Question Period Note: EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS AT THE ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE

The Prime Minister’s Supplementary Mandate letter of January 2021, asked the Minister of Labour to support the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to implement a comprehensive plan to make the Royal Canadian Mounted Police a safe, healthy and supportive work environment for all employees, and to address toxic workplace cultures, systemic discrimination and harassment.

• Every worker in Canada deserves to work in a fair, equitable, healthy and safe environment.
• This is why on January 1, 2021, the Canada Labour Code – Part II was amended through Bill C-65, and the new Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations (the Regulations) came into force, which both apply to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
• Together, this new legislation and regulations clarify the duties and rights of employers and their employees, and provide detailed requirements for the prevention, resolution, and investigation of workplace harassment and violence complaints.
• We have developed extensive guidance documents to assist all stakeholders and employers in the federal jurisdiction, including the RCMP, to implement the Regulations in their workplace.
• We are supporting the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness who is responsible for implementing a comprehensive plan to make the Royal Canadian Mounted Police a safe, healthy and supportive work environment for all employees and to address toxic workplace cultures, systemic discrimination and harassment.
• We are also working with the Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Rural and Economic Development, who shares this commitment.

• The supplementary mandate letter followed the November 11, 2020, release of the Merlo / Davidson Settlement Agreement entitled Broken Dreams Broken Lives – the Devastating Effects of Sexual Harassment on Women in the RCMP. The report outlined the following issues for the RCMP to address: systemic barriers, recruitment, training at Depot, recruit field training, postings, ongoing training, human resources and staffing, maternity and parental leave, employment flexibility, grievances and discipline, mental health, promotions, leadership, specialized teams and medical examinations abuse.
• The amended Canada Labour Code – Part II, now defines “harassment and violence” as including any action, conduct or comment, including of a sexual nature, that can reasonably be expected to cause offence or humiliation.
• The new Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations require employers to:
o follow the new Regulations for occurrences of harassment and violence reported to the employer on or after January 1, 2021;
o identify and assess the potential for employees to be exposed to workplace harassment and violence;
o develop measures to protect employees from harassment and violence;
o train all employees, including managers and supervisors, how to recognize, mitigate, and report occurrences of harassment and violence; and,
o ensure that occurrences of harassment and violence are investigated, and reported to the Minister, in accordance with the Regulations.

• The Labour Program (LP) has developed the following guidance tools to assist employers and employees understand and meet their obligations under the new Regulations:
o Interpretations Policy Guideline (IPG) 943-1-104 Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention
o Overview of Requirements for Employers regarding the new Regulations
o Sample Employer Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy
o Sample Harassment and Violence Prevention Assessment
o Sample Monthly Status Update Report
o Sample Notice of an Occurrence Report, (submitted by an employee)
o Sample Employer Response to a Notice of an Occurrence
o Sample Harassment and Violence Prevention Training Syllabus
o List of Employer and Designated Recipient Duties - In Response to a Notice
o List of Employee Duties - When Filing a Notice

• The RCMP has been in proactive and frequent communication with the LP to ensure that they understand their responsibilities and have the proper processes and policies in place before the new regulations came into force.
• On June 30, 2021, the RCMP announced the launch of the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution.

• The Merlo / Davidson settlement agreement resulted from two class-action suits, alleging that female members of the RCMP had been victims of workplace intimidation, harassment, and discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation.
• The first action undertaken by Janet Merlo in British Columbia in 2012 and a second in Ontario by Linda Gillis Davidson in 2015, where they alleged that the RCMP failed to exercise its responsibilities to ensure employees could work in an environment free of discrimination, intimidation and harassment.
• The parties agreed to a settlement confirming the abandonment of these proceedings in favour of a conciliation process to compensate all harassed employees and, in some cases, members of their family.