Wednesday, December 31, 2025
ADVT 
National

RCMP says 'no room for harassment' in force

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Sep, 2020 07:04 PM
  • RCMP says 'no room for harassment' in force

The RCMP says it is working to address the findings of an independent review of how the force handled employee complaints about bullying by a senior director who now awaits trial on national-security charges.

The Mounties asked consultant Alphonse MacNeil to look at their response to allegations that Cameron Jay Ortis, who led the force's National Intelligence Co-ordination Centre, engaged in degrading and abusive behaviour from 2016 onward.

Ortis was charged last year under the Security of Information Act for allegedly revealing secrets to an unnamed recipient and planning to give additional classified information to an unspecified foreign entity.

The RCMP says MacNeil interviewed close to 60 people, including senior RCMP leaders past and present, and reviewed policies and procedures to determine if they were adequate.

A newly filed lawsuit by three RCMP employees who worked in the intelligence centre says MacNeil concluded that a failure in leadership occurred at all levels of senior management in the handling of the concerns and complaints about Ortis.

The RCMP says while it cannot comment on matters before the court, there is no room for harassment in the force, and a plan is in the works to address MacNeil's findings.

MORE National ARTICLES

Hundreds more COVID deaths expected but Trudeau says Canada is making progress

Hundreds more COVID deaths expected but Trudeau says Canada is making progress
Thousands more people are expected to contract COVID-19 and hundreds will likely die in the coming week, according to government projections, despite the progress the country has made in fighting the pandemic. Canada's case rate is now doubling every 16 days rather than three to five days seen about three weeks ago, Dr. Theresa Tam, the country's top public health officer, said on Thursday.

Hundreds more COVID deaths expected but Trudeau says Canada is making progress

HSBC Bank Canada reports Q1 profit down as it expects downturn to hurt loans

HSBC Bank Canada reports Q1 profit down as it expects downturn to hurt loans
HSBC Bank Canada reported a drop in its first-quarter profit compared with a year ago as it took a charge related to bad loans it expects due to the downturn in the economy. The bank says it earned a profit attributable to common shareholders of $54 million or 11 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31. That's compared with a profit of $158 million or 32 cents per share in the first three months of 2019.

HSBC Bank Canada reports Q1 profit down as it expects downturn to hurt loans

Local restaurants feel squeezed by delivery apps' commission fees

Local restaurants feel squeezed by delivery apps' commission fees
Restaurants struggling to survive during the COVID-19 crisis have turned to take-out and delivery, but the fees charged by food-delivery companies are eating away their bottom line, some operators say. Physical distancing measures have decimated dine-in service, which accounts for most industry revenue, said Mark von Schellwitz, a vice-president of the non-profit Restaurants Canada.

Local restaurants feel squeezed by delivery apps' commission fees

Ottawa helping guide, but not dictating, provincial reopening plans: Trudeau

Ottawa helping guide, but not dictating, provincial reopening plans: Trudeau
With Canada's two most populous provinces poised to outline plans for a gradual return to normalcy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that Ottawa will help guide, but not dictate, how provinces and territories should start easing restrictions. Ontario and Quebec together account for more than 80 per cent of the country's COVID-19 cases.    

Ottawa helping guide, but not dictating, provincial reopening plans: Trudeau

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls
Despite a surge in demand due to COVID-19, many distress centres across Canada are dangerously close to folding thanks to major declines in both volunteers and revenue. Stephanie MacKendrick, CEO of Crisis Services Canada, which runs the only national suicide-specific helpline in Canada, says her organization relies on a network of approximately 100 community distress centres across the country to field calls from people.

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer laid out Monday the numerous lines of inquiry his party intends to follow this week as a modified version of a House of Commons sitting gets underway. They include the state of the nation's emergency supply stockpile, the mishmash of federal economic benefit programs that allow some to fall through the cracks and to what extent the minority Liberals are backstopping provincial efforts to reopen their economies, Scheer said.

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories