton University business professor who has done consulting for the Mounties, said the recent changes look like a house-cleaning of the people who made complaints about their boss.

"It seemed that the commissioner punished people who spoke up," Duxbury told CTV.ca in a recent telephone interview from her Ottawa home.

For the RCMP to move forward, "we need to encourage people to speak truth to power," Duxbury said, rather than reinforcing an autocratic culture that handcuffs its critics.

In a phone interview, Liberal public safety critic Mark Holland said that there is "a real cloak of secrecy" around the conflict and the number of Mounties who were involved.

Ottawa's public safety committee is digging into the issue and Holland said that some of Elliott's critics will be among those called to testify. So far, Souccar and former Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonell have been called to appear before the committee in February.

Further challenges

By year's end, Elliott signalled that the force was making progress on more ambitious changes that critics have long said are necessary to building a better RCMP.

During a November speech, Elliot endorsed having the RCMP made into a separate employer, so that it can exercise greater control over its spending and staffing allotments.

Separate employer status would give the RCMP authority to make its own human resources decisions and to manage its budget, as opposed to going to the Treasury Board for approval on these matters.

Elliott also said the RCMP should be overseen by a civilian management board, a change that a federal task force has previously called for.

The commissioner told his audience "the changes we are pursuing are neither simple nor easy. Nor would they be a magic solution or a silver bullet."

Kennedy said these issues are just some of the big-picture problems the RCMP faces, including a wave of baby boomer retirements that has depleted their reserve of experienced officers.

The former RCMP complaints commissioner told CTV.ca that this trend has forced the force to promote its uniformed Mounties sooner than expected, without giving the mentorship they need to grow into their new positions.

"They are going to have to learn their job and how to perform the job on the fly," Kennedy said in a recent telephone interview from his Ottawa home.

Elliott told CTV.ca that the RCMP expects to see turnover in its senior leadership positions "over the coming months and years, including as a result of individuals reaching their retirement dates."

Duxbury said Elliott is "saying all the right things" about the changes he wants to implement in the RCMP.

But she said it is beyond the point where talk will suffice and Elliott will have to produce.

"The commissioner is in an unenviable position, the spotlight is on him," Duxbury said.

With files from The Canadian Press