Grievance Case Summary - G-382

The Grievor filed a harassment complaint against three superior officers. He alleged a conspiracy to harass him and also complained of a series of specific acts which he alleged amounted to harassment. The Respondent declined to investigate the complaint on the basis that there was no evidence of a conspiracy and the specific acts complained of amounted to administrative decisions or workplace conflict. The Grievor filed a grievance against the decision not to investigate his complaint.

The Committee found that the Respondent failed to follow the process required by the Treasury Board policy "Harassment in the Work Place Policy", chapter 3-2 of the Treasury Board Manual.

Further the Committee found that the Respondent's conclusion that no investigation was required because the allegations were mostly workplace conflict issues was in error. A number of the allegations were related to administrative decisions, however, this in itself does not rule out the possibility of harassment, because abuse of authority, a type of harassment, can be made up of a series of administrative decisions. Therefore, a full investigation should have been ordered.

The Committee recommends to the Commissioner of the RCMP that the grievance be allowed.

The Committee also recommends that the Force apologize to the Grievor for the fact that his harassment complaint was not dealt with in the manner required by the applicable Treasury Board policy.

Due to the passage of time, the Committee declines to recommend that an investigation be ordered.

The Commissioner has rendered a decision in this matter, as summarized by his office:

The Commissioner concurs with the ERC's finding that the Respondent was not entitled to make a determination that there was no harassment without at least meeting with the complainant, as required by the TB policy. However, it was the Commissioner's view that the Respondent's policy breach was a procedural omission or technical defect that does not appear to have necessarily worked to the Grievor's detriment.

The Commissioner also agrees with the Chair that a full investigation should have been ordered into the Grievor's allegations of harassment according to Treasury Board and RCMP policies. In his opinion, the consultation of experts on harassment matters was not a course of action that constituted a sufficient investigation of the facts within the meaning of the applicable policies.

As for a redress, the Commissioner decided that given the passage of time, the file could not be sent back in order for the harassment complaint process to be completed. On behalf of the Force, the Commissioner apologized for the fact that this harassment complaint