bullying, civilian members, core values, harassment, mental abuse, public service employees, RCMP, regular members
‘Respect’, most abused, overused word in the RCMP
My posting will no doubt stir the hornets nest even more. I work for the RCMP in Alberta. I am a public service employee in administration/investigation support. services, I have been employed at the RCMP since 2001. In those past 12 years, I have filed 2 harassment complaints, left the workplace once and didn’t return. My first complaint was mediated by the PSLRB and PSAC/USGE, a settlement was reached, but it’s the time afterward, and the lack of support from the Human Resources/Harassment Department that has left a more than bitter after taste.
The latter department is in my estimation as ineffective, disrespectful and outright hostile towards anyone who files a harassment complaint. And its the same old “two” that block every reasonable suggestion or challenge the complainant requests. Those two know who they are! Let’s just say that right now I am awaiting my outcome of my 2nd harassment filing, and I already have a gathering of what it will be. Nothing but road blocks, lies, and interference by some of the management, is still to be investigated. Filing of grievances to last a number of years, and a couple more files, one Canadian Human Rights, and another just filed recently. I have been more than honest and yet I am still called more or less a liar.
Bullying and Harassment is no laughing matter either. The respodent knows who he is, and calls his demeanor “dry Humour” So … the RCMP must really love Dry Humour. I don’t … this haunts everyone who was or is involved, doesn’t matter. Even today I was queried about another employee and their escape from his “dry humour” some years later. Seems he did the same to her. You know what they did, they moved him out of my department and put him somewhere else. Same old song. I wonder who the next victim will be?
When is this going to end? When is the RCMP going to realize that Core Values are not being followed, respect is the most abused over used word. They are only trying to protect the image, well you know what? That image is so tarnished, it is not fixable. I still have a long battle to go, and I won’t retire until they give me a reasonable, outcome.
E Division is lucky to have a Members-Support group, there is no such thing in Alberta, I guess we all suffer in silence. I would like to start one for all employees, Regular Members, Civilian Members and Public Service Employees. I have spoken to many who have suffered, but its time for action. Where are the men of the RCMP who have been under pressure from the employer? I know for a fact that I am not the only one who is on the receiving end of mental abuse, foul language, and one who robs you of all your self-esteem. I am fighter, and have always believed in standing up for what is right, even from the bully!
I am not afraid of what they will think when I post this. There are some pretty wonderful employees of the RCMP, they get my respect but the ones who are so called “bad apples” your time is coming. I wish for everyone who is at the receiving end of any type of abuse, to stand up and be counted, there is strength in numbers!
I also would like to know if anyone can point me in the right direction, the men should also have a class action law suit, and I for one would join. I wish all the success to the women in the action they are taking and support them fully.
Garth Caron
resergeance.wordpress.com 
Hello Garth,
First I must commend you for coming forward and telling your story. You are one of the very very few that has identified himself on this site. I admire your courage. Keep on the fight, don’t give in, keep doing what you believe is right. I do know that the support group in ‘E’ division is an amazing place to share your story and not be judged. If you feel the need, start one up. Believe me, once the word gets out, its amazing how those that are in similar situations will flock to you. The “E” division support groups keeps growing which is at the same time a great thing for the victims but sad that this BS continues. You have our support to keep up the fight. We often thought it’s not worth it., but have since changed our mind and will fight for what’s right to the end. Bring it!
Thanks Rolly … I guess I can say I am in good company!
Hello Garth,
Good for you for telling it like it is. I just want to let you know that I am one of the members who attends the E Division Support Group on a regular basis. I am one of the few original members that has been with the group since the beginning. I know a member in K Division who belongs to the K Division Support Group. I will e-mail you his contact info shortly.
E Division Support group has a strong internal core group that works to help members get the outside support that they need. If we have a member in need, we reach out far and wide to get the member the resources that he/she needs.
Of course, we get zero assistance from RCMP management. They see us as a threat for some reason. Members in our Support group have been followed on various occasions. We have had members attend our support group that later reported to RCMP management what we discussed at our meetings. We have had members of our support group questioned by RCMP management. The most shocking question that has come out was “what are the names of the members in the group?”
Everyone should ask themselves this question. Why is RCMP management afraid of members that attend any support group? The simple answer I believe, is that they can not control our group.
I think that the most important message that anyone should take out of why our support groups even exists is this! It exists because there is a need. A need that is not being fulfilled by our employer. A need to address issues in a fair and unbiased way. A need that requires outside assistance that is not controlled by RCMP management. A TRUE THIRD PARTY.
I have one question that maybe someone can answer for me. Why would RCMP management not want to talk to each member about there grievances, or better yet, why not attend a support group meeting?
In Support
Rolly Beaulieu
Thank you Rolly, I appreciate your feedback. I understand just what you are feeling, and expression of words is the greatest healer of all.
This is true Anon also for public servants. I tried only last week to get some assistance with my diagnosis because I have required thousands of $ of therapies. The OSI clinic had to refuse me. They wanted to help, but couldn’t.
Mr. Beaulieu if you could also send me the contact for the K Div Support Group I would be grateful. I would also like you to know that I was disgusted by the Commissioners recent behavior towards you and the others in the recent senate discussions. So much so that I forwarded a copy of the buy out offer and gag order that the RCMP tried to get me to sign to shut me up in 2010 to the Senate. I wanted them to know that buy out’s (Special Assignments) in the RCMP are commonplace. What is more important is that if you request it yourself you are seen as a blackmailer, but well if they want it that’s different. Don’t worry we have your back. That display of crude mudslinging was an own goal. It demonstrated who that individual is and how poorly equipped he is for his role currently. Thank you for putting yourself out there and taking that hit. Others will follow.
Hello Supporter,
Thank you for the kind words. I believe that in time the RCMP house of cards will come falling down. I have sent the K Division contact info for the support group to moderator of this site. I will not post it for obvious reasons. So, please e-mail the moderator of this site for the contact info.
In Support
Rolly Beaulieu
Anonymous and Rolly Beaulieu … thank-you for your online support. Yes, I have spoken out, and Yes I will stand and speak out louder, this simply has to stop. It’s the management team, and I am really disappointed in the Commissioner, when he was appointed to the the position I sent him an email saying what a change, what a breath of fresh air … well now you know he’s like the rest of them. I am being vocal, because no one can stop my voice … they do what they wish, but now that I have spoken, he cannot silence me … one way or the other. I have no faith in the people who are not trained to treat PTSD, have no degrees, and some of them simply public servants, lay waste to good employees, and let the bad ones stay. Shame on them. This has to be removed from their hands, and given to an independent agency who is not bogged down in the rhetoric of the adminsitration binders. This is just the beginning … bring it on the BS because I have a shovel, and a big one at that. My union may not like this but again … they say lets not rock the boat. I say lets sink it! Being nice isn’t in my vocabulary, being fair and seeking justice is.
Anonymous Thank-you . Never give up the good fight. It is definitely right!
I have gone through and observed alleged RCMP abuse for decades. I have helped individual members with their cases. I have testified at Human Rights Hearings and written letters to the editor regarding RCMP dysfunction. I have written on this site and RCMP Watch. I have lobbied politicans for help.
What has become clear, is that RCMP members are on their own at the end of the day. Yes, supports groups are necessary and helpful. That however does not stop the abuse of members.
Until there is a revolt by members on mass nothing will change accept more chairs being added to the support group.
“Every revolution needs two essential ingredients: young people, who are willing to dream, and poor people, who have nothing to lose.”
Apply the above to the RCMP.
It’s time for me to come forward to support what Mr. Caron has said. I too know of the individuals he mentions in K Division in HR and have become a victim of their clueless and insensitive, sometimes completely absurd and unaccountable, at times illegal treatment. I became aware of how toxic they were when I reported the behavior of one deviant individual. A deviant who had a history of being deviant. How quickly the tables turned and I went from being a competent individual to my job ruined. Comments such as “that I must have been abused by my father as a child” which came at me from my NCO because I had reported. These comments were defended and excused by HR and Harassment. I cannot tell you how appalling that was to me having been raised by my father who is a Veteran currently suffering from Alzheimer’s and who is everything that is good and honest and decent in this world. There seems to be no end to how low these people will go to undermine others and strip them down or bewilder them.The other party/parties were protected and I have paid and paid, and my predecessor also. We collectively spent over 3 and a half years working from home, I am currently on LWOP requiring relocation, she was also relocated. The division has no intention of ever dealing with the issues as they should be dealt with. Only this week I received all of my concerns screened out. They refuse to even look at them.
Aside from the human emotional chaos that this has caused I now have a ptsd diagnosis from the adverse treatment which has spanned 4 years, the pain to our families, what of the costs in protecting these individuals so that they can continue to do what they do? I agree with Mr. Lawrence that the change has to come from within, it would be wonderful to play a part in that change, I feel confident that it is coming, but my primary concern is for those who have been placed vulnerable by the maladministration of these issues. Something has to be done for these people. People who may never return to work now and who have suffered because of the incompetence of others that they relied upon to do “the right thing”, people that they went to for help and who completely betrayed them. These people are left in a very unhealthy state of uncertainty. Yes it is possible to take control and say damn it I’m just going to get another job, and walk away if you are well enough to do so. But what if you are not. These health diagnoses do not disappear overnight they are a work in progress. I am lucky enough to still be strong enough to have done this, and to have continued to file the paperwork, really to regain my own power and to say what I have to say more than anything else, to call them out on the B/S and the evidence that I have of their B/S and dishonesty. I have no hope that anything more will come of it. The strength has come only from help groups such as this, the ladies action, people such as Mr. Caron, and following the posts and the wisdom of Dr. Webster and my own therapists. It has never come from the RCMP or from HR, and in closing I honestly believe that the word “human” should be dropped from Human Resources. We should just use the term “Resources” or “Staffing” and start to look elsewhere for the humanity. Let us not give them credit for it. They are undeserving currently in this division.
Yes, those individual/s, need help but i suspect HR imposes such stresses on these people, so that they quit. The deal would be something to the effect of the basic: “We’ll pay you 2 years full salary, and then you’ll resort to a pension based on your years of service”. So if you have 5-10 years service that’s 10-20% of your salary …. not much to look forward to after the force sewers your career, thus, it is not an option. Since HR engages in such blatant actions against one or several people (but each person is ultimately isolated and made to suffer on their own), i would tell this person in the garage to engage in the same behaviour. Why not! What HR does is illegal, so how about fighting fire w/fire. Why not. The rcmp condone their illegal behaviour, so why can’t these people do the same as i DON”T SEE ANY OTHER WAY THESE INDIVIDUALS CAN PROTECT THEMSELVES, other than by engaging in similar activities. It might sound ridiculous but the force is beyond ridiculous now. You will not win or even be acknowledged by playing the ‘better person’ approach. The rcmp, hr, any division are not willing nor have to deal with the issue unless it’s taken outside the force which is the only time you catch their attention.
Good for you Garth and I wish you the best! Unfortunately this was one of many variables that now make me a former member. There is no way to fight it ‘unless you want to take it public’ either to CBC (which presents some other variables, consult a lawyer first and yes that means $$) or as a civil suit ‘EXTERNALLY’ from the force – only then will they get off their worthless cowardly gutless asses, and only then to mitigate their risk. From here, i’m not sure how it goes, but when you do this, I think you still have to make a choice to leave the force as I’ve been told “you’re branded because you’re suing mother “FORCE”‘ or somehow that you’re ‘marked’. Others will tell you ‘oh no that’s not how it is’ but based on the mixed responses, acknowledged to me, nobody really knows the answer. So I had to assume, that I would be marked. Why? It seems there are a number of these RMs that have all the time in the world to direct their cowardess & inadequacy, on trying to further afflict the aggrieved person who has justifiable grounds for their complaints. It’s like they want to ‘set you up for a fall’ to get you back. Here’s another thing Garth, but whether you do or don’t leave the force, let’s say to transfer to another department, what kind of trust do you have to get a ‘good reference’ to be able to leave. You might think, ‘well, they would give me a good reference because they want me out of here” but I have seen where they haven’t (for PSEs, CMs, and RMs) just out of spite. They bite off their nose despite their face, because they want to show you they have the power to keep you down, and within their grasp, even if they don’t want you there. Another problem is what if you need them as a reference for a future position somewhere else – unfortunately these fear/exploitive power tendencies are what I learned with the force.
If they tell you to do “alternate dispute resolution” don’t bother with it, it’s another mechanism that keeps the situation and the power card in the RCMP’s hand, it is a waste of time – AND THEY KNOW IT! There are certain situations where they say once the force goes through this and they ‘sign off’ that everything is hunky dory (from their convenient unilateral perspective to sweep it under the rug), I’ve been told ‘you’re not allowed to bring it up again’. The only way to get these incompetent cowards off their asses is to take it public and that still doesn’t guarantee it won’t continue, or continue from another angle. I’m surprised with how short-resourced the force always complains about being, that they have all the time in the world for this, and this shit just keeps going-and-going-and-going. Out of all occupations I’ve been in, pre-and-post the ‘Farce’, I’ve never been in a situation like that or treated that way. Sure, I fought back and won a few battles, but the ‘Farce’ is like a casino, and you’re at the blackjack table – the casino is the ‘house’ and the ‘house always wins’. The force will bury a civil lawsuit in court for a number of years ‘courtesy of the taxpayers dollars’ as this cashflow seems unlimited to them. As the years go by, these individuals will thwart the facts to successor officers/ncos and given a warped view of the situation (your the bad guy)making it hard for you to maintain your reputation based on their systemic pathological lying, so it’s like you never get a chance to show your true self to future members as you’re labelled. You just have to ask yourself, is this worth the time and would the victory be worth it, or if you can, take a transfer to another federal dept? I don’t know what to tell you. All I know, is if I can single out any of these characters who carry out their bantering, and I engage them, they’re not able to hold their own. These types always seem to have a need for a group affiliation which is the only way for them to ‘feel’ their false sense of ‘bravery’ but get them alone and the vast majority of them are chickenshits. I wish I had better answers for you Garth and all I can do is type down some of my experiences. Honestly, the RCMP deserve to be disbanded and the money Treasury Board provides could be used to create provincial/territorial police forces with one caveat and that is not to allow current or previous members employment into these ranks (unfortunately even the good ones and I feel bad for saying this) because this RCMP mindset (ie. of fear, party-line towing, asskissing, collusion, deceit) needs to be completely erased, ‘die’ completely, and a new progressive mindset put into effect.
I see them play politician more than they act like police, and when they’re bored they harass others because they don’t understand the job, they were accidentally selected to be members, or always had a personalized need for power that the psychologists didn’t catch when screening them in, etc. Then again, force brass decide what psychologists or doctors they want so as long as they’re aligned to the force agenda. Again, I wish you the best Garth….I really do. Even though there are ‘some’ good people in the RCMP – overall it is a waste of taxpayers dollars.
The situation you describe of the reference issue is very real. I find myself there right now and have experienced it first hand. I wouldn’t have believed that people could be so evil but they are. They have made it so difficult we have had to relocate and we have pretty much lost everything that we have worked for in our lives. They withheld the paperwork so that Service Canada could not process my claim to EI or sickness benefit to give me time to job hunt when I tried to check out. Now I have to return because I am finding it difficult to find a viable job elsewhere and they are sure taking their time over getting me back to the workplace. I feel like a ragdoll. It is a game. It is pure spite. I regret ever any association with this organization. I don’t think I can return because I have no trust left, but am between a rock and a hard place. It is not the work that is repellent. I have tremendous admiration for the good members. I have worked with many good people, exceptional individuals. But the harassment process is farce and it is destructive to people’s health because it re-victimizes people who have already been through a difficult enough time of it.
Hey Supporter,
Yes, the situation i’ve indicated is real, and probably gets to much worse degrees than what i’ve described. I think the fact that the ‘Farce’CMP held your paperwork, and displayed actions of their deliberate negligence could be grounds for a lawsuit (you’d need to consult a lawyer based on the probability of winning this if you were interested). The ArseCMP taking their sweet time bringing you back into the workplace, in my perception, is displaying their antics to 1) make you feel like they don’t want you back so the extra ‘slow transition’ back into the workplace is deliberate in order for them to make you feel this way,(odd considering if they need you back why would they use these antics?), 2) there usual bureau-botic mechanistic activities ensure any transition is extra slow as i find people in staff/recruiting not exactly in any rush to get things done, 3) probably to situate you in a space well away from the section you should be working with (and they’ll probably say, yes, this is the only office space we had available) possibly to further outcast you. I know a member in another div they have setup with a desk in a ‘garage’ away from his section….yeah! How’s that for transitioning people back into the workplace, so i suspect this member will soon be ODS again if not already. The brass are like kindergarten children that get mad because you didn’t play paddy-cake outside with them at recess, or didn’t make them their favourite necklace out of fishing line and pasta shells during ‘arts’n’craft’ time. They really are children, that are given power they don’t know what to do with, over-sized paycheques for doing nothing but being a hindrance on operations, and want to meet you outside to play bully after school in front of the sandbox. The fact is, ALL THE PRIVILEGES OF RANK SHOULD LAY IN THEIR PAYCHEQUES – AND NO FURTHER. I know the ‘ragdoll’ feeling, keep in mind they do this to ‘many’ members, and yes there are ‘some’ good members however i would never give the force credit for finding these people as i feel they fluked in landing good people (w/all the other assholes they hire it must be a fluke!). I’d recommend trying to find work elsewhere in federal/provincial gov.t. where your pension is transferrable, so not all is lost. I don’t know if you’re a PSE, CM, RM, and for sake of confidentiality nobody needs to know but if you’re an RM w/20 years or more you could try a reduced pension (i’d still recommend transferring to another gov.t – or take the pension, and start another career in gov.t/another pension or thrive somewhere in private sector if you feel that’s an avenue for you). I say these things, because these uniformed imbeciles won’t stop. I hope you get your life back one day as none of this is healthy nor bodes well for the mind. I have no respect for the organisation, the majority of it’s people (even though i’ve met good ones as well) or it’s low culture.
The brass = cowards, and cowards can not pass beyond the walls or wired fences, as for them, frontiers are always the end of the road, and a beginning for the rest of us.
Wish you well Supporter.
Reblogged this on Badge of Life Canada.
I am an outsider looking in, 31 years as a municipal police officer, 26 years a survivor of PTSD and 10 years in charge of recruitment and training.
I want to respectfully share my support for all of you and share my observations in the hope that it helps.
What a mess…what a terrible mess…
I think the damaging behaviour is so deeply entrenched in the personality traits of so many who are in charge mainly or probably because of what they saw for examples as they worked their way up the ranks.
Somehow, and soon I hope, the line has to be drawn in the sand where all of you say, “It has to stop here!” – no more accepting of what is historic behaviour based on past norms.
There are plenty of excellent supervisors in the RCMP, as there are in any police organization, but they need to be empowered by knowing that they themselves need not fear the loss of their status and jobs by trying to create the change needed. They need the support by those who can and will stand by them and that has to be you.
The most unfortunate thing about the RCMP, as an outsider looking in, is that it is so strongly entrenched in the admiration of its history that it cannot accept change.
Scratch not very deeply in that past history however and you will see tons of abhorrent human resources behaviour.
Management in general, doesn’t know if it is a military or police organization because throughout its history it was both, at the same time.
So it says that it is police minded – which includes both the soldier and social worker competencies – but it treats its members as if they are dispensable – like the common combat soldier. The philosophy seems to be that if you don’t work out, there are dozens others lined up to take your place – just like the army.
If we join a police service on the belief that it is a police service that includes the ability to not only enforce but improve the lives of others in the community and we are faced with supervisors who have the military mindset of “We are going to break you down and re-build you the way we want you to be, or else get rid of you” then you are screwed for having come into the organization with a mind set that is contrary to that entrenched in a history that does not accept such modern thinking yet.
This is big…..huge….and you need to form that common front. Too many of you are fighting individual battles and losing…the most well known way to defeat an army is to divide it and conquer it in small pieces. Stand united and you have a chance to create change.
How can you do that?….I am not on the inside to know well enough how it truly works for you…but you do!
I sincerely hope that I have not offended any of you by sharing my comments. You have suffered enough without getting it from one more angle, but I am seeing so many of you being attacked as individuals and I can’t help but hope that you band together soon.
Garth,
Sorry to hear that your issue has been unresolved since we last spoke, however that is the status quo for what ineffective programs and policies managed by unqualified persons tends to achieve, the final result is failure and negligence which is then claimed as success. Amazing what abuse and incompetence can be called without the necessary independent oversight mechanism to ensure its accountability and integrity. Bottom line, Core Values and Mission Statements spun by Strategic Communications Hacks = Don’t Care.
I believe your creating a Member’s Support Group in “K” Division is a fabulous idea, opening lines of honest and factual communication is the greatest power members (regular and civilian) have in assisting each other to address workplace matters. When we started up, we invited “E” Division Senior Management, Human Resources and Health Services to join in and work together with us. No real surprise the answer was a “No”. We have forged ahead as a group and provided a great deal of assistance to members and given support in matters where they were being isolated and bullied by supervisors and peers. I would be happy to help you with setting your group up and sharing our learned experiences and solutions with you. Most important of all I believe is the support in letting the member realize they are not alone and have strength and resiliency to stand up and work together to stand up to abuses and poisoned workplaces.
Keep in touch, we can strengthen the workplace for members wellbeing and safety by opening communication and sharing the strength of two Member’s Support Groups.
Great work.
Stewart Robertson
Chair
Lower Mainland Member’s Support Group
Hi Anon, that gag order and by out offer wasn’t served on Garth it was served on me and I have already forwarded it to the Senate but I would happily send a copy to Rolly. I didn’t sign it so I have no reason not to it’s a free country. Tell him to get in touch via the mediator and I’ll scan it and sent it to him with pleasure.
Hello Again Anon,
I spoke to the moderator of this blog. They advised that they sent you an e-mail with contact info to send me the documents we discussed. Thanks for agreeing to share, I appreciate your assistance.
Rolly Beaulieu
I want to thank you for being one of the few men, who are working in, with or has been an RCMP Member for coming forward and speaking up. It only takes 1/10 to be abusive, to create harm; it takes another 9/10 staying silent to make sure that the 1/10 abusers succeed, indefinitely doing both obvious damage, and vast amounts of untold harm. I am grateful that you are 1/10 who are speaking up against the bullying and harassment – more so, thank you, for being male and doing so. The fact that you have done this, allows me to have hope that there are decent members and non-members out there, and that maybe, someday, I might live in a community that has at least one – it’s my hope…My reality is, that 1/10 are abusive, and the other 9/10 would rather not say anything, just sit back, and let it happen, and do nothing because someday… I am grateful you have not been one of those – I am relieved to see that you are someone who refuses to allow abusive persons to run your life, run roughshod over you and everyone else, and destroy what it means to be human and to be equals. I am grateful to you for restoring some of my hope and faith, that men really do exist, who will not only think to themselves; gee it sucks to be them, glad it’s not me – rather who choose to say; no, that’s unacceptable, I won’t be treated like that, and I will not allow you to degrade all of us, alienating our humanity, equality and rights, by treating anyone else that way either. I am grateful to you for your courage in the face of corruption, I am grateful to know you are someone who will not allow it to go unnoticed, and unchallenged. Thank you, Mr. Garth Caron, for sharing. I wish you the best of luck with setting up a support group and would be glad to know that you’ve succeeded at it, would enjoy hearing about your struggles and thoughts on your life now and in future. With deepest gratitude for your courage, honesty, bravery and dedication to humanity and equality; best to you, Sir.
I am praying that a union will give a backbone and a strong framework to represent members. Members would be protected by a collective agreement and any grievance would be filed by the union against the employer. I was a unionized police officer for 22 years and then a member of the RCMP for 14 years (best 22 years of my career) I only filed two grievances in my 22 years with the Municipal Police Force, actually I made the complaint to the union who then filed the grievance not just on my behalf but on behalf of every member of the union with a multi purpose in filing. The first was to rectify the situation and remedy it and the second was to ensure that no other member would be treated in the same manner. Both of my grievances were settled in favour of the union and led to a remedy that rectified the wrongdoing and set in stone a strict adherence to the particular section of the collective agreement. In the RCMP the member is on his own and oft times is fighting a fight that has been fought before by others, and will be fought again by many others as there is no collective reasoning or remedy under the current system. time for a union folks.