Ottawa, ON — Following is a statement from Brian Sauvé, President of the National Police Federation, regarding an independent review of claims of workplace harassment at Rideau Hall:
“In September 2020, we learned of stories of harassment and other troubling behaviour experienced by RCMP Members assigned to Governor General Julie Payette’s Protection Detail.
Despite being relatively newly constituted as the RCMP’s first labour union, we quickly found ways to support our Members. These included holding town-hall sessions with affected Members to better understand and discuss the issues and providing access to specialized workplace advisors to help Members navigate how to properly handle such thorny and disruptive situations.
Now that the independent advisors have completed their review of the workplace harassment at Rideau Hall, we hope that our Members will be able to experience a much more positive and rewarding work environment that, frankly, should be the norm.
Fundamentally, you can’t manage what you can’t measure. And you can’t measure what you don’t report. That’s why standing up for Members against this sort of environment and behaviour is so important, not only to measure and manage, but also to enable others who may not feel ready or brave enough to report issues they are experiencing.
The NPF is committed to ensuring that RCMP Members work in an environment free of harassment, bullying and intimidation and that accessible, stigma-free supports exist when this occurs.
From our perspective, workplace corrective action discussions are a reasonable part of professional development. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, inclusivity and have access to an effective, thorough and predictable complaints framework – whether you’re an office worker, factory worker, or an RCMP Member protecting the personal safety of the Queen’s representative in Canada.”
About the National Police Federation:
The National Police Federation (NPF) was certified to represent ~20,000 RCMP front-line Members serving across Canada and internationally in the summer of 2019. The NPF is the largest police labour relations organization in Canada; the second largest in North America and is the first independent national association to represent RCMP Members.
The NPF is focused on improving public safety in Canada by negotiating the first-ever Collective Agreement for RCMP officers, and on increasing resources, equipment, training and other supports for
our Members who have been under-funded for far too long. Better resourcing and supports for the RCMP will enhance community safety and livability in the communities we serve, large and small, across Canada.
For more information: https://npf-fpn.com/
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Fabrice de Dongo
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