A former RCMP officer who was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars for abuse she suffered while in uniform is having a large part of her settlement clawed back by the federal government.
The woman – who CTV News Edmonton has agreed not to identify – calls it a revictimization, which is deepening resentment of the force she was once proud to be a part of.
Like many of Canada’s officers, her journey started at the RCMP Academy, Depot Division in Regina. What inspired her to join the Mounties happened years earlier, but left a profound impression.
“When I was 14, my sister committed suicide and the RCMP officer that attended at our house was fantastic,” she recalled. “And from that moment on, it was something I wanted to do. I wanted to be a positive role model in my community, just like he had done for us.”
Her experience at Depot was what she expected, with respect and camaraderie driving her to excel. A symbol of those fond memories is the necklace pendant she received upon graduation.
“If you have the right group, it’s great. It’s fantastic. Then you’re dispersed all over Canada and away you go,” she said.
‘WASN’T PREPARED TO BE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED’
But being on the force lost its lustre fast, she remembers, as feelings of being unsafe at work set over her.
“(Within) three months I felt like a shell of who I was when I went there.”
She was trained to protect her community, and equipped for each day in uniform interacting with the public, she said, but she wasn’t ready for the politics or the abuse.
“I certainly wasn’t prepared to be sexually assaulted by a colleague and I certainly wasn’t prepared to be sexually harassed by a supervisor,” she stated.
For years, the officer kept her silence before she said she was forced to retire after an on-duty car crash.
She then learned she wasn’t alone in suffering abuse.
The Merlo Davidson class action lawsuit drew together thousands of people alleging systemic gender-based discrimination, bullying and harrassment in the RCMP.
From years as an investigator, she said she knew that being a victim and sharing what happened to her would be tough.
“It was arduous. I know, having dealt with sexual assault victims, it’s something you don’t force upon them till they’re ready to deal with it.”
‘…TIL I DIE I GUESS’
She ended up qualifying for $220,000, the highest tier of the lawsuit’s compensation, and after legal fees, she received $182,875.
Her lawyers then suggested she apply for a disability pension for veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Then a letter from Veteran Affairs arrived, informing her that half of her settlement was recoverable, including about $6,000 right away and an additional $288 a month, which was being clawed back from every cheque.
“For the purpose of making this decision, Sections 25 and 26 of the Pension Act were considered,” a federal employee wrote.
To her, it’s re-victimization and further abuse from the system she served.
But it’s also the letter of the law. In a statement, Veterans Affairs Canada told CTV News Edmonton that the pension act provides no discretion.
“If an individual receives a class-action settlement for the exact same condition/incident for which they receive a pension, it is considered compensation,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement.
‘UNJUST SITUATION’
The veterans affairs minister declined to be interviewed for this story, but a Conservative MP in British Columbia wants changes.
“If there is no way around it in the legislation, then consider enacting legislation so that this unjust situation is remedied and remedied as soon as possible,” Frank Caputo, the shadow minister for Veteran Affairs, said.
In 2018, the first-ever female RCMP commissioner was named. The class-action lawsuit had been settled and Brenda Lucki promised to reform the force.
“I will not have all the answers but I definitely plan on asking all the right questions,” she said at the time.
Lucki also declined to answer specific questions about the clawback in this case.
The RCMP instead sent a statement, where officials expressed regret for what happened to the officer, but said they are unable to intervene.
“If additional compensation is awarded for the same condition/incident, the monthly pension amount will be reduced until the compensation is covered in full,” it said.
‘I DO NOT THINK THAT WAS DISCUSSED’
An official report into the Merlo Davidson lawsuit and the culture at the RCMP was written by Justice Michael Bastarache. He’s a retired Supreme Court Justice who was given the role of administering the settlement.
“My decisions cannot be reviewed by the RCMP, or appealed by the parties,” he said in 2016.
Given news of the clawback, Bastarache wrote to the officer in this story.
“I remember that discussions leading to the agreement indicated there would be no pension clawback,” his letter reads. “I do not think that was discussed and believe all parties were convinced there would be no clawback of any sort.”
With many legal options tried and failed, the officer is now hoping for legislative change, so victims like her are able to move on while feeling like they were treated fairly.
“I just want my life back. I want them to leave me alone. I want them to let me heal,” she said.
For now, she feels more regret that she exposed herself to a process that injured her again.
The dispute is a constant reminder that her RCMP dream was destroyed by her experience.
“I’m taking off this (graduation) pendant today, and I will never wear it again. And this is a job I wanted to do to honour my sister. I could care less if I wear this ever again,” she said.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Geoff Hastings and Katie Chamberlain
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
