Status of Women Committee on Feb. 28th, 2013

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

Good morning, and welcome to the 61^st meeting of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. My apologies for the slight delay. We have had some minor connection problems. That sometimes happens when we are putting videoconferences together.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), today we are continuing our study of sexual harassment in the federal workplace.

By videoconference, we are going to hear from Craig J. Callens and Carol Bradley, from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

You have 10 minutes in which to give your presentation. We will then move to a question and answer period.

Without further delay, I will give you the floor.

[Deputy Commissioner Craig J. Callens, Commanding Officer, "E" Division, Royal Canadian Mounted Police]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning to you and to the committee members. Thank you for the invitation and for allowing me to join you this morning via video conference.

I am Deputy Commissioner Craig Callens, the commanding officer of the RCMP in British Columbia, also known as “E” Division.

Here with me today is Inspector Carol Bradley, our “E” Division respectful workplace program team leader. She is available to assist in answering any questions related to the respectful workplace activities and initiatives under way by the RCMP in British Columbia.

As this is my first appearance before you, I would like to begin with a very brief overview of “E” Division.

The RCMP in British Columbia is the police force of jurisdiction in all but 11 municipalities in the province. It is also the provincial force, and of course, we have a strong presence with respect to our federal mandate.

Seventy-five per cent of British Columbians receive front-line policing services from the RCMP through our 185 detachments that cover 99% of the geographic area in British Columbia, including 190 first nations communities.

We have over 9,000 employees in B.C., which is a combination of over 6,400 regular sworn members and over 2,000 civilian employees. Our diverse workforce includes over 1,400 female regular members of the RCMP, or approximately 23% of our sworn police officers.

Organizationally, our division headquarters is now in Surrey, British Columbia. We have four geographic district headquarters buildings: in the north, southeast, island, and lower mainland districts.

We typically respond to over one million calls for service a year.

I am aware of your interest in the work we are doing here in British Columbia in relation to our respectful workplace program. I can provide you with a very brief overview and some highlights.

Approximately one year ago, shortly after my appointment as commanding officer for “E” Division, I requested a practical assessment of the division's current approaches to maintaining a respectful workplace, and expressed a strong interest in identifying and exploring new ways that those alleging gender-based harassment could come forward and report incidents without fear of reprisal or retribution.

I requested that a broad-based consultation be conducted with a cross-section of female members and employees across the province, not only to hear about their experiences but also to receive any recommendations they had specific to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment.

Concurrently, we also received and analyzed the results and recommendations of the recently completed professionalism in policing project by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

In concert with other human resource initiatives under way, in April 2012 the “E” Division respectful workplace action plan was developed, with 11 specific objectives and 51 action items broken down into three phases with set timelines and goals.

Some of the highlights of our respectful workplace action plan include a respectful workplace literature review to identify best practices in relation to creating and maintaining a respectful workplace in a policing organization.

An employee survey was conducted, the largest and most comprehensive ever in British Columbia, with over 3,100 employees responding with feedback and suggestions on 19 workplace factors.

An early intervention system, the performance awareness reporting system, was implemented to monitor and track behavioural indicators to ensure early support and employee wellness.

Harassment awareness and investigation training was completed, and over 100 trained harassment investigators are now available in this division.

Twenty-three respectful workplace advisers have been identified and trained to respond to calls ranging from requests for simple information to assisting employees who have had a workplace issue that needed to be addressed. Another 24 respectful workplace advisers are being trained this week.

My three assistant commissioners, who are part of my senior management team, started delivery of our ethical leadership presentation three months ago during the mandatory operational skills maintenance course at our Pacific Region Training Centre.

I personally present at our supervisor and management development training programs in which the maintenance of a respectful workplace has been embedded.

We have hired two informal conflict management practitioners to provide training, support, and assistance to employees, supervisors, and managers in addressing and managing conflict in the workplace in a proactive, timely, and effective manner.

A respectful workplace advisory committee has been created to act as subject matter experts and to support our senior leaders and the division management team as they develop specific plans to bridge the gaps identified in the employee survey.

Dr. Stephen Maguire, a professor at Carleton University and the co-author of the CACP professionalism in policing project, is providing workshops on ethical leadership to workplace advisers and committee members in our division. There is a workshop being held today, and another one will be held in three weeks.

Just two weeks ago we held a workshop for 25 managers that dealt with promoting cultural change and enhancing gender diversity.

Perhaps most significantly, an electronic confidential reporting system has been created, which we anticipate will go live by April 1 of this year. It allows for a confidential reporting option outside of the chain of command.

The entire plan is supported by a comprehensive communication plan that works to ensure employees are aware of the initiatives under way and the items that have been actioned.

A great deal has been done and is being done to address the issues and gaps we and our employees here in British Columbia have identified. I have utmost confidence in the leadership Inspector Bradley is providing and in the commitment being demonstrated by my senior officers to support this important work.

The key is that this plan is not about a quick fix or short-term gains. It is about changing the way we do business. It is about creating an environment within which employees feel valued and leaders can flourish. It is about sustainability in that this has gone from an idea to a plan and now to a program with the intention for this to be core business for the RCMP in British Columbia. It is an ambitious plan with short timelines, but I believe it is achievable.

We are sharing all that we have learned, working with our colleagues in other divisions and nationally, and adjusting where necessary.

I have provided you with a very brief and quick overview of the respectful workplace action plan and program here in British Columbia, and we'd be very pleased to take any of your questions.

Thank you.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

Thank you very much.

We now start our first round of questions.

Mrs. Truppe, you have seven minutes.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for appearing today and for sharing all that you're doing.

One of the things you mentioned was the workshop you had for 25 managers two weeks ago, which dealt with promoting cultural change and enhancing gender diversity. How did that go? Was it a daylong session or was it a three-hour session? Was it effective?

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

Thank you for the question.

Inspector Bradley organized and was present for the training and received feedback from those candidates who were in attendance. Perhaps Inspector Bradley can give you the best answer to your question.

[Inspector Carol Bradley, Team Leader, "E" Division, Respectful Workplace Program, Royal Canadian Mounted Police]

Thank you, sir.

Thank you for the question.

It was a three-day training workshop that included a Ph.D. who specializes in gender communications. We had a number of male and female employees attend. It went very well. There was a lot of great open dialogue and a lot of sharing and learning from each other. The feedback was very positive in terms of the impact of the workshop.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Was it mandatory or voluntary for the 25 people?

[Insp Carol Bradley]

It was the first opportunity we had to run the workshop. It was voluntary in the sense that we put out a call for people who were interested.

Senior managers, for the most part, were the people who attended. We did have representatives of every business line within the province and all of the different programs. There was a lot of representation in terms of the different areas in British Columbia. There were different categories of employees and a fair amount of diversity in the group.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

You had also stated that an electronic confidential reporting system has been created, and I think it's going to go live in another month or so. It allows for a confidential reporting option outside the chain of command.

How would that be communicated to everyone?

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

We have an internal website for the RCMP in British Columbia. Specifically within the website is a link to our respectful workplace action plan. Each one of the 51 initiatives that are under way is communicated and clearly set out on that website and available to our members.

In addition to that, I have sent out a number of internal communiqués identifying the progress we are making on these initiatives. We have shared the respectful workplace action plan, including the confidential reporting system that is set to begin in the next month, with every member and employee in this division.

Finally, I have provided a copy of it to my employee advisory group for their feedback and for their dissemination within the division.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you.

In the “Summary Report on Gender Based Harassment and Respectful Workplace Consultations” for “E” Division, there are recommendations on training. There are several things that are voluntary, and some that are mandatory. There's mandatory in-classroom training that is delivered by people who are professionally trained and non-RCMP members. Real-life scenarios are to be used without identifying names. There's more training education for senior managers and supervisors so they know how to detect the signs and how to handle these types of situations when an employee reports these types of incidents.

The commissioner who was here mentioned that the RCMP is taking steps along the lines of your recommendation on training, to integrate in-person training on maintaining a respectful workplace into the regular training mechanism for senior management and to continue with refresher training through the online courses.

Has your division begun taking additional steps towards this goal?

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

We have. In the spring of last year we hired two external specialists in harassment training, and we held a three-day training session for 100 new harassment awareness and harassment investigators in this province. They have been deployed across the division and are now available to assist us in addressing cases that come to our attention.

All the work we have done with the respectful workplace advisers is a three-day session, during which additional in-person training is provided with external experts to assist us in ensuring that the respectful workplace advisers can deliver on their mandate.

Finally, we have a respectful workplace advisory committee of senior officers from across the province who are receiving ongoing in-person training to ensure that they are able to develop the sort of plans locally that we require to ensure that we're successful over the long term.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you.

The report also notes a lack of conflict resolution skills in some of the supervisors. The commissioner mentioned earlier this week that he would like training for supervisors and management to become mandatory.

I was wondering if you could speak to the importance of having supervisors in management who are comfortable dealing with issues of sexual harassment, specifically in the workplace, immediately as they arise.

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

Yes, thank you.

I think really that is the spirit and intent, for the most part, of our respectful workplace program. It is to be proactive and ahead of the curve when it comes to harassment and sexual harassment.

We have hired two external professional conflict management practitioners to assist us as resources to train our officer cadre, and our senior non-commissioned officers—

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

You have one minute.

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

—in the ways and means of being proactive, and addressing issues as they begin to develop, as opposed to reacting to complaints after a matter has gone beyond that with which we can deal early in the process.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you.

Could you comment on the type of message your division has been receiving from the commissioner on the topic of maintaining a respectful workplace?

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

Well, the messages have been clear and they have been constant. There is an absolute priority being attached to developing, maintaining, and enhancing the workplace in the RCMP, both in British Columbia and across the country.

[The Chair, NDP, Marie-Claude Morin]

We now move to the official opposition.

Ms. Ashton, you have seven minutes.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Thank you very much.

Thank you to the witnesses for joining us all the way from British Columbia.

It's interesting to hear about the work that you've been doing over the last year. Obviously a great deal of work is being done to change things for the better within the “E” Division out in B.C.

Has there been an opportunity to evaluate the kinds of initiatives that you've taken over the past year, and if so, what are the results that you've seen?

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

I would suggest that the evaluations to date have been rather unscientific. I have shared the respectful workplace action plan with every employee, including my employee advisory committee. I solicited feedback on the content and fulsomeness of the action plan. That feedback has been extremely positive.

I mentioned in my opening comments that we had conducted a division-wide workplace survey that had a number of questions that spoke directly to the respectful workplace action plan. We developed a baseline through the course of that survey. It is our intention, upon rolling out all the initiatives that are contained within our action plan and that are attached to our respectful workplace program, to conduct a second survey some months from now to determine more scientifically whether or not we are achieving the kinds of goals and objectives we've set out to achieve.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Have you seen an increase in reporting?

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

We have seen a considerable increase in the reliance on and utilization of the respectful workplace advisers who we have introduced in the division.

To this point there have been in excess of 40 contacts made between members and employees and the respectful workplace advisers, seeking information, seeking guidance, seeking support in terms of how they might most effectively deal with issues that are occurring in the workplace.

Personally speaking, that has exceeded my expectations. The feedback from those who have relied on the respectful workplace advisers has been extremely positive. The respectful workplace advisers themselves are feeling that the program is gaining momentum and is going to fill the void that was identified within the gender-based harassment consultations that were initially done in February 2012.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Of course, we've heard interest in launching this on a national basis. For anyone who wants to launch a program at the national level something that is important is data, and obviously evaluation.

Are you currently collecting data, and if so, will you continue to collect data, in terms of complaints, in terms of cases, and in terms of how many times people are reaching out to these advisers? It seems that would be important information for a national model.

[D/Commr Craig J. Callens]

Yes, I couldn't agree more. Indeed, we are collecting that data here divisionally. As you may have heard, all of our harassment investigations and complaints have now been forwarded across the country to our national headquarters and they are being tracked nationally.