Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR)
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The RCMP's new Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) officially launched in June 2021. The ICHR oversees the harassment resolution process through a centralized, independent unit, staffed by civilian employees. It operates with external investigators, who investigate harassment complaints brought forward by RCMP employees. The unit also follows up to ensure all post-investigation recommendations are fully implemented across the organization.
The ICHR model is rooted in a trauma-informed approach to ensure that it provides a safe space, with a focus on the needs and experiences of those who access ICHR services.
As noted in the RCMP Commissioner's mandate letter, the RCMP is working with stakeholders to develop options to make the ICHR external to the RCMP to ensure there can be no conflicts of interest while reviewing complaints.
Why it matters
The goal of the ICHR is to help restore trust in the harassment resolution process among all RCMP employees, and to resolve occurrences of workplace harassment and violence.
The ICHR is available to all RCMP employees - at all levels and locations across Canada, including cadets at Depot and those stationed abroad. An effective harassment resolution process will contribute to enhanced trust and credibility among all RCMP staff.
It is crucial that RCMP employees have a safe and confidential place to go if harmed by anyone in the organization, so they can report it, and have the issue addressed appropriately.
September 2024
Update
As of March 31, 2024, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution has received a total of 1,254 notices of occurrence.
- 373 in 2021
- 408 in 2022
- 377 in 2023
- 144 in 2024 (as of May 31, 2024)
The centre continues to show the benefits of resolving workplace issues using informal resolution, where appropriate, in consultation with key partners, such as the Informal Conflict Management Program, to resolve occurrences.
In addition, the centre is placing more emphasis on building awareness of workplace harassment and violence prevention through stakeholder engagement activities, including presenting key information to various internal audiences. These sessions explain the Canada Labour Code (CLC) Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations process, including what harassment means, informing on how to access centre services, and emphasizing the importance of resolving conflict early and informally.
To date, approximately 75 awareness sessions have been delivered across the country. Various management and team meetings have increased because of word of mouth and targeted communication tactics, such as the centre's monthly newsletters.
The development of communication products to increase awareness of the workplace harassment and violence process, such as information sheets, guidebooks and monthly newsletters, have been a key priority for the ICHR. These communications are targeted to all employees, so they can better inform of the CLC process. As well, external stakeholders, such as bargaining agent representatives, can benefit from the information in their efforts to inform their membership about the various aspects of the CLC process.
The ICHR released its second Annual Report, which captures the ICHR activities between June 2022 and June 2023, and describes steps taken to address the challenges faced in our first year of operation, most notably the accumulated backlog of requests for investigations. Successful efforts to increase external investigative capacity resulted in significant improvements in clearing the backlog of investigations during that time.
Over the coming months, the ICHR will continue to work closely with key stakeholders, such as senior management, bargaining agents and the Management Advisory Board, to contribute to the overarching RCMP commitments of modernizing and improving culture.
February 2024
Update
Since the implementation of the Canada Labour Code Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) has received 928 notices of occurrence:
- 373 in 2021
- 408 in 2022
- 275 in 2023 (as of September)
The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution continues to increase its capacity for intake and file management processes, investigation support, policy and awareness activities.
The majority of parties continue to ask for their occurrences to be resolved through investigation. Investigations of harassment and violence occurrences in the RCMP are conducted solely by external investigators. The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution, like all other government entities, uses Public Services and Procurement Canada's mandatory National Master Standing Offer. This means that the public service and other federally regulated organizations across Canada are competing for the same small market of resources. While an increase in the volume of complaints was anticipated, the supply of external investigators does not meet the growing demand of requests for investigations. To address the supply limits, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution implemented a targeted approach which has reduced the backlog of investigations resulting from a gap in the number of available investigators.
Efforts to raise awareness of the among RCMP employees continue, and additional focus on education and prevention initiatives is a key priority. The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution will release its second annual report in the spring of 2024.
November 2022
Update
The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) released its first annual report on September 27, 2022: Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution annual report 2021-2022.
The report notes that between January 1 and December 31, 2021, the ICHR received 373 notices of occurrence, compared to 213 in 2020 and 190 in 2019 (prior to the creation of the ICHR). Between January 1 and September 30, 2022, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution received 326 notices of occurrence.
The majority of alleged incidents reported to date continue to relate to either abuse of authority or discrimination. The third most common type of incident reported is interpersonal deportment (that is, behaviour causing offence) and the fourth is sexual harassment.
The ICHR has increased its staff, as well as its efforts to raise employee awareness about the roles and responsibilities of the ICHR and education and prevention of harassment in the workplace.
May 2022
Update
Between January 1 and December 31, 2021, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) received 373 complaints, compared to 213 in 2020 and 190 in 2019 (prior to the creation of the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution). In January 2022, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution received 62 complaints.
The volume of complaints received suggests that employees are willing to engage with this new unit and are building trust in the process.
The majority of alleged incidents reported to date relate to either abuse of authority or discrimination. The third most common type of incident reported is interpersonal deportment (i.e. behaviour causing offence) and the fourth is sexual harassment.
Efforts to raise awareness of the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution among RCMP employees are continually increasing. The goals are to inform employees about the reporting process, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution's role and responsibilities, and to raise awareness about conflict resolution and civility and respect in the workplace. More than 50 information and discussion sessions have been held with RCMP management and staff at all levels, and this work will intensify in the second year of Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution's existence.
The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution also continues to work with stakeholders, including management, bargaining agents and corporate functions, to explain the role of the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution and to seek feedback that helps improve processes and operating procedures of this new unit.
The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution will release its first annual report by the end of summer 2022.
January 2022
Update
Between January 1 and October 31, 2021, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) has received 277 notices of occurrence (that is, complaints), compared to 213 in 2020 and 190 in 2019, which indicates that employees are willing to engage with this new unit. The increase in the number of reported incidents was expected as employee trust in the process increases.
The majority of alleged incidents reported to date relate to either abuse of authority or discrimination. The third invoked incident type is interpersonal deportment (that is, behaviour causing offence) and ranking fourth is sexual harassment.
In November 2021, the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution launched a dedicated team that provides support to all current and past employees who come forward and those who are victims of a criminal offence at the workplace.
The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution will launch an internal awareness campaign in early winter 2022 to raise the profile of the unit among RCMP employees.
The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution is continuing to hire additional staff and is expected to be fully staffed by July 2022.
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