The IIU is comprised of a civilian director, an investigative team and an administrative team. The administrative team directly supports the investigative team and consists of the director of strategic policy and coordination, office manager and information administrator. The investigative team is led by a director of investigations and two team commanders and is comprised of eight investigator positions

Organizational Chart

Civilian Director

The civilian director is accountable for the administration and operation of Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU). The civilian director oversees investigators and police officers seconded to the IIU, support staff, and subject matter experts (who may be required on a case-by-case basis to provide technical expertise). By law, the Civilian Director is required to exercise independent judgement and act independently of all agencies in making operational decisions about investigations conducted under The Police Services Act. As a result, the civilian director must be sensitive to a wide range of issues, including reaction by community groups, police and the media. The civilian director must provide leadership to investigative staff in a high energy, and sometimes difficult, working environment

Roxanne Gagné was appointed as civilian director of the IIU on July 1, 2023. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Manitoba in 2008. She is an active member of the Law Society of Manitoba and of the Barreau du Québec. She is also a certified mediator with the Barreau du Québec. Prior to her appointment, Ms Gagné was appointed as a Justice of the Peace Magistrate with the Provincial Court of Manitoba. She later joined the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), and worked there for the past 20 years. She was responsible for various serious and complex prosecutions, both in the Manitoba Regional Office and the Québec Regional Office. She worked on various consultation tables including the PPSC National Committee for Interaction with Indigenous Peoples and the Criminal Justice System. Ms Gagné also worked for Justice Canada in the National Capital Region, in the Indigenous Rights and Relations Portfolio. Ms Gagné was an active member of her community serving as a volunteer for causes involving the homeless and other marginalized communities.

Director of Investigations

The director of investigations is accountable to the civilian director for the overall leadership and supervision of the IIU team commander and investigators.

The director of investigations plays a crucial and direct role in identifying all critical and emerging human resource, policy, investigative and risk-management issues. Further, under the direction of the civilian director, the director of investigations supports and manages the strategic goals of the IIU.

The director of investigations participates in internal and external committees and teams, representing the IIU and the civilian director’s perspectives, as required.

Team Commander

The team commander is responsible for managing investigations and commanding the IIU investigative team. On the civilian director’s authorization, the team commander deploys investigators to incidents where it appears the actions of a police officer may have caused a death, serious injury or prescribed offence.

The team commander is on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, dispatching the IIU investigators. The team commander assesses investigative information and determines the appropriate level of response, priority and course of action. When an incident has been referred to the IIU by a police chief, and meets the mandate of the IIU, the team commander will assign a primary investigator and as many additional investigators as required.

Senior Investigators

Reporting to the team commander of the IIU, investigators are responsible for investigating assigned incidents under The Police Services Act.

Investigators assess investigational information received from police agencies, attend on scene, report incidents and determine an appropriate level of response. They also assess the scope and determine the methodology needed to carry out an efficient investigation. This may include the need to evaluate the demand for specialized assistance and support such as identification or other forensic services, surveillance and a determination of what evidence is required and who should be interviewed.

Pursuant to The Independent Investigation Regulation, IIU investigators must have experience in major crime investigations or experience conducting and managing a wide range of complex investigations.

Director of Strategic Policy and Coordination

The director of strategic policy and coordination (SPC) is responsible for managing, developing and implementing policies for the IIU with the objective of ensuring that all investigations conducted are professional, effective and consistent. The SPC will develop extensive strategic recommendations to support and enhance operational, investigative and administrative business and policy development under the authority of The Police Services Act as it relates to the mandate of the llU.

The SPC is also responsible for the identification and analysis of solutions for business procedural/systems review, feasibility studies, cost benefit analysis, business solution evaluations, business requirements definition and detailed policy and procedure and specification documents.

Office Manager

The office manager is responsible for administration of the IIU, purchasing, invoice payments, human resources, as well as providing dedicated support to the civilian director.

Information Administrator

The information administrator (IA) is responsible for coordinating, prioritizing, verifying and organizing documents and other information pertaining to an investigation. The IA ensures that compliance requirements have been met to ensure the integrity of the records management process.

The IA is responsible for file management, document preparation, analysis and linking of information, scanning and exhibits. The IA organizes incoming data for entry into an electronic major case management application.