The dispute resolution system for RCMP officers has come under sharp criticism in a recent decision of the Federal Court. An RCMP officer filed a judicial review application of an internal decision related to a harassment complaint and denial of a promotion. The officer also filed a grievance under the RCMP Act. (For the factual background to the dispute, see this recent article.) The court declined to exercise its discretion to hear the application because a more effective remedy (a promotion) was available under the grievance procedure – a remedy that the court could not order.
However, in reviewing the adequacy of the alternate remedy, the court examined the timeliness of the grievance process. The issues were not complex and it took four months for the grievance to be referred to the first level adjudicator and the grievance had been with the adjudicator for a year awaiting a decision.
The court noted that complex judicial review proceedings and trials are often disposed of in less time and that the delays in the grievance process “stretch the boundaries of tolerance”. The judge noted the importance of expeditious processes for workplace disputes (at paragraphs 31 to 33):
Grievance and harassment procedures are intended to be expeditious. The Harassment Policy notes that the objective of that policy is that complaints are to be resolved in a timely manner. Their summary nature supports the objective of a harmonious and effective workplace. Grievance decisions left outstanding allow issues to fester, bring uncertainty to the workplace together with ineffectiveness and inefficiency.
The delays in question stretch the tolerance for the harassment and grievance procedures to be considered an adequate alternate remedy to judicial review. To be an adequate remedy it must be timely. Timeliness, in turn, depends on the objectives of the process and interests at stake. …
… This gives rise to serious questions as to whether the objectives of the harassment and grievance procedures are being met.
Legislation with significant changes to the grievance process has passed the House of Commons. The Bill received first reading in the Senate in early March.