NC-057 - Harassment

Constable X filed a grievance against Sergeant Y in 2013. As part of that grievance, Constable X sent the Office for the Coordination of Grievances (OCG) an email in which she made comments perceived as harassing by Sergeant Y. Consequently, Sergeant Y, who was on medical leave, asked the Appellant to file a harassment complaint on his behalf against Constable X.

The complaint was submitted to the Office for the Coordination of Grievances and Appeals (OCGA) on November 28, 2016. On January 19, 2017, the Respondent dismissed the complaint on the ground that it should have been dealt with as part of the grievance process. In support of his position, the Respondent relied on the grievance policy in effect at the time, the Administration Manual (AM), Chapter II.38 "Grievances" (AM II.38), which stated that "the level considering a grievance shall decide all matters relating to it" (section 13).

Since the new Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. R-10, took effect in November 2014, all harassment complaints must be dealt with as per the current harassment policy, meaning the AM, Chapter XII.8 "Investigation and Resolution of Harassment Complaints" (AM XII.8). In the case at hand, since the complaint was filed in 2016, the latter should have by default been dealt with as per AM XII.8. The Respondent therefore erred in applying AM II.38 under the circumstances, and the decision under appeal is consequently based on an error of law.

The ERC recommended that the appeal be allowed.

The Commissioner's decision, as summarized by her office, is as follows:

[Translation]

Constable X filed a grievance against the Appellant in November 2013, which was deemed unfounded in March 2016. A few months later, in September 2016, Constable X sent an email to the OCG and a third party about the complaint proceedings containing comments about the Appellant, which the Appellant perceived as harassing. On November 28, 2016, the Appellant, through his representative, filed a harassment complaint against Constable X for the statements contained in that email.

On January 19, 2017, the Respondent decided to dismiss the Appellant's harassment complaint on the grounds that it should have been addressed in the grievance proceeding involving Constable X, since the grievance policy in effect at the time in Chapter II.38 of the Administration Manual (AM) stated that "the level considering a grievance shall decide all matters relating to it." The Appellant is appealing this decision.

The Adjudicator shares the ERC's view that the decision under appeal is based on an error of law and accepts its recommendation to allow the appeal. However, the Adjudicator finds that, given the amount of time that has passed, the fact that Constable X no longer works for the RCMP and the prima facie conduct decision rendered against Constable X concerning allegations related to this case, no further action is possible in this litigation. The Adjudicator offers his sincerest apologies to the Appellant for the RCMP's failure to address his harassment complaint in accordance with Chapter XII.8 of the AM.