'Time's Up': RCMP, military harassment survivors joining forces to push for change
Content warning: The content may be distressing to some readers.
Survivors of harassment in the RCMP and Canadian military are joining forces to pressure the federal government to act on years of calls for stronger independent oversight and measures to stamp out misconduct and mistreatment within those institutions.
Sparked by what one survivor has described as the “shameful” and “triggering” spotlight put on both the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the last year, the effort intends to push the government to implement “totally independent” oversight of misconduct claims.
“We just keep seeing these stories come week after week after week,” said Janet Merlo, a former RCMP officer who led the fight as a representative plaintiff in a $125.4 million federal class action lawsuit, and who is now part of the small group of Canadians spearheading this initiative. “And so, a few of us got together and thought, ‘Maybe if we join forces … to put some pressure on the government basically to do something.’”
She said that despite a years-long fight for change, including through lawsuits and numerous reports and inquiries recommending solutions, meaningful results have yet to materialize.
“Time's up,” she said in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Tuesday.
While the alliance and its planned actions are still coming together, Merlo said she’s calling on both current and former RCMP and military members as well as members of the general public who want to see things changed, to reach out and add their voices to this new effort.
Merlo said part of the aim will be to educate the public about the strain she said is still being felt by the police and military members who are tasked with keeping them safe, as well as drawing attention to tax dollars being spent “paying out lawsuits rather than fixing a problem.”
“Report after report is ignored, and their initiatives are far from being adequate,” she said. “What every report has said over the years is that nothing will cure it, or fix the problem other than totally independent oversight of all the misconduct, and it's just not happening. They won't do it.”
“It’s shameful... for other countries to look at Canada and look at what's happening, the whole police and military structures are in crisis. And it's not good enough,” she said.
Merlo is set to speak more about this new effort on Tuesday evening at an event marking the fifth anniversary of the Institute of Change Leaders (ICL), a training organization founded by former NDP MP Olivia Chow.
It was during a recent ICL training session that the idea for this alliance started to come together, Merlo said.
Her message to Defence Minister Anita Anand and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino heading into the new Parliament is: “Do something. People are dying, people are losing their careers, they’re committing suicide… It shouldn’t be happening,” she said.
Merlo’s RCMP colleague and friend Krista Carle died by suicide in 2018, after fighting against sexual harassment and bullying in the service for years.
“She would be mortified to see that we’re still here years later,” Merlo said. “For those still serving, we need to make it better and we need to do it in memory of those who are no longer with us.”
Many of the women who came forward in the Merlo-Davidson class action process—named after Merlo and joining plaintiff Linda Davidson—have been diagnosed with serious psychological injuries including depression, PTSD, substance abuse, and anxiety, with many expressing a lack of trust in others, feelings of isolation, a lack of self-esteem, and challenges in personal relationships.
Merlo said that despite the long-lasting mental and emotional toll that her experience with the RCMP and public backlash amid the lawsuit has taken, she would “totally” do it all again.
“I don't think the journey is over until we see the change that we set out to bring about,” she said.
APOLOGY, SETTLEMENT NOT THE END
After enduring years of sexual harassment when she was an officer, Merlo filed the class action lawsuit in 2012.
The settlement was announced 2016, alongside an apology from then-RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson. The settlement saw 2,304 women receive compensation for claims of bullying, harassment, sexual assault, and discrimination while working for RCMP.
“After the lawsuit was done, I think they thought we'd all just go away, and that was never the point of it. The point of it was to make change in the system,” Merlo said.
However, she said there’s been a continued need for advocacy for reforms because in her view, not enough has been done and the “political will” to change things is lacking.
In June, Merlo was among the former employees and sexual harassment survivors who cast doubt on how truly independent the new harassment resolution centre that the national police force implemented was.
The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) was created following a scathing report released in November 2020 titled "Broken Dreams Broken Lives," that detailed a persisting “toxic” culture and tolerance of misogyny, racism, and homophobia amongst RCMP members and leaders.
The report—prepared by former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Michel Bastarache in relation to the implementation of the Merlo Davidson settlement agreement— called for external help and an independent study of all aspects of the RCMP to identify and remove the systemic barriers that prevent women in particular from succeeding within the force.
At the time, then-minister Bill Blair said that he’d spoken with RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and insisted that reforms were urgently needed.
Merlo said to this day “the system isn’t there for people to confidently report.”
STORIES OF MILITARY MISCONDUCT 'TRIGGERING'
Merlo said that watching the ongoing flow of news stories over the past year of senior military officials accused of and investigated for misconduct has been “very triggering.”
“Knowing that all we fought for, and nothing has been done, it's just frustrates me to no end,” Merlo said.
With the news that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces are still planning an apology to victims of military sexual misconduct tied to a separate class action settlement, and are in the process of transferring sexual misconduct cases to civilian authorities, Merlo cautioned that these steps won’t exercise the systemic issues from the military.
“Don't do the apology, if you're not going to follow it up with action,” she said.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.
Local Spotlight
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.