2. Background of the RCMP
• RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) is the
Canadian National Police.
• Agency of the Ministry of Public Safety in Canada.
• Provides total police servicing to all Canadians.
• Three territories, eight provinces (excluding
Ontario & Quebec)
3. Background of the RCMP
• They serve more than 190 municipalities, 184
aboriginal communities, and three international
airports.
• Under the authority of the RCMP Act.
• The act is headed by the commissioner, who is
under the direction of the Minister of Public Safety
of Canada.
• They have control and management of the force.
4. The Force
• The force is divided
into 15 different
divisions.
• Each division is
managed by a
Commanding Officer.
• Approximately 29,235
members of the force.
5. The Crisis
• Janet Merlo, former RCMP officer claims she
endured 20 years of sexual harassment from male
co-workers.
• Sexual pranks, lewd jokes, etc.
• Filed a formal complaint, but, the police
investigate themselves and claim there is not a
sufficient amount of evidence or witnesses.
6. The Crisis
• Merlo filed a lawsuit against the RCMP.
• Supervisors neglected to do anything to help
Merlo.
• Breached duty to properly supervise their
employees.
• Failed to implement adequate policies that would
keep harassment & gender-based discrimination
out of the workplace.
7. RCMP’s Response
• RCMP responded to the harassment allegations.
• RCMP Commissioner, Bob Paulson, vowed to
transform the RCMP.
• "Accountability and leadership will be areas of
focus for me and my team as we go forward.”
8. RCMP’s Response
• "These allegations do not represent the force that
I joined and this condition cannot stand. I will sort
this out in a way that Canadians can have trust
and faith in the RCMP and just as importantly, that
employees of the RCMP can thrive in a healthy,
productive and harassment-free environment.”
9. Media Response
• CBC News – biggest news outlet in Canada
• Covered crisis efficiently and thoroughly
• Seemed to be neutral on the information they
reported to the public.
• CBC didn’t place blame on RCMP, but they simply
reported facts of the harassment claims.
10. Stakeholder Response
• Citizens of Canada
• Lost trust in the RCMP
• Complained on social media and discussion forums.
• They don’t think the RCMP did enough; simply
reviewing the incidents and investigating does not
suffice.
• Stakeholders think more action should have been
taken; RCMP should have punished those who
harassed their female co-workers.
11. Recommendations for RCMP
• More action needed.
• Better Crisis Management Plan.
• Should have responded with statements about taking
action and punishing those who were the “harassers”
and show more concern for the women who were
harassed.
• Training classes to educate officers on harassment.
• Enact policies that will protect female officers.
