2020 Gender and Harassment Advisory Committee Annual Report - B Division

Background

  • 2019 has been a year of transition. B Division had a new Commanding Officer appointed in October 2018 and the bulk of his work has been to get a handle on the division's issues over the past 13 months. While Gender and Harassment Advisory Committee (GHAC) is an important issue in that is was mandated by court settlement, in the past year, none of the concerns raised in the inaugural establishment of this committee have brought up. Consequently, the priority has been to address the needs of greatest concern to employees.
  • When the 2018 report was submitted, it was evident that greater guidance and direction would be need from the national level. This still seems to be the case and the membership of the divisional GHAC are still somewhat lost on what their role will be going forward. As other priorities occupy their day to day work and lives, the ability to advance the terms of reference has become displaced. Many see this committee as yet another distraction from our core function and we need to change this perception.

Objective

Recruit and educate new members of GHAC as per the Terms of Reference.

Current status

  • Three members of the current list have left the RCMP
  • Meetings will be scheduled on a quarterly basis for 2020

Next steps

  • Recruit additional members and Alternates.
  • Work to educate employees on the importance of GHAC to minimize the perception that it is a "make-work committee".
  • Develop a Divisional communications strategy to educate the employees on the need for GHAC and how it can improve their workplace.

Recommendation

Encourage a more robust communications strategy from the national level to allow Divisions to educate its membership and to recruit/retain employees with an interest in advancing this committee.

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