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VOL. 24, NO. 42
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RCMP harassment accusations heard in proposed class action BY JEFF NAGEL BLACK PRESS
CHRIS HAMLYN/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Zach Giszas, 9, tries his hand at a perplexus maze during the Nanaimo Science and Sustainability Society’s Science in the Park day at Deverill Square Park Tuesday. The society teamed up with Nanaimo parks, recreation and culture at day camps around town.
Children’s programs play numbers game I
CAMPS, EDUCATIONAL activities work to maintain participation levels. BY CHRIS HAMLYN THE NEWS BULLETIN
Nanaimo parks, recreation and culture is dealing with a numbers game when it comes to its summer playground programs.
While attendance at camps at Mansfield and Harewood Mining parks remains steady, the program at Deverill Square Park could use a boost in participants. “Deverill is not as busy as it used to be. We’re not sure if people don’t know about us, or whether the demographics in the area have changed,” said Deb Beck, recreational coordinator. “It seems to be more of a location where camps like the Boys and Girls and daycare camps come to
utilize the waterpark.” Overall, numbers are lower than last year, but it differs from camp to camp, said Beck. “I’m not sure what it is. Some people say the weather is better compared to last year and people have taken off,” she said. “Or it could be a lack of awareness. We have information out there, but where people are going for their information may be something we need to tap into.” ◆ See ‘PROGRAMS’ /5
A proposed class-action lawsuit alleging bullying and harassment against women in the RCMP got a high-profile champion on the first day of hearings Thursday. Valerie MacLean, an RCMP constable in Maple Ridge in the late 1970s and former head of the Better Business Bureau, said she’s joined the suit in an attempt to get justice and a fair hearing for the victims. “We didn’t join to be harassed or be humiliated or be told that our career depended on us being friendly or having relations with our direct supervisors,” MacLean told reporters. She said she complained to other officers when her supervisor pressured her to be “friendly” in exchange for advancement, but nothing was done and she quit the force in 1979 after he gave her a poor assessment. “Years later, nothing has changed,” MacLean said. “This systemic culture in the RCMP of harassment and not accepting these women as equals has to stop.” Lawyers expect a long legal battle with the RCMP on behalf of potentially hundreds of women who allege abusive behaviour by other Mounties while serving in the force. It’s expected to take until sometime in 2013 for a ruling on whether the proposed class-action lawsuit will be certified. At the centre of the case is former Nanaimo RCMP Const. Janet Merlo, whose claim alleges she was the victim of “persistent and ongoing gender-based discrimination and harassment” by male Mounties at the detachment and that the RCMP did nothing to stop it. Jason Murray, one of Merlo’s lawyers, said more than 200 other women – current and former Mounties – have stepped forward to join the potential class action since Merlo’s initial claim was filed. “We’ve heard from women ranging from constables up to the senior ranks of the force,” he said. “There is a common thread amongst all of the women who have contacted us,” Murray said. “They feel the RCMP has cultivated an atmosphere where discrimination against women happens where it shouldn’t and [the force] has not taken adequate steps to either avoid or fix the problem.” The initial day of hearings was procedural and no more dates are expected for several months while senior government prepare responses. ◆ See ‘MOUNTIES’ /4
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