A new RCMP recruitment video that shows cadets being barked at by a drill instructor and made to adhere to a strict hierarchical command structure is evidence that the force is still steeped in antiquated ways of doing things, some observers say.

Many assessments have knocked the RCMP’s paramilitary style of training and governance, which emphasizes deference to authority and discipline, as a hindrance to modernizing the force.

“Very obviously, there’s a major disconnect between the recommendations about the way in which the organization should be proceeding and what it’s actually doing,” said Rob Gordon, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University.