RCMP officers allege sexual abuse by doctor at Mounties’ health office

Police in Halifax are investigating allegations that RCMP members and recruits were sexually assaulted by a doctor at the Mounties’ health clinic in Nova Scotia over two decades.

The force’s commanding officer in Nova Scotia, Assistant Commissioner Brian Brennan, said in a note to officers that several employees have come forward, and he expects “many more” in the months ahead.

“I am at a loss for words as I write this message to you. To say I’m shocked and disheartened doesn’t seem like enough,” Brennan wrote. “This is an extremely devastating time for those who have shared their trauma and are reliving this, and I am beyond unsettled to think that an individual who this organization entrusted abused their position of power.”

The RCMP said the incidents occurred between October 1981 and July 2003 at the RCMP health services office in the Halifax suburb of Bedford.

Assistant Commissioner Stephen White, the force’s acting chief human resources officer, said in an email to members that the allegations involved a doctor who conducted recruitment medical examinations and periodic health assessments on members.

“We understand that the individual has retired from practising medicine,” White wrote.

White and Brennan both urged anyone with knowledge of the alleged sexual assaults to contact Halifax Regional Police and to seek help from the RCMP’s medical staff and psychologists.

Const. Carol McIsaac, spokeswoman for Halifax police, says an investigation was opened after the allegations were brought to their attention late last week.