Top cop accused of bullying an officer in 2012
In his zeal to investigate reports of rampant harassment in the workplace, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson was formally accused of being a bully.
The 2012 allegation prompted then-public safety minister Steven Blaney to probe Paulson’s conduct and force the commissioner to apologize for exercising “bad judgment,” the National Post has learned.
In 2012, a staff sergeant in British Columbia accused Paulson of being intimidating and demeaning during a heated email exchange about the direction of the Mounties and in interviews with reporters after those emails became public.
Blaney reviewed the complaint with the help of a consulting firm and Larry Murray, a retired military vice-admiral and former civil servant. He found some parts of it were justified and ordered Paulson in early 2014 to apologize and take “corrective measures.”
The details of the investigation, unreported until now, come as the RCMP is facing two class-action lawsuits alleging gender-based sexual harassment and discrimination.
Paulson acknowledged Monday he could have been more circumspect in his exchange with his subordinate and has learned to accept people hold views that “aren’t always in line with mine.”
That said, he does not think the episode has compromised the force’s efforts to create a more respectful workplace.
“I am not concerned this event will be misunderstood as somehow discordant with the work we have done on harassment,” he wrote in an email. “I think if someone takes the time to get to the nuts and bolts of this particular exchange you’d see a passionate exchange about what needs to get fixed in the RCMP.”
The complainant, Staff Sgt. Tim Chad, at the time posted to the Ridge Meadows detachment, declined to comment Monday through a staff relations representative.
The spat erupted when Paulson was months into his role as commissioner. He had just launched a new initiative, Every Employee Engaged, and sent out a video message intended to spark discussion about creating a more respectful workplace and improving accountability.
Chad emailed Paulson to complain the talk about changing the RCMP culture seemed to cast all members in a negative light.
“We are not all a bunch of screw ups but it is evident that we are all being lumped into that category and we are not valued and trusted,” he wrote. “The vast majority of the membership already lives by our core values and works hard every day to do the right thing.”
Paulson replied Chad’s email revealed an “ill-informed arrogance” and he was “living under a rock if you think that our current situation … does not warrant an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to restoring the public trust.
“Your attempt to discredit my effort to have an honest discussion with the staff of the RCMP strikes me as a cheap and unsophisticated insult, when you suggest that I am talking down to members.”
Paulson copied his response to Chad’s commanding officer, the officer in charge of his detachment and a district officer.
After the emails were leaked, Paulson defended his remarks, telling The Province he was facing “pockets of resistance” to cultural change.
Chad filed a harassment complaint, accusing Paulson of belittling, demeaning and intimidating him in his email and in interviews.