Section A: Leadership and organizational responsibility for wellness and positive workplace culture is required

Our vision

• Leadership drives organizational change and models desired behaviour.
• The diverse perspectives and experiences of members, families and experts contribute to best practices.
• The organization is structured to promote a healthy workplace and wellness resources are allocated to serve members where they are.
• Member confidence in management’s support is increased.

Culture change through leadership

This is a critical moment in the OPP’s workplace culture. There are significant issues that demand immediate attention – and that attention, from the government and the public, is at an all-time high. This is the moment to effect transformational culture change inside the OPP, for the good of its members and the public they serve.

However, police organizational culture is rigid, rank-based and hierarchical. Communications tend to flow as information up and orders down. Police organizations do not change easily or quickly.^{footnote 1[1]}

The power of culture can be seen following the 2012 Ombudsman’s Report. While the OPP was diligent in implementing the recommendations laid out in that Report, the impact of those efforts was diminished by the prevalent culture of silence, stigma and lack of trust between the frontline members in the regions and General Headquarters.

Consequently, it comes as no surprise that the Panel heard from members, leaders, experts and partners alike that, until this prevalent culture is meaningfully addressed, no other efforts at wellness will be truly impactful.

Leadership must play the main role in this change. A culture change at the top is necessary to reduce deeply held stereotypes and encourage access to help.^{footnote 2[2]} Leaders model behaviour, communicate expectations and provide reward or consequence for the behaviour of others.^{footnote 3[3]} The roles and responsibilities of leaders across the organization will be addressed in numerous ways throughout this Report.

Modelling change from the top

The first place to focus leadership attention is at the top of the organization. Transformational change requires bold, courageous, 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.

“It comes from the top down and if actions don’t speak as loud as words there is going to be continued issues!” - OPP member

“The only way to change the culture in a local detachment is to have headquarters change their culture.” - OPP member

Key in this success is that the Commissioner and his team acknowledge the problems and make the case for change, use new language and model the behaviour expected of all members, allocate resources in a fashion that can be appreciated and accessed by frontline members, and engage in direct and ongoing dialogue and collaboration with a cross-section of individual members, families, organizations and experts. New language by the leadership may indicate to members that old-school behaviour is no longer the key to success.^{footnote 4[4]}

The Panel is much encouraged by the clear dedication and expertise of Commissioner Carrique and the members of his leadership team. It is evident that the Commissioner is committed to the wellness and resilience of members. He and his leadership team bring a wealth of experience, compassion and understanding to the task.

Supporting the leadership team

In order to enhance the realization of the Commissioner’s vision for a healthy workforce, it is critical to ensure that the leadership team has access to the tools required to bring about culture change. The Mental Health Review and the OPP Suicide Review contain valuable insight into the challenges facing the organization’s culture, especially with respect to the stigma surrounding mental health. The leadership team must also continue to avail themselves of the ongoing work in other police organizations, the military, through the Chief Coroner’s Office, emerging research and beyond the policing community to strengthen their efforts inside the OPP.

One critical tool required to increase the credibility and timeliness of the Commissioner’s efforts is direct access to expert support and the diverse voices of members and families across the province. The Panel recommends a collaborative resource table to generate dialogue and guidance on difficult issues related to wellness and resilience.

In other words, while it is incumbent upon the Commissioner and his leadership team to lead the organization through urgently needed culture change, it is the Panel’s view that the most effective approach is collaborative, engaging and accountable.

Recommendation 1: The Commissioner’s wellness priority requires expert support and collaboration

1. Constitute a Provincial Wellness Advisory Table chaired by the Commissioner with membership that includes uniform and civilian members, bargaining agents, retirees, families, mental health clinicians and a representative from each Regional Wellness Advisory Table (see 1b) to provide guidance and advice on policies and programming related to mental health.
2. Constitute a Regional Wellness Advisory Table in each region to address mental health and wellness in the region, chaired by the Regional Commander and reporting to the provincial table. Membership at this table should include local/regional representatives of uniform and civilian members, bargaining agents, retirees, families and mental health clinicians.
3. Along with the discussion of these recommendations and those contained in the OPP Suicide Review and the Mental Health Review, the following are priority topics for the Wellness Tables:
   • reducing stigma surrounding mental health
   • exploring the role that use of force plays in self-identification as police
   • developing a successful RTW model, including meaningful accommodation
   • partnering with the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) on how best to collaboratively deliver ‘wrap-around’ support services
4. The Panel endorses the concept of the member roundtables conducted as part of the Mental Health Review and urges the Commissioner to continue and repeat the roundtables on a regular basis, perhaps every three years.
5. The Panel encourages the leadership team to build on the recommendations in the Mental Health Review, the OPP Suicide Review and the Chief Coroner’s Expert Panel Report.
6. The Commissioner and the OPP should continue to build dialogue and best practices with other community, Indigenous, provincial, national and global leaders focused on wellness and resilience in policing.

Incorporating bold change

Cultural change, particularly in an organization such as the OPP, requires innovative approaches to emphasize new priorities and disrupt conventional thinking. Wellness requires an approach that creates a new and more inclusive, supportive culture.

A priority on wellness requires that the organization is structured to act on the instructions and expectations of the Commissioner and the leadership team. The current OPP structure supporting wellness does not have the appropriate resources or sufficient relationships, expertise or access to the regions to maintain member credibility and trust.

The Panel’s view is that there are two primary elements to a revitalized approach to the organizational structure supporting wellness: a holistic, integrated definition of wellness and a dedicated, decentralized organizational entity to support service provision.

A holistic approach to wellness

Wellness requires a definition that is more expansive than simply physical or mental health. The York Regional Police Wellness Project is built on the premise that overall well-being is made up of four elements:^{footnote 5[5]}

• biological – physical health, fitness, diet, sleep, medical
• psychological – resilience, mood, concentration, alertness
• social – family, friends, coworkers, neighbours, community
• spiritual – meaning, purpose, “the why”, religion

“Some members had specifically indicated to others that they felt overwhelmed, they felt ‘full’, and they could not cope with anything additional; these comments sometimes included reference to trauma events and also included the totality of events in their lives (e.g., relationship, organizational concerns, physical and mental health).” - OPP Suicide Review, page 22

The Panel supports this perspective on wellness as a best practice. Integration of all four aspects of wellness promotes dialogue, reduces the stigma surrounding mental health, is responsive to the intersectionality of life events and health issues for members and respects that members may have needs that involve all four elements.^{footnote 6[6]}

A dedicated bureau

The Panel heard repeatedly, across the province, that the current wellness model, despite its origins in the Ombudsman’s Report and its good intentions, is insufficient. The majority of members in our discussions advised that they are either not aware of the services or do not trust the services offered because they are GHQ-centric, not available in the region, limited in scope, not specific to the lived experience of police, not expert, and/or are associated with Human Resources. The Panel heard about a lack of trust and a strong belief that the current model is designed to support the needs of the organization rather than the best interests of the members.

The survey provided a similar picture. Approximately half of the respondents were not aware of many of the available wellness programs, including the Chaplaincy Program, the Trauma Clinician, the Community Referral List, the Peer Assistance and Resource Team (PART) and the Safeguard Program. Other programs were not widely rated as useful, including those to which members are often directed as programs of first resort.^{footnote 7[7]}

The Panel has concluded that a significant organizational restructuring is required to align wellness service delivery with the Commissioner’s mandate and member needs. A Bureau dedicated to the holistic and integrated wellness of the organization must be created with permanent funding. While increased or reallocated funding may not be required as a response to all of the wellness and culture issues facing the OPP, there are key areas in which a specific resource allocation can have a meaningful and long-term impact. An organizational priority on wellness is necessary and requires dedicated funding to achieve long-term effectiveness and program and service stability.

It is evident to the Panel that this Bureau must be clearly separated from Human Resources and the other functions of the Career Development Bureau and Corporate Services. The value and benefit in this separation is echoed in other reviews and studies of wellness in policing.^{footnote 8[8]}

It is the Panel’s view that reducing stigma and disconnect, while increasing access to support requires a decentralized ‘hub’ model. This model would combine a common strategic approach at GHQ with regional service delivery hubs to allow information and resources to flow more directly to members. Communication on wellness from the leadership at the top can be shared and reinforced by leaders at all levels.

This new model would support a coordinated and centralized approach, reducing the ‘patchwork’ approach to services and strengthening relationships with important external entities such as the WSIB. The Panel acknowledges the gains made by the WSIB through its presumptive recognition of PTSD and encourages the OPP and the WSIB to continue to find improved ways to support members with workplace physical and/or psychological injuries.

At the same time, work at the regional hubs could focus on access to local and regional expert supports, engagement with health clinicians, supporting member navigation through options, and regular dialogue about health that resonates with members in the region.

The Panel’s recommendation is in alignment with those made in the Mental Health Review^{footnote 9[9]}, and as a best practice responsive to member input.

Collecting, analyzing and sharing data on wellness

The recent Chief Coroner’s Expert Panel Report makes excellent recommendations with respect to the need for sector-wide data collection and analysis. The Panel supports the OPP’s participation in this collaboration and, indeed, a more strategic approach to data collection inside the organization. The Panel notes that this may not mean that more data should be collected. Rather, the Panel is urging a strategic approach to data collection that creates a better picture of the needs of members and the value/impact of services offered.

The Panel urges the OPP to consider the production of an annual ‘Wellness Report’, taking into consideration the Panel’s recommendations, sharing the results of data collection, program evaluation and commitments, as well as information sharing and mental health literacy.

Recommendation 2: Wellness as an organizational priority requires dedicated resources

1. Health and wellness should be viewed as an integrated and holistic portfolio, encompassing the physical, psychological, social and spiritual health of members. The Panel endorses the establishment of a new Healthy Workplace Bureau (HWB), containing the responsibility for the wellness and resilience of the organization and its members. All health and wellness services, chaplaincy, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and should be included in the mandate of the Healthy Workplace Bureau. While the decision for the reporting relationship of the HWB rests with the Commissioner, it should be separate from Human Resources.
2. The HWB should include credible and expert leadership, headed by a member of the Commissioner’s leadership team and a significant number of uniform and civilian staff with ‘lived experience’ on the frontline of policing, mental health clinicians to provide direct support to members and guidance for programming, sufficient trained staff to support members and managers as they navigate the various wellness services available to members, and manage important relationships such as the WSIB and LTIP carriers.
3. The current Wellness Unit should be moved to the HWB and its mandate and resourcing model realigned to respond to the recommendations made in this Report, the OPP Suicide Review and the Mental Health Review, along with other best practices.
4. The HWB must have direct ties into each region through embedded employees located in an HWB Hub in the region to provide support, guidance and early intervention/resolution to members and to managers.
5. The HWB must have an active communication strategy that works closely with the Commissioner’s office and includes information sharing direct to members, ongoing outreach to off-work members and retirees, regular communication with frontline managers and an active family engagement program that is locally implemented.
6. Sufficient resources should be allocated to the HWB to achieve effective central administration and regional/local implementation. The Ministry of the Solicitor General and Treasury Board Secretariat should work directly with the Commissioner to develop a responsive business case with new permanent funding for wellness and resilience.
7. In conjunction with the analysis stemming from the Chief Coroner’s Expert Panel Report and other best practices, the HWB should develop a model of data analytics and meaningful data collection, with both quantitative and qualitative inputs, to support the Commissioner and the HWB in fulfilling their mandates and commitments. An Annual Report on the health and wellness of the organization and its members should be produced and shared across the OPP.