As part of his work on the Merlo-Davidson settlement, former Supreme Court of Canada justice Michel Bastarache and his team conducted over 640 interviews with current and former female employees of the RCMP, painting a distressing picture of a toxic culture.
Please note that important updates have been made to this article since it was first published. It was last updated on Feb. 25, 2021.
Content warning: This article and Justice Bastarache’s report include discussion of sexual assault and harassment and may be harmful or triggering for some readers. For additional support, please connect with local distress centres through Crisis Services Canada.
On Dec. 2, 2020, former Supreme Court of Canada justice Michel Bastarache presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security his findings on sexual harassment in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), related to the Merlo-Davidson Settlement. The report, titled “Broken Dreams, Broken Lives: The Devastating Effects of Sexual Harassment On Women in the RCMP” highlights the seriousness of persistent harassment and gender-based discrimination in the RCMP.
More than 3,000 claims were received, with more than 640 interviews conducted. Of the claims that were submitted, 2,304 claimants were awarded compensation. The mandate of the assessors was to evaluate claims for compensation made by women who had experienced sexual harassment (including sexual assault) and discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation while working for the RCMP.
Toxic culture
Bastarache found a toxic culture within the RCMP, and that misogyny and homophobia have been tolerated across decades at all ranks and in all provinces and territories. RCMP members and officers were forced to accept that they function in the context of this toxic culture to succeed. While some “bad apples” were blamed by some respondents, the report underlined the systemic internal origins of this conduct.
“The level of violence and sexual assault that was reported was shocking. Indeed, over 130 claimants disclosed penetrative sexual assaults. Other claimants described a sexualized environment in RCMP workplaces. This was characterized by the frequent use of swear words and highly degrading expressions that reference women’s bodies, sexual jokes, innuendos, discriminatory comments with respect to the abilities of women and unwelcome sexual touching. Of particular concern in the context of policing was the denial, or the threat of the denial, of backup. Similarly, women who identified as LGBTQ2S+ were also subjected to ostracization, pejorative comments, sexual assaults and being outed without their consent,” wrote Bastarache.
The consequences experienced by women in the RCMP are wide-ranging. Claimants reported feeling ground down, their trust in their fellow officers shattered, and many suffered serious psychological injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder. This affected their relationships with their spouses and their children. They suffered from panic attacks, eating disorders, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts.
According to the report, the RCMP has had decades to fix these issues. Internal reports, external reports and litigation before the courts have brough these issues to light for 30 years, and the measures taken in response have been insufficient.
The recommendations
The report includes dozens of specific recommendations. These include addressing systemic barriers that prevent women and LGBTQ2S+ individuals from succeeding in the RCMP; changing recruitment requirements to include in-depth screening to determine if applicants have demonstrated misogynistic, homophobic or racist tendencies in the past; revisiting the training approach, including by creating a confidential mechanism to report harassment or discriminatory behavior by a trainer and allocating training fairly and transparently based on a member’s career plan and merit; removing biases in human resources and staffing; giving proper support for maternity and parental leave; addressing the stigma associated with mental illness and seeking psychological assistance; reviewing how promotions are awarded to address discrimination; and by taking steps to compensate victims of sexual assaults by RCMP doctors.
One of the strongest recommendations was to address the issues with the grievance and discipline process.
“I frequently heard from claimants that they would never use the harassment process as it was a horrific and difficult process which resulted in retaliation and little or any consequences for the perpetrator,” wrote Bastarache. Changes to make the process more confidential and independent are essential and should include spot audits of detachments or units to ensure that issues of harassment and discrimination are identified without the need of individual complaints.
Financial settlements are a part of acknowledging that an issue has existed, Bastarache noted, but it will not change the culture that exists.
Next steps
Bastarache concluded with the need for a wholesale change to address the most toxic aspects of the RCMP’s culture, engaging employees at all levels to create a more inclusive and respectful workplace.
He believes that the only way that real change will come is through external pressure – an immense effort will be required as most of the individuals who are part of the current culture are invested in the status quo and will not likely want to make the necessary changes required.
"In my view […], it is time to discuss the need to make fundamental changes to the RCMP and federal policing,” wrote Bastarache. “I am of the view that cultural change is highly unlikely to come from within the RCMP. It has had many years and many reports and recommendations and yet the unacceptable behaviours continue to occur. Women who supported a fresh start were of the view that they, as women, would be better accepted in a modern, federal policing organization. It is my belief the time has come for the Government of Canada to ask some hard questions about the structure and governance of federal policing.”
Note (Feb. 25, 2021): The RCMP responded to the Bastarache report. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki thanked Justice Bastarache for the report, apologized to the women, and expressed concern and regret over the treatment of women employed by the RCMP between 1974 and 2017.
“But the facts are, despite all the reports, recommendations, and changes over the last three decades, this behaviour continues to surface,” said Lucki.
Lucki noted measures are being taken to “modernize and reform the culture and management practices of the RCMP” and that many of the actions being taken align with the recommendations made by Bastarache and many others before him – recommendations which, Bastarache was clear, are emergency “stop gap measures” and cannot stand in lieu of the independent external review he has recommended, which Lucki stopped short of endorsing.
Initiatives noted by Lucki under Vision150, the RCMP’s strategic plan to modernize the RCMP, include gender and harassment advisory committees; an equity, diversity and inclusion strategy; establishing an Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution, which is expected to be operational by mid-2021; and effective use of GBA+ in policy and decision-making.
While some of Vision150’s measures are aimed at reducing or eliminating barriers for women, LGBTQ2S and Black, Indigenous and people of colour within the RCMP, it is unclear whether or how the measures will lead to the profound systemic change that Bastarache and others have noted as critical, or to change the culture that has allowed toxicity to thrive for decades.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair expressed commitment to reforming the RCMP, and to media in late 2020 he stated he would have “more to say in the coming weeks about the direction that reform will take.”