OTTAWA — The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP says bullying and harassment are serious problems within the national police force and is urging fundamental changes. Some highlights from Monday's hard-hitting report:
— Abuse of authority remains a significant problem within the RCMP and hurts not only individuals, but the integrity of investigations, the efficiency of operations and the effectiveness of the Mounties as a whole.
— The force has failed to address the problem of harassment, beyond local, limited programs, with no effort by national headquarters to institutionalize reforms.
— Given those failings, strong civilian oversight and government leadership are required to ensure sustained reform.
— As it is currently set up, the Office for the Co-ordination of Harassment Complaints has a useful but limited role.
— Complaints are often handled badly, with poorly trained decision-makers using the wrong legal tests and looking at irrelevant and prejudicial considerations, which may result in complaints being dismissed as unfounded.
— Civilian experts should be recruited at senior levels of human resources and labour relations.
— The governance structure within the RCMP should be modernized to bring in civilian governance and/or oversight and to enhance accountability.
— The RCMP should adopt a simplified definition of harassment in its policies, following the approach adopted by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and other Canadian jurisdictions, to facilitate the investigation and resolution of valid complaints.
— Policies and procedures should be revised to give divisional commanding officers the discretion to screen complaints to determine if a prima facie case of harassment has been made out, applying an appropriately broad and simplified definition of harassment.
— The force should hire skilled, competent and dedicated administrative investigators (not uniformed members), who are independent of the chain of command, to conduct harassment investigations.
(Source: Report into Workplace Harassment in the RCMP, Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP)
The Canadian Press
