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.