News Bullying Sexual Harassment
RCMP must take ‘drastic actions’ to restore confidence: former Supreme Court justice

OTTAWA — The author of a report that found a toxic, misogynistic culture in the RCMP says the police force must take some “drastic actions” right away to restore confidence.

Former Supreme Court justice Michel Bastarache told a House of Commons committee people expect genuine change that shows a willingness to make tough decisions.

Bastarache recently released an independent report on harassment of women in the RCMP that said fundamental reform is needed to eliminate tolerance of hateful and sexist attitudes.

Bastarache said it is well past time for the federal government to take meaningful and radical action to address these issues, which have caused incalculable damage.

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He was the independent assessor who oversaw the provision of millions of dollars in compensation to 2,304 women involved in a class-action settlement covering several decades.

His report, “Broken Dreams Broken Lives,” concluded that change cannot come from within the RCMP, but must be initiated from the outside.