Meagan Fitzpatrick (CBC News) – Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Monday he is concerned about allegations of sexual harassment recently made by RCMP officers and plans to raise the issue with the force’s next commissioner.
CBC News has been reporting on Mounties who say they experienced years of sexual harassment on the job. In an internal RCMP complaint, Cpl. Catherine Galliford makes serious allegations about misconduct inside the RCMP. She shared the complaint with CBC News and spoke with reporter Natalie Clancy about her claims.
After Clancy’s report on Nov. 7, another female officer came forward and said she was also sexually harassed and that she was assaulted. Krista Carle said she knows of other women who have faced harassment and that when she tried to complain about the harassment she was experiencing, management tried to cover up the complaint.
Carle, who graduated from the RCMP’s training academy with Galliford in 1991, is now off the job and says she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Galliford is also off duty and on sick leave and says she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I am very concerned about these very troubling reports,” said Toews, the minister responsible for the RCMP. “We expect all members of the RCMP to carry out their duties with integrity and professionalism. Our government is committed to providing all women in the RCMP a workplace free of sexual harassment. I will be raising this issue with the new commissioner very shortly.”
Toews made the comments when asked by the NDP about the allegations in question period. Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae also raised the issue and Defence Minister Peter MacKay responded that he expects the new RCMP commissioner “to be seized with this issue immediately.”
“The government’s policy, including the RCMP of course, is a zero tolerance with respect to harassment in the workplace. That is expected of every department, particularly the RCMP,” said MacKay.
The government has not yet announced who the new commissioner is that will replace William Elliott. Elliott is still in the position until the new head is named.
Elliott issued a letter to employees last week saying that although the allegations are from several years ago, they raise concerns about the current work environment. He said the RCMP follows the harassment policy set by the federal government and that anyone who feels they have been harassed should make use of it.
“If for some reason you do not get the support you require and deserve at first instance, I strongly encourage you to pursue your concerns,” he wrote.
With regard to Galliford’s allegations, the force responded in a written statement sent to CBC News and all RCMP staff in the province saying harassment is not tolerated.
“The RCMP is committed to providing all its employees a work environment free of harassment, discrimination and conflict, where all employees are treated with respect and dignity. While we cannot speak to specific allegations, we continue to encourage our members to report incidents of harassment when they occur so they can be investigated immediately,” the statement said.
[Source]
The response to harassment complaints by RCMP members has been met with the defence mechanisms of
minimization, denial, delusion, repression, suppression, and dissociation.
It is clear by now that doing things the same and expecting different results is the logic of absurdity.
There is now a new RCMP Commissioner. Will there be Justice and Correctness as it relates to RCMP employees?
I sincerely hope so.
Calvin Lawrence
Hot debate. What do you think?
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As I read our out going Commissioner Elliott’s remarks, I found myself shaking my head. Does he listen to what he is saying? Commissioner Elliott states, “If for some reason you do not get the support you require or deserve at first instance, I strongly encourage you to pursue your concerns”.
Is there a protocol for supervisors to follow when a subordinate wants to file a complaint? Why should anyone have to repeatedly go up through the chain of command for someone to hear their complaint and have it actioned?
The statistics of harassment which the RCMP are attempting to minimize to the public, are only made up of formalized complaints. They do not include complaints which are informally dealt with or complaints which were turned away and ignored.
For someone to finally gather the strength to report, these individuals are usually at their wits end, and then only to be ignored by their supervisor, is another form of continued harassment. Unfortunately, due to the inaction of management over the course of time, it has created an apathetic attitude among the membership. The general consensus is, “why would I report, they are not going to do anything”. “Why should I put myself out their only to be ridiculed and not taken seriously”. “They are not going to take my word over an experienced higher ranking NCO or Officer”.
A new Duty to Accommodate Policy came out in June of this year, along with a form requesting to be accommodated. Presently when someone approaches his/her commander, a form must be filled out and the commander must contact the Employee Relations Management Officer (EMRO) at Head Quarters Professional Standards Unit. This is done so that the many rogue decisions of the past by middle management are no longer made on their own, having placed the RCMP in numerous libelous positions, which they are currently having to deal with and clean up.
I think the Harassment policy should include some of the new reporting protocols of the Duty to Accommodate policy.
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