RCMP Commissioner William Elliott.Sean Kilpatrick
Senior RCMP officers have levelled complaints against their boss to the Harper government.
Commissioner William Elliott, reached at his home Monday night after a CBC report, confirmed the complaints against him.
Top colleagues of the commissioner charged that he was "verbally abusive, closed-minded, arrogant and insulting," the CBC said in its report broadcast on The National.
Commissioner Elliott told The Globe he has been working with his senior officers to resolve the issues.
"All I would say is we're going through tremendous changes at the RCMP. Not surprising, lots of strongly held views," he said.
"There are lots of issues to deal with and I and all of the senior executives are committed to doing that. I spent three hours with them today. We're moving forward and we'll continue to do that."
One complaint alleged that Commissioner Elliott threw papers at another officer in a rage. He would not comment on the specific complaints.
During the past seven days and on two separate occasions, the CBC says, a group of deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners, perhaps as many as 10, came forward with the complaints.
The Harper government has neither confirmed nor denied the report of complaints to the CBC.
Carleton University professor Linda Duxbury, whose extensive research on the RCMP has taken a close look at the senior ranks, said the complaints demonstrate the incredible amount of turmoil in the force. This move must have been a last resort, she said.
"Traditionally the culture of the RCMP is you respect the rank. And so the fact that they've broken with this tradition to me, I have to question how it can be business as usual," she said.
"This isn't a little spat, 'we clear the air and move on.' This is a very significant thing."
It's night and day from when Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli was accused of wrongdoing during his time as head of the RCMP. He was called out by a whistleblower lower in the ranks, she said, a move that was very much frowned upon.
This time, senior officers themselves are speaking out - something that just isn't done, she said. Among the complainants are deputy commissioners Tim Killam and Raf Souccar, according to the CBC report.
Efforts to reach the deputy commissioners Monday night were unsuccessful.
The RCMP said it will carry out a work environment study, according to the CBC. But it's way too late for that, said Prof. Duxbury.
Trust has been dashed, she said, and it's going to be hard for either side to win it back.
"The very fact that it's gone public and they've made a public complaint means there's no going backwards now. You can't stuff the genie back in the bottle and do a work environment review. I mean, hello? What good is that going to do now?"
Commissioner Elliott was appointed as a civilian and has never been an RCMP officer. Since taking up the post in 2007, he has tried to revamp the force in the wake of a number of controversies.
It's the second time in weeks that an appointee of Mr. Harper's has come under fire.
The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Richard Fadden, drew national attention late last month when he said members of provincial and municipal governments were under foreign influence.