{"id":72877,"date":"2017-03-02T10:19:16","date_gmt":"2017-03-02T10:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/?p=72877"},"modified":"2017-03-02T10:19:16","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T10:19:16","slug":"psychiatrist-alleges-rcmps-attempt-to-bully-him-shows-historic-sexual-harassment-apology-hollow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/political\/psychiatrist-alleges-rcmps-attempt-to-bully-him-shows-historic-sexual-harassment-apology-hollow.html","title":{"rendered":"Psychiatrist alleges RCMP&#8217;s &#8216;attempt to bully&#8217; him shows historic sexual harassment apology hollow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Vancouver psychiatrist says despite the\u00a0RCMP&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">public apology<\/a>\u00a0to hundreds of female staffers for decades of sexual\u00a0harassment,\u00a0the force is still\u00a0denying some of his patients&#8217; claims of abuse and sexual misconduct and trying to fire two of them.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Greg Passey, who specializes in treating first responders who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, says less than a month after the public apology in October, two senior Mounties paid him a visit to discuss his medical recommendation that the force must settle lawsuits with two of his patients before they can return to work.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than settle, the RCMP sent the women their final dismissal papers last week.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You have this big public apology and about a month later the abuse of power continues, the harassment continues,&#8221; Passey said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Passey, who has\u00a0had a front-row seat to the\u00a0five-year-long controversy that has rocked the RCMP and culminated in the apology and $100-million settlement of a class action lawsuit,\u00a0believes the public perception that the force is transforming itself isn&#8217;t accurate.<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/5a482_gastaldo-montegue.jpg\" alt=\"Gastaldo Montegue\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Cpl. Susan Gastaldo, left, and civilian employee Atoya Montague say they are being unfairly fired before their lawsuits against the RCMP have been heard in court. (CBC)<\/p>\n<p>His two patients in the process of being fired, Atoya Montague, a civilian communications strategist, and Cst. Susan Gastaldo, an undercover officer, are suing the force separately and are both on sick leave suffering from PTSD.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to their lawsuits, Montague claims\u00a0she was sexually propositioned daily by senior officers and Gastaldo claims her\u00a0supervisor repeatedly sexually assaulted her.<\/p>\n<p>They say the force is now in the process\u00a0of unfairly firing them, and\u00a0continues to deny all their claims,\u00a0despite the public acknowledgement of decades of &#8220;shameful conduct.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But the public apology doesn&#8217;t mean the police force admitted to every individual allegation\u00a0of sexual misconduct. In the context of the class action lawsuit, claims are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In the case of separate lawsuits, allegations will be tested in court.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/fddeb_paulson-wipes-eye.jpg\" alt=\"Paulson wipes eye\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson wipes his eyes after hugging lead plaintiff Janet Merlo when the $100-million settlement was announced in Ottawa in October. (CBC)<\/p>\n<h2>Commissioner&#8217;s apology: &#8216;crocodile tears&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson wiped away tears after apologizing to female Mounties on Oct 6.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You came to the RCMP wanting to personally contribute to your community and we failed you. We hurt you. For that, I&#8217;m truly sorry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">Mounties offer apology and $100M compensation for harassment<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Passey says in his professional opinion as a psychiatrist &#8220;those were tears of embarrassment, that was not in sympathy with the women.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Crocodile tears by the commissioner &#8230; that was about humiliation and embarrassment and having to apologize for the harassment and abuse of power that occurred on his watch,&#8221; said Passey, who bases\u00a0his criticism on the RCMP&#8217;s handling of Gastaldo and Montague&#8217;s files since the apology in October.<\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\"><strong class=\"spaced\">Paulson apology: &#8220;we failed you, we hurt you&#8221;<\/strong>2:07<\/p>\n<h2>RCMP\u00a0bosses\u00a0visit psychiatrist&#8217;s office<\/h2>\n<p>On Nov. 2,\u00a0two managers from RCMP&#8217;s E Division were in Passey&#8217;s office\u00a0giving him what he calls\u00a0a taste of what his patients have experienced.<\/p>\n<p>Passey had written RCMP&#8217;s medical services to say that PTSD wasn&#8217;t\u00a0the only thing keeping Gastaldo and Montague off the job.<\/p>\n<p>He wrote that a condition of their return to work must be a resolution of their sexual misconduct lawsuits.<\/p>\n<p>Passey\u00a0alleges\u00a0the meeting was &#8220;an attempt to bully&#8221; him into changing his\u00a0opinion.<\/p>\n<p>He says\u00a0Supt. Sean Sullivan suggested\u00a0his\u00a0written\u00a0recommendations weren&#8217;t\u00a0compliant with B.C.&#8217;s College of Physicians and Surgeons guidelines.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Veiled threat&#8217; over medical opinion<\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;What other employer anywhere in Canada would send a senior management person into a physician&#8217;s office and basically say &#8230; &#8216;If you don&#8217;t change your opinion,&#8217; then there is a veiled threat that they were going to do a college complaint,&#8221; said Passey.<\/p>\n<p>He says he took that to mean the RCMP\u00a0was<span>\u00a0considering filing a complaint with the physicians&#8217;\u00a0regulator, just as it had done with <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">psychologist Mike Webster<\/a>\u00a0after he criticized the force&#8217;s handling of his patients&#8217; harassment complaints in 2011. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>That complaint was <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">later dismissed<\/a>\u00a0and the RCMP was found to have breached the privacy\u00a0of\u00a0officers in filing the complaint.<\/p>\n<h2>RCMP denies\u00a0bullying Dr. Passey\u200b<\/h2>\n<p>In\u00a0<a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">an email to Dr. Passey\u00a0in November, Supt. Sean Sullivan summarized<\/a> their meeting, saying the RCMP believed Passey&#8217;s recommendation that the force resolve the lawsuits\u00a0was &#8220;opinion based towards the management of the RCMP&#8221; and &#8220;not inline with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. Professional Standards and Guidelines.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/fddeb_susan-gastaldo.jpg\" alt=\"Susan Gastaldo\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Susan Gastaldo, seen here in her RCMP graduation photo in 1998. (Susan Gastaldo)<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan declined an interview request, but the RCMP sent <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">a statement, that the force\u00a0later posted on its website,<\/a>\u00a0in response to questions from CBC News that says,\u00a0&#8220;We disagree with the characterization of the meeting and deny the accusations that during that meeting the doctor was bullied or that threats to complain to the College of Physicians and Surgeons were made.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The in-person meeting, which was agreed upon, was an attempt to have an open discussion, as we both have a role in finding solutions or a path that would help accommodate a healthy and safe return to work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\"><strong class=\"spaced\">Psychiatrist says RCMP sexual harassment apology is hollow<\/strong>1:59<\/p>\n<p>Dismissal documents sent to Montague also say the RCMP\u00a0believes Dr. Passey&#8217;s recommendation that the force\u00a0resolve its lawsuits\u00a0is not an appropriate accommodation or\u00a0condition for her return to work.<\/p>\n<p>Passey says his opinion is based on medical literature on PTSD.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;From a clinical point of view, it&#8217;s inappropriate for either of these two ladies to return to work when the RCMP continue to deny anything bad happened to them, no attempt to resolve their lawsuits, or discipline alleged perpetrators,&#8221; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Then they blame the individual for not coming back &#8230;That is actually hurting these women&#8217;s health and it&#8217;s impairing the women&#8217;s ability to go back to work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Gastaldo breaks silence<\/h2>\n<p>When the meeting was over, the two RCMP managers walked right by Susan Gastaldo, who was seated in Passey&#8217;s waiting room.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Every time I try and return to work, the barriers are set up by the workplace, and I can&#8217;t return and I have yet to see accountability,&#8221;\u00a0said Gastaldo, speaking publicly for the first time.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/ae6a3_susan-gastaldo.jpg\" alt=\"Susan Gastaldo \" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Gastaldo walking to her RCMP tribunal hearing in 2014. (CBC)<\/p>\n<p>She says she&#8217;s ready to return to work &#8220;as long as they can guarantee a safe workplace.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But the supervisor she alleges assaulted her is still on the job.<\/p>\n<p>She was on sick leave with an anxiety disorder when she says the\u00a0supervisor forced her to come back to work and coerced her into a sexual relationship she says was never consensual, according to documents filed in court.<\/p>\n<p>Gastaldo\u00a0was first <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">disciplined for what the force called\u00a0consensual, on-duty sex with her boss<\/a>, but she was later\u00a0<a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">cleared of any wrongdoing<\/a> after an appeal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In its statement of defence, the RCMP maintains\u00a0it was a consensual affair.<\/p>\n<h2>Women want accountability<\/h2>\n<p \/>\n<p>\u200b&#8221;Something happened every day of my career &#8230; you&#8217;re in the middle of a business conversation and they ask you when you are going to have sex with them,&#8221; said <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">Atoya Montague<\/a> of her years as a civilian RCMP communications strategist.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/ae6a3_atoya-montague.png\" alt=\"Atoya Montague\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Atoya Montague, a communications strategist at the RCMP in B.C., holds up a letter notifying her the RCMP is dismissing her. (Skype)<\/p>\n<p>She was furious to learn her managers visited her psychiatrist\u00a0who wants the RCMP\u00a0to resolve her allegations.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;All [Dr. Passey]\u00a0is saying is, &#8216;How can I\u00a0send someone back into a workplace where she&#8217;s been abused, sexually assaulted,\u00a0harassed and bullied almost every day of her career when you haven&#8217;t even acknowledged that happened?'&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>RCMP\u00a0doctor overruled specialist\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Montague\u00a0is also angry a family doctor working for the RCMP overruled her psychiatrist\u00a0and recommended she\u00a0be medically discharged from the force because she&#8217;s unlikely to be fit for duty in the foreseeable future.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is a doctor who has never met me,&#8221; said Montague.<\/p>\n<p>The RCMP\u00a0says it\u00a0followed its\u00a0policy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We cannot, in good conscience, continue to pay a full salary indefinitely to an employee whose health prevents them from performing any duties within the RCMP,&#8221;\u00a0the statement says.<\/p>\n<p>Montague and Gastaldo could make claims against <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">the class action settlement<\/a>, but they are suing separately because the settlement will only compensate victims,\u00a0not punish alleged perpetrators.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s acknowledged that there has been bad behaviour and yet nobody&#8217;s been fired,&#8221; said Walter Kostekyj, Gastaldo&#8217;s lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>None of Montague or Gastaldo&#8217;s allegations have been proven in court.<\/p>\n<h2>Women asked Goodale for help<\/h2>\n<p>A report from a federal investigation into the RCMP&#8217;s handling of both\u00a0cases is expected at the end of March.<\/p>\n<p>\u200b<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/52410_women-suing-rcmp.jpg\" alt=\"Women Suing RCMP\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\">Gastaldo, from left, Catherine Galliford, Alice Fox and Montague joined forces in 2015 to ask the Liberal government for help in RCMP harassment cases. (CBC)<\/p>\n<p>Ralph Goodale\u00a0<a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">appointed former auditor general Sheila Fraser<\/a>\u00a0to investigate after\u00a0Gastaldo, Montague and two others\u00a0<a href=\"javascript:void(0)\">wrote\u00a0the Liberal government\u00a0<\/a>in 2015\u00a0asking\u00a0the public safety\u00a0minister to\u00a0stop the\u00a0RCMP\u00a0from firing them.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I wait to see if Hon. Ralph Goodale has the fortitude to actually force the RCMP to change,&#8221; Passey said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When will the government step in to stop the ongoing harassment and abuse of power?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Goodale would not say if he will intervene in\u00a0the firings because the cases are before the courts.<\/p>\n<p>But said he was anxious to hear Fraser&#8217;s advice.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When you have this pattern over time it obviously speaks to some deep-seated problems &#8230; it is unacceptable for the RCMP &#8230; a Canadian icon and that workplace of all workplaces should be exemplary,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This corner has to be turned and I am absolutely determined to get that done.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/RSSPoster_PRO\/cache\/49ddf_cbc-news-investigates.jpg\" alt=\"CBC News Investigates\" width=\"100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\" \/>\n<p class=\"figure-caption\"><strong class=\"spaced\">Women suing RCMP ask Justin Trudeau for help<\/strong>2:23<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>CBC News Investigates<\/h2>\n<p>If you have information on this or any other story we should investigate, e-mail us at\u00a0investigate@cbc.ca<\/p>\n<p>Follow @NatalieClancy on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p \/>\n<p>Article source: http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/british-columbia\/rcmp-harassment-allegations-psychiatrist-1.3998752?cmp=rss<\/a>\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Vancouver psychiatrist says despite the\u00a0RCMP&#8217;s\u00a0public apology\u00a0to hundreds of female staffers for decades of sexual\u00a0harassment,\u00a0the force is still\u00a0denying some of his patients&#8217; claims of abuse and sexual misconduct and trying to fire two of them. Dr. Greg Passey, who specializes in treating first responders who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, says less than a month [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-72877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-political","tag-political"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}