With reference to: Friday, June 17, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/rcmp-class-action-tiller-civilian-women-final-report-1.6491165
Workplace pornography, sexual assault, racial slurs and grooming: those were some of the abuses suffered by women who worked and volunteered with the RCMP, according to a scathing report authored by three retired judges.
The final report was prepared as part of a class-action lawsuit against the RCMP filed by former civilian employees, volunteers and students who faced gender-based discrimination, harassment and assault between 1974 and 2019.
Although the federal government set aside $100 million to compensate the estimated 3,500 potential claimants, only about $20 million was awarded to 417 of the 562 women who came forward.
The low number of claimants could be attributed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, fear of retribution and an RCMP culture that derides reporting mistreatment, the assessors surmised.
I am sure there are many female members who were abused, or felt abused, within the ranks of the RCMP. I joined in 1972. On May 23, 1974, Commissioner M.J. Nadon announced that the RCMP would begin accepting applications from women for regular police duties. As with so many other matters that the RCMP and the Federal Government have handled, it was way overdue and terribly mismanaged.
Another matter of mismanagement was the terrific delay in fair compensation and unionization with the RCMP, which has just now recently come to fruition. Other police forces were lightyears ahead of the RCMP in such matters.
Yet another mismanagement within the RCMP was the prehistoric promotion system. Only long after everyone else came to promotion exams for all, instead of virtually hand-picked promotions based in a large part on the whims of one’s immediate superior officers, did the RCMP get on board. The promotion exam system; which has now been in place with the RCMP for about three decades, almost waiting into the 21st century for implementation, is excellent, and all deserving candidates for promotion finally got, and get to, compete on a level playing field.
One final comment is that the corruption within the upper ranks, commissioned ranks especially, was so bad that early in this century, the Police Chief role, our commissioner, had to be appointed from outside RCMP membership. We are now back to having our police chief being promoted from within, but the writing is on the wall. Behave or be replaced. You are there at the whim of the people and the elected government of the day, to serve the public and our nation, not ourselves.
Turning back to this abuse situation: “‘The culture within RCMP workplaces tolerated misogyny, homophobia and a range of other prejudices and deeply objectionable misconduct within its ranks and leadership,’ wrote retired justice Pamela Kirkpatrick in a letter last week to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki.” From the internet today, I accept that Pamela Kirkpatrick and Brenda Lucki have more data and insight than do I. However, they are both females, and no doubt come to this table with tinted lenses. In all matters we have to remove race and gender from the investigations and judgements.
I do not know all that happened. Neither does Kirkpatrick or Lucki. I cannot even begin to empathize with the trauma that so many female officers obviously suffered. As a Christian and a very compassionate and open-minded person, I accept, support, and encourage so many victims of abuse.
I also share my own observations that in almost three decades of service, I had an excellent working relationship with, and respect for, all female officers. I was unaware, for all my service the last three decades of the 20th century, of these alleged abuses.
We were, and are a better police force having joined the rest of our nation, finally, in embracing females as equals. There were, and are, so many females and racial minorities, and those who chose and choose not to be identified as male or female, that must feel they face an imperviable wall in even considering reporting abuses, and therefore do not.
On the other hand, do not overlook discrimination against males for merely being male, or anyone for not being minority or of colored non-white skin. Further, we have two historical cultures in this country, sometimes referred to as two nations, and that itself lends to discrimination, and I will not go further with that discussion.
This whole topic needs so much more than a brief summary comment. The RCMP itself, as is our military, especially at the upper and most high commissioned ranks, are under belated scrutiny for sexual abuses and mismanagement to the point of some, belatedly, being fired and replaced.
It is time to get back to simple virtues of ethics, honour, truth, open and fair-minded investigations, justice, equality of law notwithstanding ethnicity or gender, and that we are serving everyone, not just ourselves.
I use we, as once a Mountie, we are always a Mountie. It is unfortunate that our members of Parliament and Legislatures cannot get back to leading with integrity by example. We serve the people and the nation, not ourselves. “Maintain the Right” is a Mountie motto. Maybe we should all adopt those three simple words.
John Roseveare, Kenton Manitoba
