Top RCMP woman officer retires
Mounties seek to boost visibility of females, minorities
They want to be promoted based on knowledge, skills and
ability.
STAFF SGT. ABE TOWNSEND
The highest-ranking woman in the RCMP, who had been tapped by the commissioner to help improve the work environment for women in the force, quietly retired in late May, Postmedia News has learned.
The departure of Deputy Commissioner Line Carbonneau comes at a time when there reportedly have been growing murmurs of discontent about Commissioner Bob Paulson’s efforts to boost the visibility of women and minorities in the upper ranks.
“It’s something female senior officers have expressed concerns about,” Staff Sgt. Abe Townsend, who is on the national executive of the RCMP’s staff relations program, said Thursday.
“They want to be promoted based on knowledge, skills and ability. They still have to have credibility in the workplace.”
Paulson has previously acknowledged that he has to be careful that his efforts aren’t viewed as token appointments.
“The women have been quite clear on this. ‘Don’t do us any favours, commissioner. Just be fair to us. Don’t be promoting women because they’re women. Promote them because they’re qualified,’ ” he said in March.
At the same time, Paulson has not shied away from stating publicly that his long-term goal is for half the force to be made up of women. Just this week, in an internal bulletin to the force, he reiterated his desire for “balanced representation” in the organization “that focuses on the strengths of all our members, at all ranks.”
In an email Thursday, his communications staff said: “The key is to ensure equal opportunities and fair processes, which is what we are looking at now.”
Since his appointment in November, Paulson’s leadership has been tested as the force deals with allegations of systemic sexual harassment and discrimination. Hearings recently got underway in B.C. Supreme Court on a related classaction lawsuit involving about 200 current and former female RCMP members. The class action has yet to be certified.
On the day of his swearing-in ceremony in December, Paulson told reporters he had asked Carbonneau to help him steer through the crisis: “I want an answer by the end of the fiscal year: What do I have to do in order to increase the number of women at our senior ranks?”
Carbonneau, who hails from Gaspe, Quebec, joined the force in 1975 and trained with the RCMP Depot’s third all-female troop. She took on a number of roles in the force, including general investigations, commercial crime and the prime minister’s protective unit.
From 2005 to 2010, she was the commanding officer of Quebec’s “C” Division, where she oversaw investigations into the Mafia and covert drug operations. In December 2010, she was promoted to deputy commissioner for policing support services. On May 16, five months after asking for Carbonneau’s help, Paulson announced in an internal bulletin that she was leaving the force.