The Panel's mandate

The Ontario Provincial Police Independent Review Panel ("the Panel") was established by Orders in Council 643/2019 and 644/2019 on May 2, 2019, and further to section 3 of the Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, chapter P.15, section 3.

The Panel's mandate is to undertake an independent review of the workplace culture of the Ontario Provincial Police in light of recent suicide deaths and mental health concerns of OPP members, as well as complaints about the workplace culture by current and former OPP staff.

The Panel is tasked with making recommendations on:

  • The root causes and potential remedial actions to address the alarming rate of suicides, bullying and workplace harassment.
  • Concerns identified by frontline officers and other OPP staff that contribute to a negative workplace culture, and how those concerns have been or are being addressed.
  • How to improve the way complaints and concerns by frontline officers, civilians and the bargaining agent of the OPP are addressed by all levels of the organization.

Overview of the issues

The Ontario Provincial Police is at an important juncture with respect to the wellness and resilience of its members. There is an ever­ present tension between the operational reality of sustaining the public safety mandate across Ontario in an environment of increasing demands on limited resources and organizational capacity and the physical and psychological health, wellness, resilience and workplace experience of the individuals who serve that mandate.

Wellness issues, including those stemming from dangerous and difficult work, staff shortages and work-related stress, have resulted in unprecedented numbers of officers off-duty or away from the frontlines. Tragically, since January 2012, 17 members are known to have died by suicide, including three this year.

In the workplace, members report concerning incidents related to workplace bullying, harassment, conflict and disharmony. Members report a diminished confidence in the support of management.

It is clear to us that OPP leadership faces an immediate and significant challenge with respect to the workplace culture and health of the organization. In particular, the lack of credible, accessible and meaningful support for members with mental health issues is approaching crisis. Some members' lack of faith in the processes provided for members who have workplace conflicts is a serious concern. In some respects, there is a disconnect between regional/operational units and some services delivered through General Headquarters (GHQ). Wellness, in the multitude of ways it can be interpreted, is markedly challenged in the organization.

The issues facing the OPP with respect to wellness and workplace culture include:

  • leadership
  • trust and credibility
  • isolation
  • the current wellness programs and services
  • identity and stigma
  • family relationships
  • administration and organizational pressures
  • recruitment and promotional policies and practices

However, there is also opportunity in this moment. A new Commissioner, Thomas Carrique, was appointed in April 2019, presenting an opportunity for the OPP to assess its challenges and to strengthen areas of success. Commissioner Carrique and his newly appointed Leadership team have clearly set wellness and resilience as key priorities.

Members of the OPP are justifiably proud of their critical role in Ontario's communities and their service to the public. They are invested in ensuring that the organization provides a healthy and supportive workplace.

There have been a number of key studies, reports and discussions on these issues during 2019 that provide concrete and meaningful guidance for the path forward. More is known about the science behind the wellness challenges facing police, military and other first responders. Social dialogue on these issues is becoming more prevalent. These are positive signs.

Policing is a difficult job, both for the individual member of a police service, and organizationally. The members and the leadership of the OPP navigate difficult decisions and complex human experiences on a daily basis across the province.

The OPP is a large and multi-faceted organization - one of North America's largest deployed police services - making administration across the variety of business and geographic lines a major undertaking. The scope and breadth of the OPP is massive and the task of fostering and sustaining a healthy workplace culture must be understood in that context.

Gaining the full trust of the membership and building a healthy and resilient workforce will require a series of concrete and meaningful actions by the Commissioner and his leadership team.

The Panel's process

The Panel's process has been one of respect, exploration and dialogue. Since commencing its review in May 2019, the Panel has engaged with OPP members representing a cross-section of the organization - senior members, members in specialized units, detachment constables, civilian members working in internal operations, administration and human resources. We have also spoken with leadership of the member associations, and former members and families of members who have died by suicide.

The Panel has been able to meet with Commissioner Carrique on a number of occasions and we have appreciated his wise contributions and clear dedication to addressing mental health and workplace culture issues.

Members of the OPP have welcomed the Panel and been supportive of the Review and its objectives, sharing their own experiences and recommendations for improvement. Our engagement with members was multi­ dimensional and included:

  • a survey answered by 5,192 current and former OPP members
  • over 250 email submissions
  • a series of roundtable discussions across the province
  • individual conversations with current and former members
  • individual conversations with family members of officers who have died by suicide

In addition to the critical input from members and their families, the Panel benefitted from the information and input given to us by a wide array of important individuals, organizations and stakeholders, including the bargaining agents, the OPP leadership team at GHQ and in the regions, the teams that currently provide wellness services to members, the OPP Academy and the leaders of the Mental Health Review and the OPP Suicide Review.

Beyond the OPP, the Panel has had the benefit of input from the Ontario Police College (OPC), the Toronto Police Service (TPS), the Ontario Ombudsman, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a number of chiefs of police of self-administered First Nations police services, municipal police services boards in several communities where the OPP provides service, and a group of health care leaders from Windsor, Ontario.

The Panel has also engaged in extensive review and study of reports including the Chief Coroner's Expert Panel Report on Police Officer Deaths by Suicide, "Staying Visible, Staying Connected, For Life” and wellness reports from police services comparators along with best practices from other police services and the military in Ontario, across Canada, and internationally. As well, we conducted a jurisdictional scan of leading literature regarding police culture, operational stress injury (OSI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health, and approaches to workplace complaints and conflict resolution.

Key themes

The Panel's observations and recommendations are intended to provide guidance and support to the Commissioner and his team as he engages in the important work of fostering and sustaining the wellbeing and resilience of OPP members across the province.

Leadership and organizational responsibility for wellness and positive workplace culture is required [Recommendations 1 and 2]

Transformational change requires bold, courageous and visionary leadership. The Commissioner and his leadership team must be at the forefront leading, initiating the conversations, engaging, modelling and confronting throughout this long-term process. The Panel is much encouraged by the clear dedication and expertise of Commissioner Carrique and his leadership team in this regard. He and his leadership team bring a wealth of experience, compassion and understanding to the task.

In addition to the important work already done inside the OPP with the Mental Health Review and the OPP Suicide Review and externally in the policing community, the Commissioner and his team must have direct access to and dialogue with the diverse voices, expertise and lived experience of members, mental health clinicians, family members and other critical stakeholders both at the central level and across the regions.

A holistic approach to wellness – bringing the biological, psychological, social and spiritual elements of health together – must be combined with organizational restructuring to support the Commissioner’s mandate. A dedicated Healthy Workplace Bureau with expertise, regional presence and appropriate resourcing will allow for greater coordination in support services, regional access to programming and ongoing analysis of the challenges related to wellbeing in policing.

Leadership is a critical element in workplace culture [Recommendations 3 and 4]

A healthy and resilient workplace requires effective and engaged leadership, at every level of the organization. Members shared many experiences, positive and negative, of the impact of leaders on their wellbeing and that of their colleagues. In the survey, leadership was cited as a top recommendation for improvement to the workplace culture of the OPP.

The traditional model of police leadership – top down/paramilitary – may require innovation and culture change in order to better respond to the crisis in wellbeing. Leadership must support a climate of wellbeing – a positive team environment where leader role modelling validates early help-seeking behavior and support becomes a shared function with team members also looking out for one another.

The Panel strongly endorses a focus on leadership that supports a healthy and more resilient workforce, including ongoing development and support for current and future leaders, through training, mentoring and coaching, clear communication and positive role modelling by the leadership team.

The Panel heard repeated, vehement skepticism with respect to the OPP’s promotional process. It was clear to us that this process plays a major role in perpetuating a credibility issue with leadership, a culture of silence and stigma and a reduction in access to wellness services and supports. The Panel heard about common incidents of nepotism and cronyism in management hiring that sustained the ‘old’ boys’ network. The Panel heard about both real and perceived bias in the process.

The Panel strongly endorses efforts to re-introduce transparency and accountability into the promotions process, including the participation of a neutral member of management in the hiring process, the alignment of the process and the definition of merit with the organizational expectations of leadership and more rigorous use of tools such as the existing talent pools.

Mental health services should be accessible and credible [Recommendations 5-10]

The OPP’s response to members in crisis has a significant impact on the likelihood of improvement. In other words, how the organization responds to individuals – through the credibility and expertise of services and through the support or stigmatization by peers and supervisors – can either help or cause further trauma.

The Panel is encouraged that OPP leadership attention is focused on the urgent need for change in this area both in terms of organizational language and attitudes about mental health and the supports and services offered to members and families dealing with mental health issues.

The Panel encourages the OPP to evaluate its current services and programs, to consider opportunities to develop a common language around mental health, wellness and resilience among members and to immediately provide resources to members and supervisors to assist them in navigating the complex array of options and obligations members face when seeking mental health supports.

The Panel recommends a number of priority actions with respect to mental health services including:

  • a proactive approach to mental health literacy
  • family supports including a peer network
  • a robust set of retirement supports
  • more mental health clinicians available across the province to provide support to members
  • enhanced peer support programs and a wider application of the principles of the Safeguard program
  • a pilot project for ‘off-site’ mental health services for first responders
  • partnerships with Indigenous organizations and First Nations police services for culturally relevant supports
  • a reorientation of the RTW process that highlights meaningful work, increases collaboration and reduces stigma
  • an organizational communication and support strategy with respect to member death by suicide

Positive workplace culture requires trusted oversight and dialogue [Recommendations 11-13]

The Panel heard repeatedly and accepts the views of members that there is a negative workplace culture within the OPP that, in some locations, tolerates bullying and harassment, and that overall the OPP does not have the necessary tools to respond appropriately to conflict.

The Panel has concluded that an approach to this issue that combines dialogue and organizational restructuring is necessary. Ongoing dialogue, discussions using a common and positive language across the organization, the practice of conflict resolution and modelling of constructive approaches at all levels of leadership are necessary to communicate expectations to members.

An organizational restructuring should occur that creates a separate unit for workplace conflict resolution (separate from matters that involve the Professional Standards Bureau) and that this unit should be responsible for a ‘repatriation’ of the Respectful Workplace Policy, bringing it under the umbrella of the OPP and adapting it to better suit the context and desired outcomes.

In support of this revitalized approach to conflict resolution, the Panel is also recommending the short-term appointment of an independent Dispute Resolution Advisor to address current unresolved complaints and support the refinement of conflict resolution inside the OPP.

The administration of the operation and its people should support wellness and positive workplace culture [Recommendations 14 and 15]

There is no shortage of evidence that operational staffing issues have an impact on the wellness of members. Across the province, the Panel heard about staffing shortages, long shifts, challenging shift cycles and pressures related to working overtime. These stressors are taking their toll on members. At the time of this Report, about 875 or 21% of frontline members were off on an approved leave, including sick leave, parental leave and other forms of authorized absence. This is a high cost to taxpayers, to public safety and to the wellness of members.

The Panel encourages the government and the OPP to accept that budgeting and operational decisions must be made in support of the wellness of members and in recognition that adequate staffing has long-term fiscal and functional benefits.

Staffing decisions must be made to ensure adequate time for rest and recovery between challenging shifts and after critical incidents and with a view to reducing the isolation of members at work.

There are areas of the province and specific detachments and units where the staffing levels are in crisis. The Panel encourages the OPP and the government to pay specific and immediate attention to staffing in the North, with a view to increasing the number of Northern-based members and the available supports to members in Northern detachments.

Staffing in the OPP does not currently reflect the diverse nature of Ontario’s population in terms of gender, ethnicity or identity. Diversity in staffing and meaningful inclusion inside the organization are critical elements of a healthy workplace. The leadership team is encouraged to lead a collaborative campaign to increase efforts to strengthen diverse groups of members.

Conclusion

Mental health, suicide and workplace culture are difficult topics for discussion. We appreciate the candor and personal effort made by current and former members in sharing their experiences, their wisdom and their hope for the future. We appreciate the expertise of the wide array of individuals and organizations who contributed to our knowledge and the development of this Report.

We acknowledge the loss of those members who have died by suicide and we extend our condolences to their families and colleagues.

While there is significant work ahead, the Panel is encouraged by the open dialogue and acknowledgement of the challenge. We look forward to the increased wellness and resilience of OPP members.