RCMP brass has failed to deal with sexual harassment, bullying scandal: Review

Advice from a human resources manager to fire one of the RCMP members was ignored. Instead, two of the individuals were docked several days’ pay, with one returning later to the unit to the dismay of co-workers
OTTAWA—The RCMP’s top brass have apologized for failing to deal properly with the sexual misconduct and harassment scandal at its explosives training unit after a damning review turned up more allegations of inappropriate behaviour by bomb instructors at the Canadian Police College.
The review revealed previously undisclosed misconduct allegations against a third instructor — a woman who CBC reports was the RCMP’s first female bomb technician.
The saga, which involved workplace nudity, unwanted sexual touching, bullying and harassment, unfolded mostly over a year and a half between June 2012 and December 2013. In April 2014, one of the instructors, a civilian, texted a photo of his bare buttocks to another instructor.
Victims and witnesses to the behaviour didn’t initially report it for fear of reprisals or being labelled “rats,” the review found.
When they finally did report the allegations, advice from a human resources manager to fire one of the RCMP members was ignored. Instead, two of the individuals were docked several days’ pay, with one returning later to the unit to the dismay of co-workers.
The latest in a long line of RCMP stories of harassment and mismanagement, the story came to light only after CBC Radio reported on the allegations this spring, and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale ordered a thorough review.
RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson launched two reviews overseen by senior RCMP executives and an outside independent observer — former RCMP watchdog chair Paul Kennedy.
A report of their findings was presented to the RCMP’s senior executive committee earlier this week and made public Thursday.
It shows that problems that existed under the RCMP’s old disciplinary regime have not been fixed by a 2014 law that overhauled the Mounties’ approach to misconduct. Employee fears, and overly bureaucratic approaches to dealing with problems remain.
It made 28 recommendations to the RCMP, including a national initiative to eliminate sexual misconduct in the workplace. Paulson has committed to delivering to Goodale within one month an “action plan” for how it will implement all of them.
The RCMP’s report says it fully supports the findings and accepts the recommendations, including greater transparency to boost public trust. The RCMP did not respond to the Star’s request for comment or confirmation of a CBC report that one RCMP manager deemed to have mismanaged discipline in the affair has since been removed from his post. The CBC also named the third instructor alleged to have acted inappropriately as a woman, Sgt. Reagan Douglas, which the Star could not confirm.
Thursday evening, CBC News reported that Chief Supt. Marty Chesser, commanding officer of the RCMP’s national headquarters, had been removed from his post.
The review says though the Mounties made “progress” in addressing harassment and improving workplace health, its broad failure to deal with the allegations at its bomb instruction unit demoralized staff and threw into question, once again, the RCMP’s ability to police itself.
“The egregious actions of Staff Sgt. Bruno Solesme and (civilian member Marco) Calandrini; the failure in the leadership of RCMP management; and, the systemic failure” of internal disciplinary and human resources practices to address the situation “are unacceptable,” the RCMP review found.
“Specifically, the investigations and processes related to these events were fraught with missed opportunities to effectively deal with the misconduct, protect the victims and witnesses and heal the workplace. It is for these reasons that the RCMP Commissioner (Paulson) and the RCMP as an organization sincerely apologize to all who were negatively impacted.”
Angela Workman-Stark, once tasked by Paulson to co-ordinate the RCMP’s response to harassment, quit the force this spring at the rank of chief superintendent after 24 years to do more in-depth academic research into police culture.
She is skeptical of any approach — including the review just released — to workplace harassment or misconduct that is “compliance-driven” and doesn’t deal with unconscious “cultural biases” inherent in policing workplaces.
She was not surprised that allegations surfaced in the “hyper-masculine” culture of the bomb training unit, including allegations against a female instructor. Workman-Stark said she has seen that women in policing, including her, suppress “feminine aspects of myself to fit in.”
She said the RCMP “has to” shift its focus if it is to address the problems it faces. “I think it’s quite obvious there is severe mistrust within the organization, and I’m afraid that it’s probably worse than it’s ever been. But it (the force’s response to harassment) really has to be people-focused, it can’t be compliance-driven. It can’t be top down.”
There are thousands of men and women who . . . want this to be a good organization and they want the conditions to be created where they’re safe and they’re successful.”
Despite two previous internal investigations, Paulson learned of the damning allegations only when a former bomb unit employee wrote him in February this year to express frustration that Solesme and Calandrini had returned to work “with minimal repercussions.”
Calandrini had worked there since 2008. Solesme was promoted to staff sergeant and became the non-commissioned officer in charge of the unit in June 2012, unliked by fellow employees for his bullying and harassing style.
As early as April 2014, an employee reported to Solesme’s boss one instance of nudity by Solesme and three instances by Calandrini.
All three instructors remain under investigation, but the RCMP says it has not revealed more detail to protect the privacy “of those that have been impacted.”
The report recommends:
Development of a clear definition of what constitutes sexual misconduct, and disciplinary authorities should give priority to those complaints, even when there is a backlog awaiting adjudication.
A national initiative, led by a national co-ordinator with the participation of all divisions, to eradicate sexual misconduct in the workplace through “awareness, education, detection and prompt and appropriate responses to misconduct.”
Better training for supervisors and managers on matters related to communication, discipline processes, harassment, and workplace wellness.
Temporary suspension orders should forbid contact between anyone who is the subject of an investigation and any potential witnesses.
Mandatory briefings of the commissioner in matters related to sexual misconduct in the workplace
Mandatory internal communication by the commissioner to employees on the occurrence and the final outcomes of all incidents of sexual misconduct.
Take steps to make the harassment and disciplinary processes “more transparent to complainants, witnesses and the public.” The current process doesn’t allow results of a disciplinary proceeding to be shared with complainants, witnesses or the general public. The report urges all disciplinary decisions by a “conduct board” to be published on a searchable database, similar to those which report judicial cases.