Round Two of Hard Ball Politicking on March 1st between CBC and RCMP versus Mean Old Me

CBC continues with it obvious political malice by blocking me from commenting in one article while allowing in another at the same point in time.

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/rcmp-harassment-allegations-psychiatrist-1.3998752

Psychiatrist alleges RCMP's 'attempt to bully' him shows historic sexual harassment apology hollow

Dr. Greg Passey says force continues to deny harassment allegations of some of his patients

By Natalie Clancy, Manjula Dufresne, CBC News Posted: Mar 01, 2017 2:00 AM PT

51 Comments

Content disabled.

David Raymond Amos

Do tell does CBC Mike Webster the Shrink in BC who wanted the top RCMP job instead of Paulson and his pals in 2011? I remember those days very clearly. I did not trust Paulson or Webster and all their crybaby buddies as far as could throw them. However remember what Webster and his buddies were saying about the bullies who wear the Red Serge?

Remember what Webster said about politics? Methinks they deserve each other EH?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/rcmp-blacklist-b-c-psychologist-critical-of-force-1.1178116

That said I recall talking to Dr. Greg Passey personally in 2014 while I was investigating the demise of Greg Matters the ex soldier who was harassed by the RCMP in New Brunswick at the same time I was. Matters was shot in the back twice by the RCMP in BC and the cover up was astounding.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/greg-matters-had-no-chance-to-speak-to-psychiatrist-1.1932061

Matters' shrink Dr. Greg Passey seemed like a very decent and ethical dude to me on the phone. I would believe every word he says on this topic about the RCMP and their malice because I have experienced it myself since 1982.

To end on a comical note I must say that the three stooges not in uniform who attempted to bully mean old me in the middle of the night on private property in Fort McMurray got a shocking surprise when they discovered that I was also investigating the murders on the Highway of Tears that Bobby Boy Paulson had been covering up since he was Corporal in Prince Rupert in 1999.

Lets just that I was not afraid of the three stooges one little bit & everybody in the know knows I'm about to file a Hell of a lawsuit against the RCMP

It should interesting to see if CBC blocks this comment N'esy Pas Hubby Baby Lacriox and Minister Joly???

This comment is awaiting moderation by the site administrators.

David Raymond Amos

@David Raymond Amos HMMM

Methinks your mindless minions such as Natalie Clancy (Whom I talked to personally in 2014) should check their email and Twitter accounts ASAP N'esy Pas Bobby Boy Paulson, Hubby Baby Lacroix and Minister Joly???

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/shared-services-it-rcmp-problems-1.4003019

 

Government must account for tech failures afflicting RCMP, opposition says

Provinces that contract RCMP police services also keeping a close eye on Mounties' IT troubles

By Alison Crawford, CBC News Posted: Feb 28, 2017 2:46 PM ET

 99 Comments

Jack Ruler

Tony was behind Phoenix and combined service both failed. Now he wants the Liberals to fix it?

David Raymond Amos

@Jack Ruler Methinks the first thing Tony and his old buddies in the RCMP should do is start reviewing all the emails I sent them since 2004. A lot of can still be found published all over the Internet to this very day.

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/rcmp-harassment-allegations-psychiatrist-1.3998752

Psychiatrist alleges RCMP's 'attempt to bully' him shows historic sexual harassment apology hollow

Dr. Greg Passey says force continues to deny harassment allegations of some of his patients

By Natalie Clancy, Manjula Dufresne, CBC News Posted: Mar 01, 2017 2:00 AM PT 

Dr. Greg Passey alleges the RCMP's 'attempt to bully' him is a continuation of the harassment of two of his patients who are suing the force. (Natalie Clancy/CBC)

A Vancouver psychiatrist says despite the RCMP's public apology to hundreds of female staffers for decades of sexual harassment, the force is still denying some of his patients' claims of abuse and sexual misconduct and trying to fire two of them.

Dr. Greg Passey, who specializes in treating first responders who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, says less than a month after the public apology in October, two senior Mounties paid him a visit to discuss his medical recommendation that the force must settle lawsuits with two of his patients before they can return to work.

Rather than settle, the RCMP sent the women their final dismissal papers last week.

"You have this big public apology and about a month later the abuse of power continues, the harassment continues," Passey said.

Passey, who has had a front-row seat to the five-year-long controversy that has rocked the RCMP and culminated in the apology and $100-million settlement of a class action lawsuit, believes the public perception that the force is transforming itself isn't accurate.

Cpl. Susan Gastaldo, left, and civilian employee Atoya Montague say they are being unfairly fired before their lawsuits against the RCMP have been heard in court. (CBC)

His two patients in the process of being fired, Atoya Montague, a civilian communications strategist, and Cpl. Susan Gastaldo, an undercover officer, are suing the force separately and are both on sick leave suffering from PTSD.

According to their lawsuits, Montague claims she was sexually propositioned daily by senior officers and Gastaldo claims her supervisor repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

They say the force is now in the process of unfairly firing them, and continues to deny all their claims, despite the public acknowledgement of decades of "shameful conduct."

But the public apology doesn't mean the police force admitted to every individual allegation of sexual misconduct. In the context of the class action lawsuit, claims are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In the case of separate lawsuits, allegations will be tested in court.

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson wipes his eyes after hugging lead plaintiff Janet Merlo when the $100-million settlement was announced in Ottawa in October. (CBC)

Commissioner's apology: 'crocodile tears'

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson wiped away tears after apologizing to female Mounties on Oct 6.
"You came to the RCMP wanting to personally contribute to your community and we failed you. We hurt you. For that, I'm truly sorry."

• Mounties offer apology and $100M compensation for harassment

Passey says in his professional opinion as a psychiatrist "those were tears of embarrassment, that was not in sympathy with the women."

"Crocodile tears by the commissioner ... that was about humiliation and embarrassment and having to apologize for the harassment and abuse of power that occurred on his watch," said Passey, who bases his criticism on the RCMP's handling of Gastaldo and Montague's files since the apology in October.

Paulson apology: "we failed you, we hurt you"2:07

RCMP bosses visit psychiatrist's office

On Nov. 2, two managers from RCMP's E Division were in Passey's office giving him what he calls a taste of what his patients have experienced.

Passey had written RCMP's medical services to say that PTSD wasn't the only thing keeping Gastaldo and Montague off the job.

He wrote that a condition of their return to work must be a resolution of their sexual misconduct lawsuits.
Passey alleges the meeting was "an attempt to bully" him into changing his opinion.

He says Supt. Sean Sullivan suggested his written recommendations weren't compliant with B.C.'s College of Physicians and Surgeons guidelines.

'Veiled threat' over medical opinion

"What other employer anywhere in Canada would send a senior management person into a physician's office and basically say ... 'If you don't change your opinion,' then there is a veiled threat that they were going to do a college complaint," said Passey.

He says he took that to mean the RCMP was considering filing a complaint with the physicians' regulator, just as it had done with psychologist Mike Webster after he criticized the force's handling of his patients' harassment complaints in 2011.  

That complaint was later dismissed and the RCMP was found to have breached the privacy of officers in filing the complaint.

RCMP denies bullying Dr. Passey​

In an email to Dr. Passey in November, Supt. Sean Sullivan summarized their meeting, saying the RCMP believed Passey's recommendation that the force resolve the lawsuits was "opinion based towards the management of the RCMP" and "not inline with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. Professional Standards and Guidelines."

Susan Gastaldo, seen here in her RCMP graduation photo in 1998. (Susan Gastaldo)

Sullivan declined an interview request, but the RCMP sent a statement in response to questions from the CBC that says, "We disagree with the characterization of the meeting and deny the accusations that during that meeting the doctor was bullied or that threats to complain to the College of Physicians and Surgeons were made.

"The in-person meeting, which was agreed upon, was an attempt to have an open discussion, as we both have a role in finding solutions or a path that would help accommodate a healthy and safe return to work."

Dismissal documents sent to Montague also say the RCMP believes Dr. Passey's recommendation that the force resolve its lawsuits is not an appropriate accommodation or condition for her return to work.
Passey says his opinion is based on medical literature on PTSD.

"From a clinical point of view, it's inappropriate for either of these two ladies to return to work when the RCMP continue to deny anything bad happened to them, no attempt to resolve their lawsuits, or discipline alleged perpetrators," he said.

"Then they blame the individual for not coming back ...That is actually hurting these women's health and it's impairing the women's ability to go back to work."

Gastaldo breaks silence

When the meeting was over, the two RCMP managers walked right by Susan Gastaldo, who was seated in Passey's waiting room.

"Every time I try and return to work, the barriers are set up by the workplace, and I can't return and I have yet to see accountability," said Gastaldo, speaking publicly for the first time.

Gastaldo walking to her RCMP tribunal hearing in 2014. (CBC)

She says she's ready to return to work "as long as they can guarantee a safe workplace."
But the supervisor she alleges assaulted her is still on the job.

She was on sick leave with an anxiety disorder when she says the supervisor forced her to come back to work and coerced her into a sexual relationship she says was never consensual, according to documents filed in court.

Gastaldo was first disciplined for what the force called consensual, on-duty sex with her boss, but she was later cleared of any wrongdoing after an appeal. 

In its statement of defence, the RCMP maintains it was a consensual affair.

Women want accountability

​"Something happened every day of my career ... you're in the middle of a business conversation and they ask you when you are going to have sex with them," said Atoya Montague of her years as a civilian RCMP communications strategist.

Atoya Montague, a communications strategist at the RCMP in B.C., holds up a letter notifying her the RCMP is dismissing her. (Skype)

She was furious to learn her managers visited her psychiatrist who wants the RCMP to resolve her allegations.

"All [Dr. Passey] is saying is, 'How can I send someone back into a workplace where she's been abused, sexually assaulted, harassed and bullied almost every day of her career when you haven't even acknowledged that happened?'"

RCMP doctor overruled specialist 

Montague is also angry a family doctor working for the RCMP overruled her psychiatrist and recommended she be medically discharged from the force because she's unlikely to be fit for duty in the foreseeable future.

"This is a doctor who has never met me," said Montague.

The RCMP says it followed its policy.

"We cannot, in good conscience, continue to pay a full salary indefinitely to an employee whose health prevents them from performing any duties within the RCMP," the statement says.

Montague and Gastaldo could make claims against the class action settlement, but they are suing separately because the settlement will only compensate victims, not punish alleged perpetrators.

"It's acknowledged that there has been bad behaviour and yet nobody's been fired," said Walter Kostekyj, Gastaldo's lawyer.

None of Montague or Gastaldo's allegations have been proven in court.

Women asked Goodale for help

A report from a federal investigation into the RCMP's handling of both cases is expected at the end of March.
​

Gastaldo, from left, Catherine Galliford, Alice Fox and Montague joined forces in 2015 to ask the Liberal government for help in RCMP harassment cases. (CBC)

Ralph Goodale appointed former auditor general Sheila Fraser to investigate after Gastaldo, Montague and two others wrote the Liberal government in 2015 asking the public safety minister to stop the RCMP from firing them.

"I wait to see if Hon. Ralph Goodale has the fortitude to actually force the RCMP to change," Passey said.

"When will the government step in to stop the ongoing harassment and abuse of power?"

Goodale would not respond to questions about the firings because the cases are before the courts.

---

CBC News Investigates

If you have information on this or any other story we should investigate, e-mail us at investigate@cbc.ca
Follow @NatalieClancy on Twitter.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/shared-services-it-rcmp-problems-1.4003019

 

Government must account for tech failures afflicting RCMP, opposition says

Provinces that contract RCMP police services also keeping a close eye on Mounties' IT troubles

By Alison Crawford, CBC News Posted: Feb 28, 2017 2:46 PM ET

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has asked to meet with his cabinet colleague responsible for Shared Services Canada to discuss the RCMP's concerns, but opposition MPs are calling for a committee to study the issue. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) 

Opposition parties want the federal government to tell Parliament what it's doing to fix the chronic and dangerous IT failures affecting Canada's national police force.

This week, CBC News reported on a no-holds-barred memo from RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, where he warned of 'catastrophic consequences' should slipshod service and computer network outages continue.

Paulson said the level of service provided by the federal government's tech support agency Shared Services Canada has already hurt police operations, the integrity of the criminal justice system, and threatened officer and public safety.

• Paulson warns IT failures will have 'catastrophic' consequences
• Criminal cases, safety put at risk by IT failures: documents
• Canadian police hit by major computer network outage

"I am very concerned that the RCMP's issues have not been thoroughly addressed, thereby impacting on operational efficiency and safety. I call up on the government to report to Parliament on their plans to deal satisfactorily with [the] RCMP's concerns," said Conservative public safety critic Tony Clement.

Goodale expressed his deep concerns about the RCMP's technical issues in a Feb. 6 letter requesting a meeting with his cabinet colleague Judy Foote, the minister responsible for Shared Services Canada.

Tony Clement, who presided over the creation of Shared Services Canada in 2011 as Treasury Board president, wants the government to explain its plan to deal with the RCMP's concerns. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

But the New Democrats' public safety critic, Matthew Dubé, told CBC News these issues have been on the government's radar for months.

"When you see an example like this of the impact these IT failures can have, when it's something like public safety, it certainly adds a sense of urgency. I hope that that will be, pardon the expression, the kick in the butt that this government needs to start acting on this file," said Dubé.

Paulson has asked the government for permission to sever some of its ties with SSC, so far to no avail.
Dubé said it's something that should be considered, perhaps by the House of Commons public safety committee.

"I know [Canada's spy agency] CSIS got the exemption and the RCMP didn't. I think that's where transparency comes in. It'd be interesting to explain why CSIS and not the RCMP and what reasons are being given for not giving that exemption," he said.

IT and equipment complaints

Shared Services is the federal department created in 2011 to take over the delivery of email, data centre and network services for 43 government agencies. At the time, the previous government said the goal was to improve the government's cyber security while saving money. Clement was then the Treasury Board president and announced the creation of SSC.

Since then, the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency, Department of National Defence and Statistics Canada and other departments have reported serious and ongoing IT problems.

The RCMP has a long list of complaints about SSC, including its provision of faulty telephone headsets for 9-1-1 dispatchers, long network computer outages that affected officer dispatch and mission-critical databases, as well as computer hardware failures that resulted in the permanent loss of police information.
In addition to its national policing duties, several provinces and municipalities contract the RCMP to police their jurisdictions.

Alberta's Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley says police safety is a top priority.

"We would welcome any changes to federal IT support that would benefit RCMP officers in Alberta," she said.

An RCMP memo to the federal public safety minister said slow service and IT delays hampered RCMP during their response to the evacuation of Fort McMurray, Alta. in 2016. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

Ganley added that Alberta has invested heavily in a new radio system for the province's first responders, which will also be used by Mounties.

A spokesperson for New Brunswick's solicitor general said the province is aware of the RCMP's IT challenges and understands efforts are "underway to address those challenges to ensure that the operational readiness of the RCMP is maintained and that safety is not compromised."