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Chapter 1 Video Case POLICE DIVERSITYJean-Luc Morin's lifelong dream was to become a member of the RCMP. "I had strong confidence and high hopes of being able to serve and protect the Canadian population," says Morin. But his dream came true only briefly. The RCMP has faced accusations of racism before, but it has not changed the way it handles complaints. Former constable Morin says he faced discrimination and harassment during his time at the RCMP, and that eventually he was forced to leave his job. Morin did his basic training in Regina. But when he began his field training in Burnaby, British Columbia, things began to fall apart. He alleges that his supervisor criticized his English, yelled at him, and used racist terms. Specifically, he says his white supervisor called him a "curvy bucket ass," which refers to a "black man with a big behind." After a year in his job, Morin was told to quit his job or otherwise he would be fired. He left the job, came to Montreal, and filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. He wants $300,000, an investigation into the matter, a public apology, and his job back for the harassment and discrimination he had to go through during his term. Corporal Calvin Lawrence is another visible-minority officer who has faced racism as an RCMP officer. He says that although he had 25 years of commendations on his file, it took a complaint to the Human Rights Commission before he got the promotion he deserved. The RCMP admits that hiring visible minorities has been a challenge. Only 5% of the RCMP's 15,000 officers are members of visible minorities. The RCMP also says that any harassment complaints brought to the attention of a supervisor will result in a thorough investigation. To view the selected video, a password is required. Refer to page 125 in your textbook and use the first word appearing in the main text column as both 'username' and 'password' (case-sensitive) when prompted. Click to View "Police Diversity" The free RealPlayer plug-in is required in order to view the videos. If needed, the plug-in can be downloaded from Real's website. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
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