RCMP Watch

RCMP members launch a new battle for the right to organize

Canada’s national force is the only police force in the country denied the right to bargain collectively

Toronto (24 May 2006) - A new attempt is being made to unionize the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s famous red-coated national police force.

The force is currently barred from organizing by the Public Service Labour Relations Act and other statutory and regulatory provisions.

Associations representing members of the 133-year-old national police force in Ontario and British Columbia have asked the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to declare that the laws violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

One of the key issues cited in the case, which could expose the inner workings of the force as never before, says the existing restrictions leave members vulnerable to harassment by superiors. Several supporting affidavits detail sexual assaults and harassment of female officers.

“Women members of the RCMP, together with other members of minority groups protected (by the Charter), are peculiarly vulnerable to mistreatment by management,” says a formal motion filed with the court.

“Among other things, members of minority groups are victimized by the RCMP’s culture, which favours men and those with Western European backgrounds.”

Secretive procedures targeted

The application specifically targets the RCMP’s Code of Conduct, which prohibits members from making any public criticism of the RCMP, its staff relations program and internal dispute resolution procedures, all of which are overseen by the force’s top Mountie, the federal RCMP Commissioner in Ottawa.

The RCMP is the only major police force in Canada that does not have an independent members’ association, or union, to negotiate with management. The existing associations formed by members have no legal status and cannot bargain on behalf of members.

“Members feel vulnerable and frustrated,” says Martin Doane of the Toronto law firm Doane Phillips Young LLP, which is handling the case for the RCMP associations.

“The public does not understand the working conditions under which RCMP members are asked to carry out their jobs. The issue is about the quality of the workplace. The membership does not seek the right to strike.

“The application is about giving members the choice to select independent representation, just like every other police force in Canada. The application is about being fair to the members, and according them due consideration and respect for the difficult job they do.”

Only 42% think they are treated fairly

Doane says 89% of RCMP members surveyed are strongly committed to the RCMP but only 47% feel members are trusted and respected, and only 42% think they are treated fairly. The problem is systemic.

The firm says the groups are prepared to take their fight to “the highest level of appeal” if necessary - the Supreme Court of Canada - but it is hoping the government will take action on its own to correct the situation and make a protracted legal battle unnecessary.

This is not the first attempt to unionize the force, which has been prohibited in one form or another from doing so since a 1919 order in council adopted by the federal cabinet of the day.

In 1999, the Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in another court challenge that RCMP officers do not have a constitutional right to organize. At that time, the court concluded: “It is because RCMP members perform a crucial function in maintaining order during conflicts that may arise in society that Parliament set them apart from other public service employees.” NUPGE