The RCMP at the crossroads

Since 2016, the federal government has paid out $125,266,500 to the claimants in the Merlo-Davidson settlement, named after lawsuit plaintiffs Janet Merlo and Linda Davidson. The settlement covered those who were sexually harassed while working for the RCMP during or after September 1974.

Tasked with investigating the RCMP’s culture in the wake of that settlement, former Supreme Court justice Michel Bastarache released a report in 2020 saying the RCMP “tolerates misogynistic, racist and homophobic attitudes.”

Bastarache’s report joins a shelf filled with other reports, written by other former judges who took a run at the RCMP’s culture and structure.

Eli Sopow, a former RCMP civilian employee, has seen those reports and recommendations come and go. He spent two decades inside the force, including a turn as the RCMP’s director of “change management.”

“You know, the commission on mass casualties was a big one, but there’s been so many commissions and look at it, it’s just not going anywhere,” he said.

“The culture hasn’t changed. The structure, of course, hasn’t changed. The systems haven’t changed. When you talk about change and we talk about a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose, well, it seems to have no sense of urgency at the political level.”

McDonald said the force is owning up to its mistakes. He pointed to the RCMP setting up a new reform and modernization directorate this month that will, among other things, look at the recommendations of the Mass Casualty Commission.

“We’ve taken our hits, I would say, in certain respects, but I think the RCMP is showing a willingness to learn from that,” he said.

“I think in fairness, maybe we don’t always get a fair shake, so to speak, [on] how willing we are to change.”