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Royal Canadian Mounted Police Implementation Plan for Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security – 2023 to 2029

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Table of contents

Introduction and purpose

The United Nations Security Council’s resolutions (UNSCR) on women, peace and security (WPS) call on all countries to address the different impacts of conflict situations on women and girls and support women’s participation in peace and security efforts as well as decision-making processes. Canada launched its first National Action Plan for the implementation of the UNSC resolution 1325―and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security―in 2010 and its second plan in 2017 (from 2017 to 2022).

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has been a founding partner of the Canadian National Action Plan (“National Action Plan,” “action plan”) since the launch of the first action plan, primarily via the International Police Peacekeeping and Peace Operations (IPP) Program and the deployment of Canadian personnel in international peacekeeping missions. On behalf of the Canadian Policing Arrangement (CPA)―a partnership between the RCMP, Public Safety Canada and Global Affairs Canada (GAC)―the RCMP manages the IPP and is responsible for recruiting, screening, selecting, training and deploying Canadian law enforcement officials to its international peace operations, bilateral and other missions.

The action plan provides a vehicle for the public to know what the Government of Canada has committed to doing to increase women’s participation and integrate gender perspectives in peace and security efforts. The international community will also have the opportunity to learn or be inspired by how action plan partners are doing this work. The action plan recognizes Canada’s role in ensuring that its policies, programs and initiatives positively impact diverse groups of women and girls, both domestically and internationally.

In 2022, former commissioner Brenda Lucki expressed strong support for the action plan, indicating that the RCMP is committed to the third iteration of the initiative, including expanding the action plan’s domestic focus in the coming years. In May 2023, Ambassador Jacqueline O’Neill met with RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme to discuss the key role of the RCMP as a founding partner in the action plan. Ambassador O’Neill highlighted the action plan as a platform for reflecting and advancing both new and ongoing efforts in support of women, peace and security domestically and internationally, including efforts such as Vision 150 and Beyond, the RCMP’s 2023 strategic plan; the advancement of diversity and inclusion; the collection of race-disaggregated data; and the continued work on culture change within the RCMP. The Commissioner noted that there has been good work on implementing women, peace and security commitments in overseas deployments and that more needs to be done on the domestic front, including on the recruitment and promotion of women in the RCMP. He spoke about the efforts under way to address barriers for women’s meaningful participation and cited work to pilot a program to address some of the deployment challenges for RCMP service members with partners. He highlighted the positive impact that applying gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) has had in recruiting more women.

To demonstrate the RCMP’s continued efforts in women, peace and security, the Commissioner has named a women, peace and security implementation champion, Deputy Commissioner Jodie Boudreau. The RCMP implementation plan intends to strengthen leadership and internal capabilities related to the implementation of the WPS agenda.

The purpose of this departmental implementation plan is to demonstrate how the RCMP builds its workforce to support its women, peace and security mandate and commitments.

Context

Promoting gender equality and increasing diversity at all levels remains a key priority of the RCMP. The RCMP implementation plan for Canada’s third National Action Plan builds on the previous two implementation plans by leveraging the achievements and the lessons learned since 2011 and by ensuring policy coherence and alignment with the horizontal strategic framework for the whole-of-government action plan approach.

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, the IPP continued to play a critical role in promoting gender equality and increasing diversity at all levels, both in Canada and abroad. The program successfully increased the number of women deployed through the CPA on international peace operations, exceeding the UN’s target of women representing 51%Footnote 1 of all deployed people. Canadian police have directly supported women, peace and security-related activities while serving on international peace operations by preventing and/or responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as well as advancing gender equality. The RCMP’s initiatives are set against the backdrop of the Government of Canada’s commitment to the implementation of GBA Plus, the articulation of the government-wide approach to gender mainstreaming. The RCMP will continue to support women, peace and security-related activities via several existing programs and strategies, including the IPP, GBA Plus and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy.

Since the launch of the action plan, the IPP has successfully developed and implemented processes to ensure that future reporting and assessment tools include women, peace and security principles and gender perspectives. During the second National Action Plan, an anti-racism Treasury Board submission resulted in the successful funding of numerous programs, all targeted toward equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), such as an EDI centre of expertise; the RCMP-Indigenous Collaboration, Co-Development and Accountability office; race-based data collection; and the cultural learning initiative. All deploying personnel participate in pre-deployment training, which includes topics on gender roles, gender mainstreaming, international instruments, the WPS agenda and RCMP targets related to international deployments. The IPP continues to recognize, support and promote Canadian women holding senior, strategic positions within peace operations.

The RCMP continues to support the Elsie Initiative, which was launched in 2017, to provide assistance to countries that contribute officers to UN peacekeeping missions; it is focused on increasing the number of uniformed women who deploy to peace operations. The initiative pursues transformational, sustainable and comprehensive change to advance the meaningful participation of uniformed women police and military peacekeepers and to create peacekeeping missions that better reflect the populations they serve. During the second National Action Plan, Canada established bilateral technical assistance and training partnerships with the Ghana Armed Forces and the Zambia Police Service to increase the deployment of women to international peace operations. Work on this project is ongoing, and the RCMP continues to support the full and meaningful participation of women peacebuilders. Additionally, in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in New York City, 6-month deployment periods have been piloted in Mali. The goal of the pilot was to make deployments more accessible for women officers as well as to demonstrate the value of shorter deployment periods.

Alignment

The new RCMP implementation plan contributes to the implementation of Canada’s feminist foreign policy and its fundamental principles, including its commitments to sustainable peace and security efforts and the Feminist International Assistance Policy. It is also informed by the high priority areas articulated by the UNFootnote 2 , such as women, peace and security, performance and accountability, protection, partnerships, peacebuilding and sustaining peace, the conduct of peacekeepers and peacekeeping operations, and safety and security.

This implementation plan delivers on the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 16: “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” The implementation plan strengthens local law enforcement’s capacity by providing training, mentoring and strategic advice to establish effective law enforcement institutions. In doing so, it promotes the rule of law worldwide. It advances Canadian interests and values by helping to build inclusive and accountable institutions in fragile and conflict-affected states that respect diversity and human rights, including the rights of women and girls. The IPP contributes to a range of RCMP and Government of Canada public safety policy objectives, including combatting transnational organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorist threats. IPP activities are shaped by a robust gender-based analysis plus and are tailored to advance the WPS agenda.

The RCMP implementation plan advances the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 5―“achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”―by remaining a strong supporter of the action plan and the Elsie Initiative. The IPP will work to deploy a diverse cadre of personnel on mission, with a goal to exceed UN-established targets for inclusion of female police officers in peace operations abroad.

This new implementation plan is informed by the RCMP’s commitment to continuing to modernize its organization, deliver effective policing operations and improve the organizational culture by strengthening the governance; prioritizing diversity and inclusion; improving how harassment is addressed and resolved; and working to ensure RCMP leaders have the right mix of character and skill to support a healthy workplace. Ensuring a more equitable RCMP workplace that is free of harassment, violence and discrimination is a top priority.

Finally, the implementation plan advances the pillars of Vision 150, such as “achieving a modern, trusted and inclusive RCMP” and “building a healthy, diverse and professional workforce.”

Focus areas

The RCMP remains committed to enhancing the participation, empowerment and protection of women and girls, both domestically and in fragile and conflict-affected states, by taking a more gender-sensitive approach. Analysis of the past implementation plans has informed the development of outcomes under the new implementation plan. Going forward, the RCMP will focus on 5 of the 6 key priority areas for action in the action plan: security, justice and accountability; crisis response; sexual and gender-based violence; leadership and capabilities; and inclusion. The ultimate goal in working on these focus areas is to achieve enhanced peace, security and equality for all people.

The existing focus areas were chosen through extensive internal discussions and in collaboration with implementing partner departments. They provide an overarching framework of the action plan that is used as a foundation to develop the departmental implementation plans. The drafting of the full action plan commitments under the RCMP implementation plan will be an iterative process to support the continuation of the ongoing initiatives. The inception of new action plan commitments with the identification of domestic areas, will demonstrate and contribute to how the RCMP continues to support the WPS agenda both domestically in Canada and abroad.

To enhance the capacity of the RCMP to support implementation of the WPS agenda in Canada, the RCMP is committing to repositioning the action plan’s leadership and coordination role within the organization to further implement women, peace and security-related activities with a domestic focus. Under this new leadership, the RCMP will draft new commitments for the implementation of the WPS agenda in Canada over the next fiscal yearFootnote 3 .

The new RCMP implementation plan intends to share the experiences police officers have when they are deployed to international peace operations missions, one of the aims being that those officers will bring home good practices and improved skills that were gained abroad. The plan will also have enhanced gender-sensitive elements within police peace operations programming in fragile and conflict-affected states. The goal is to engage in preventing and responding to SGBV and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). Lastly, the implementation plan will include crisis response.

The RCMP is an organization, with mandates in Canada and overseas, that requires inclusive approaches. Under Focus area 6: Inclusion, the RCMP will foster an intersectional approach and greater inclusion within the organization to implement the WPS agenda. A new commitment will also enhance GBA Plus capacity across all sectors of the organization―identifying and removing barriers for diverse groups of people in RCMP policies, programs and operations―thereby supporting the RCMP’s overall modernization efforts.

The focus areas are captured at the intermediate outcome level of the logic model and have accompanied intermediate outcome level statements, as outlined in the logic model for the RCMP implementation plan.

Figure 1: RCMP’s focus areas for the implementation of the third National Action Plan on women, peace and security

Ultimate outcome: Enhanced peace, security and equality for all people

Focus area 2: Security, justice and accountability

Current intermediate outcome statement: Improved security and access to justice and accountability for women, girls and gender-diverse people in Canada and abroad

Violence, insecurity and human rights violations have a differential impact on women, girls and gender-diverse people who are often targeted because of their gender and societal marginalization. The security sector has a significant role to play in responding to the needs of women, girls and gender-diverse people in the face of an increasingly complex global security context.

Under this focus area, the priorities will continue to be about reducing the barriers to women’s participation in peace operations missions. A pathway to increased participation can be achieved by strengthening the capacity of the security sector to advance the WPS agenda and building on lessons learned and positive outcomes from the Elsie Initiative and other initiatives.

In conflict, post-conflict and emergency settings, access to security is often limited; in post-conflict settings, re-establishing the rule of law is foundational in protecting women’s rights and security and, ultimately, in achieving sustainable peace. Focus area 2 will strengthen the support to local law enforcement institutions in fragile and conflict-affected states to better take into account women’s, girls’ and gender-diverse people’s specific needs and priorities.

These are some of the key activities the IPP will be carrying out under this focus area:

These activities are aligned with the following intermediate outcomes on the international and domestic fronts:

*Note: Partner agencies include Government of Canada departments as well as municipal, provincial and federal police services.

Focus area 3: Crisis response

Current intermediate outcome statement: Improved integration of inclusive and gender-responsive interventions to crises in Canada and abroad

Crisis response includes disaster risk preparedness, reduction, response and management (at home and abroad), humanitarian interventions (new and protracted) and responses to pandemics and armed conflicts (including migration and asylum). In crisis situations, women, girls and gender-diverse people are being distinctly and disproportionately impacted. Crisis tends to exacerbate pre-existing gender inequalities, disproportionately affecting women and girls. This particularly impacts women and girls belonging to groups that have been historically marginalized or discriminated against or who are displaced or otherwise in vulnerable situations where they often face increased risk of SGBV, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and restricted access to basic social and life-saving services. Conflict dynamics can fuel SGBV and CRSV and other forms of gender-based violence and persecution.

Under Focus area 3, the RCMP will improve its crisis response by responding to the needs of women, girls and gender-diverse people. This will be demonstrated by prioritizing the meaningful participation of women and gender-diverse people, as well as the integration of inclusive and gender-responsive approaches. Specifics on these efforts include sharing the experiences of police officers deployed to international peace operations missions―and having them return with good practices and improved skills gained abroad―and enhancing gender-sensitive elements within police peace operations programming in fragile and conflict-affected states, including the prevention and response to SGBV and SEA.

Initiatives under this focus area will seek to ensure that gender-responsive approaches continue to be incorporated in contingency planning and standard operation procedures for all the RCMP programs that are working in crisis response.

Abroad, the RCMP is responding to the Haitian crisis by participating in Canada’s integrated approach in Haiti, which has the following objective: “to support Haitian authorities’ efforts to ensure the free and sustainable movement of fuel and humanitarian goods and, by extension, to help create the conditions for Haiti’s greater political stability and an inclusive political dialogue leading toward restoration of democratic institutions through elections.”Footnote 8 Canada has begun to implement a comprehensive strategy to support the Haitian National Police’s (HNP) resources and capacity to fight gangs, target the Haitian elite via sanctions to stop them from fomenting violence and instability, promote political dialogue and support the Haitian people through the provision of aid.

To support Canada’s integrated approach to the crisis, the RCMP recently approved ancillary deploymentsFootnote 9 to the Caribbean region.

The primary objective of Canada’s integrated approach is to provide support to the HNP in establishing and maintaining secure conditions in Haiti and to enable the delivery of and access to humanitarian assistance and free movement of people, fuel and goods―as well as other conditions that promote a safe and secure society.Footnote 10

Intermediate objectives of the deployments:

These deployments are aligned with Canadian foreign policy priorities in the region and with the CPA mandate. They promote comprehensive and sustainable rule of law and enable local police agencies in fragile and conflict-affected states to carry out their policing responsibilities in accordance with international human rights obligations.

The deployed police officers help to strengthen engagement with Haitian and regional security stakeholders, as well as inform decision making. They work in coordination with the HNP and local law enforcement agencies in the Caribbean region to identify and mitigate criminality impacting Haiti, and they report to the Haiti Interdepartmental Task Force,Footnote 13 which is led by the GAC through the Integrated Intelligence Cell.

The activities under Canada’s integrated approach in the Haitian crisis are still in the development phase. The RCMP will draft a list of key activities the IPP will be carrying out under this focus area once all of the objectives are establishedFootnote 14.

In Canada, emergency management responsibilities are shared by all levels of government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and individual citizens. The safety and security of Canada’s communities are largely dependent on the readiness of emergency management programs and first responders. As a core police function, the RCMP has a legislated and moral responsibility to be ready to respond to emergencies within its area of responsibility, while at the same time keeping its own employees safe and ensuring continuity of operations.

Some of the main functions of the RCMP emergency management (EM) program within contract and Indigenous policing are to:

These activities contribute, in the long term, to the achievement of the outcome: improved integration of inclusive and gender-responsive interventions to crises in Canada and abroad

Focus area 4: Sexual and gender-based violence

Current intermediate outcome statement: Enhanced gender-responsive prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict contexts or perpetrated by actors working in peace, humanitarian, international development and security sectors in Canada or abroad

Sexual and gender-based violence refers to any act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and is based on gender norms and unequal power relationships. It includes physical, emotional or psychological and sexual violence, as well as the denial of resources or access to services. SGBV exists everywhere and tends to increase in the lead-up to, during and in the aftermath of conflict and crisis.Footnote 15 SGBV inflicts harm on women, girls, men and boys and is a severe violation of several human rights.Footnote 16

According to the UN secretary-general’s bulletin on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, “sexual exploitation refers to any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.”Footnote 17 Sexual abuse refers to an actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.Footnote 18

Conflicts and fragility have a significant impact on women and girls, who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. Discrimination based on gender is frequently compounded by discrimination based on other identity factors, such as ethnicity, race, religion, age, sexual orientation and ability. This is often exacerbated during conflict when discrimination against particular groups of women and girls can take on a violent form.

The RCMP is working to strengthen the prevention, response and investigation of SGBV and SEA. For example, the RCMP’s National Office of Sexual Offence Investigative Standard provides oversight and guidance to oversee the development of policies and programming related to sexual violence. Additionally, mandatory training requirements―developed by Contract and Indigenous Policing―for RCMP members include using a trauma-informed approach and cultural awareness and humility for all employees.

The RCMP continues to work with CPA partners to implement UN policies of zero tolerance for impunity for perpetrators of SEA in peace operations.

Participation in international deployments is contingent upon participants’ consent to the disclosure of information related to any alleged incidents of misconduct or crime, including SEA. Participants are also responsible for reporting to the contingent commander and program coordinator any knowledge or witness of any actions on the part of a Canadian personnel that appears to violate the professional conduct section.

A finding by IPP that a participant is in breach of the code of conduct will result in their immediate repatriation and their ineligibility for future deployments. The participant may then be subject to disciplinary or conduct proceedings in Canada. The CPA police partner agencies also agree to the RCMP sharing informationFootnote 19 on incidents of SEA. There have been zero reported cases of SEA by Canadian peacekeepers since 2017.

The RCMP is also seeking to deploy a police officer expert to a position in the Office of the Special Coordinator on improving UN response to SEA, located at UN headquarters in New York. The expert will be part of an integrated team of UN staff and subject matter experts who will analyze, develop and implement system-wide measures to address SEA in the peacekeeping environment, in particular. This deployment demonstrates Canada’s commitment to supporting the UN in improving their response to SEA and this country’s willingness to increase its impact with and support to the UN through deployments of highly skilled personnel.

The expert will support the special coordinator in improving UN response to SEA and contribute to the operationalization of the office’s mandate in delivering a coordinated and strategic approach to SEA. These actions are in accordance with the secretary-general’s strategy, set out in his report on protection from SEA.Footnote 20 The expert will participate in several integrated work streams and tasks impacting military, police and civilian personnel deployed to UN development, humanitarian and peace operations settings.

In addition, the CPA will deploy a police officer to a gratis position with the UN Office of the Victims Rights Advocate (OVRA) for 1 year. The OVRA was created as part of a 4-pronged strategy set out in the 2017 report of the secretary-general to the general assembly on special measures of protection from SEA. a new approach (A/71/818). The office supports the mandate of the victims’ rights advocate directed to ensuring that the rights and dignity of victims are at the forefront of all elements of the UN system-wide response to SEA, alleged to be perpetrated by UN uniformed or civilian personnel and non-UN troops serving under a Security Council mandate.

The victims’ rights police officer will be responsible for:

The RCMP will also continue its efforts in promoting international human rights, crime prevention and criminal justice standards and continues to participate in international forums to garner synergies and share best practices in its commitment to preventing sexual misconduct.

Some key ongoing activities to enhance gender-responsive prevention and response to SGBV and prevent SEA abroad are:

These activities are aligned with the following outcomes on the international front:

In Canada, the RCMP is determined to improve its organizational culture. As part of its modernization efforts, the RCMP is committed to having a fair, transparent and modern system that addresses the conduct of its employees. The organization will ensure that employees are held to account and that the consequences are meaningful and rehabilitative. The RCMP has committed to responding more efficiently to concerns and complaints, being more open and transparent with its information and being accountable for its actions.

Due to many factors―including litigation, evolving public expectations of policing and other initiatives that are related to sexual misconduct and harassment as well as recommendations from independent assessors―the RCMP undertook an external expert review of its disciplinary measures to ensure they meet modern expectations of fairness, transparency, effectiveness and consistency.

The external review was conducted in 2 phases by leading experts in the police complaint and discipline process, against a backdrop of significant drivers that have occurred in the last decade. These drivers include the evolution of case law and enhanced workplace safety legislation elevating the employer’s obligation to provide a safe workplace for all employees. The expert consultants provided findings and recommendations to help the RCMP meet high public and employee expectations for addressing police misconduct. These recommendations are principally forward-looking and support changing the decision-making process and increasing use of serious conduct measures, particularly regarding sexual misconduct and harassment. Additional changes include expanding the use of measures, such as demotion and ineligibility for promotion, particularly for misconduct related to leadership and supervision.

The RCMP supports the expert’s recommendations and is continuing engagement with diverse communities, key stakeholders and subject matter experts for an achievable phased implementation of the recommendations. This immediate expected result will contribute to the long-term achievement of the intermediate outcome, which is that disciplinary measures―and their application―meet modern expectations of adequacy, fairness, transparency and effectiveness.

The RCMP published The Way Forward: The RCMP’s Sexual Assault Review and Victim Support Action Plan in which the RCMP committed to 13 action items under the categories of:

Action items are outlined and provide updated information on status via the RCMP’s public-facing website. They include:

Some of the key activities that will be carried out under this area include:

The immediate outcome of these activities is: The RCMP expects the immediate outcome of these activities to be increased accountability, among its members, for actions that constitute misconduct.. This immediate expected result will contribute to the long-term achievement of the intermediate outcome: This immediate expected result will contribute to the long-term achievement of the intermediate outcome, which is that disciplinary measures―and their application―meet modern expectations of adequacy, fairness, transparency and effectiveness. These changes, and a strengthened conduct measures process, will help bring the RCMP one step further on the path toward a modern, healthy and inclusive RCMP.

Focus area 5: Leadership and capabilities

Current Outcome Statement: Strengthened implementation of the women, peace and security agenda by the Government of Canada and its partners

Under the third National Action Plan, the RCMP will maintain and strengthen leadership in advancing the WPS agenda at home and abroad by committing to bold actions and advocating for gender equality and promoting the WPS agenda.

Initiatives and commitments under Focus area 5 will better equip the RCMP to effectively implement the action plan. The RCMP will work with internal and external partners to ensure that the organization is equipped to deliver on its commitments under this implementation plan. The RCMP will obtain leadership support and develop and share the necessary tools, resources and expertise internally to ensure a successful expansion to the domestic focus and a strong implementation of the initiatives.

The RCMP also requires an improved commitment to collecting gender-disaggregated data. Under Focus area 5, the organization will work toward the support of data-driven decision making. Current data collection practices do not adequately account for the experiences of women, girls and diverse communities. Barriers emerge when there is a lack of disaggregated data, which results in a limited capacity to apply GBA Plus. Additionally, a UN report on women, peace and security has called on nations to “close gender data gaps and strengthen the use of women, peace and security data.” Footnote 27 This could include addressing data gaps, such as the revision of personal information profiles and other data collection forms.

Internationally, through various mechanisms, the IPP is addressing barriers for women’s participation in peace operations and supports the UN and other partners in increasing the number of women police deployed to international operations/missions. For instance, since 2014, Canada has deployed Canadian police instructors to the UN’s all-female pre-selection assistance and assessment (SAAT) training projects in a few French-speaking countries (such as Benin, Guinea, Niger, Togo, Rwanda, Burkina Faso and Cameroon), as well as to a similar training project for men and women in Colombia. These projects are aimed at helping increase the number of women police officers from these countries, who are selected to serve on UN peacekeeping missions by preparing candidates to meet UN testing requirements.

The RCMP continues to commit resources to the Elsie Initiative, which is a key element of Canada’s feminist foreign policy. The initiative aims to support the agenda for UN peacekeeping reforms to increase women’s meaningful participation in peace operations. The RCMP, in partnership with CPA colleagues Global Affairs Canada and Public Safety Canada, committed to assisting the Zambia Police Service as part of the technical assistance pillar of the Elsie Initiative. The RCMP will continue to work toward advancing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 5―achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls―by remaining a strong supporter of the Elsie Initiative.

Some of the activities in support of Focus area 5 are:

These activities are aligned with the following outcomes on the international front:

In Canada:

Enhancing RCMP leadership is critical to advancing the RCMP’s modernization agenda as it relates to the action plan. RCMP leadership is a foundational support for culture change. Character leadership training is being rolled out across the RCMP at all levels.

Modern and inclusive leadership practices will provide the foundation for enabling progressive work across the RCMP, including implementing Vision 150 and Beyond―the RCMP’s 2023 strategic plan―addressing external reports and recommendations on culture change, embracing the renewed RCMP core values and implementing the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy and GBA Plus requirements.

In January 2022, the RCMP formally established the Character Leadership Advisory Services team to support positive leadership development across the organization. As part of their work, in February 2022, character leadership training was integrated into the cadet training curriculum.

The RCMP is also working with Ivey Business School to create and implement a leadership development plan for the leadership program in partnership with Canada Border Services and Revenue Canada.

Under national leadership training with learning and development, the RCMP is committed to providing leadership development training to employees at all ranks/levels to ensure employees receive training designed to meet their specific needs, support the organization’s Vision 150 modernization plan and help the organization deliver the best service possible to Canadians. Training includes the foundations of leadership curriculum, supervisor development program, manager development program and executive/officer development program. The foundations of leadership curriculum covers a range of topics related to leadership fundamentals, such as self-awareness, personality types, ethics, conduct, goal setting and dealing with conflict, health and wellness, among other topics. The supervisor development program is a competency-based developmental program that develops and supports regular members in making the transition from the constable to the corporal rank. The manager development program is a competency-based developmental program that develops and supports regular members in making the transition from the corporal to the sergeant rank. The executive/officer development program takes a competency-based approach to leadership development by using a blended and problem-based learning approach. All training is rooted in the mission, vision and values of the RCMP, with a focus on exhibiting ethical leadership throughout one's career.

The immediate outcomes of these activities is:

These activities will contribute to the achievement of the intermediate outcome:

Focus area 6: Inclusion

Current outcome statement: Strengthened integration of intersectional and diverse perspectives in shaping and implementing the WPS agendaFootnote 32

The RCMP is committed to inclusive approaches in Canada and overseas. Under Focus area 6, the RCMP will foster an intersectional approach, to implement the WPS agenda. The RCMP is dedicated to increasing GBA Plus capacity across all sectors of the organization to identify and remove barriers within RCMP policies, programs and operations for diverse groups of people to support overall RCMP modernization efforts.

The RCMP will actively foster an intersectional feminist and human rights-based approach, as well as greater inclusion, as part of its efforts to implement the WPS agenda. The organization will, meanwhile, keep working to understand, acknowledge and address the root causes of exclusion. Intersectionality as a term is widely used in the WPS agenda, but its integration has been limited and is often difficult to operationalize. Using an intersectional approach means the RCMP recognizes that even though women everywhere experience oppression, they do not all experience oppression in the same way.

Evidence shows that women play an indispensable role in peace operations. Their participation and decision making, at all levels, are key to the operational effectiveness of peace operations and the success of mandate implementation. They bring valuable perspectives, an increased level of understanding on threats and conflict dynamics, and help build trust with local communities.

Under Focus area 6, the RCMP will prioritize advancing a gender-responsive approach to addressing emerging drivers of conflict and instability. This includes building on the work of the second National Action Plan by continuing to advance women’s participation and leadership in security fields globally.

Internationally, the IPP is addressing barriers for women’s participation in peace operations by working on various initiatives, such as enhancing awareness and access to information on deployments.

Some key activities to support the IPP initiatives being implemented by Canadian personnel serving in international peacekeeping missions and operations include:

These activities are aligned with the following outcomes on the international front:

On the domestic front, the GBA Plus centre of expertise leads and coordinates quarterly RCMP GBA Plus Network meetings with representatives from across all RCMP business lines and most divisions to discuss priorities and common issues, as well as share knowledge, resources and tools. The GBA Plus centre of expertise also delivers GBA Plus training and engages in awareness-raising presentations and discussions to RCMP employees across the organization.

Additionally, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit (EDIU) leads and coordinates monthly national RCMP Pride Employee Network meetings, which include employees from across all RCMP business lines and divisions who represent their respective 2SLGBTQI+ communities and/or those who are subject matter experts and allies. The network discusses barriers to inclusion for 2SLGBTQI+ communities, both internally (employee-facing) and externally (client-facing), to determine how best to reduce and/or eliminate these barriers and how to create education and awareness for important 2SLGBTQI+ issues. It is also a forum to share resources, knowledge, tools, best practices and other supports for employees within 2SLGBTQI+ communities.

In addition to the RCMP Pride Employee Network, the EDIU leads the RCMP Pride Action Group, where it tackles program and policy developments and/or reviews with a 2SLGBTQI+/intersectional lens and provides consistency to 2SLGBTQI+ consultations by developing the framework and subsequent guidance documents for RCMP EDI-related consultations.

Activities in support of Focus area 6 include:

The immediate outcome of these activities is an enhanced awareness of RCMP employees who are engaged in action plan initiatives on how to apply GBA Plus.

These activities will contribute to the achievement of the intermediate outcome, which is a “strengthened integration of gender, intersectional and diverse perspectives in shaping and implementing the WPS agenda in Canada.”

Key stakeholders for the RCMP implementation plan

The first and second national action plans were focused on the deployment of Canadian law enforcement officials to international peace operations as well as bilateral missions and other missions. In the third National Action Plan, the RCMP is looking beyond the IPP to expand on current initiatives, which will also focus on the domestic aspect of women, peace and security and support building an inclusive and diverse work environment. The EDI and GBA Plus teams participated in the second action plan and will continue to participate in the third iteration. The teams provide a gender-responsive and inclusive response to women, peace and security, both internationally and domestically, with a greater reach than the first two action plans.

The following stakeholders are key in the RCMP’s implementation of the third National Action Plan.

The International Police Peacekeeping and Peace Operations Program

The IPP deploys Canadian law enforcement personnel from police services across Canada to peace operations and missions around the world. The program is administered under the Canadian Policing Arrangement, a partnership between Global Affairs Canada, Public Safety Canada and the RCMP.

The CPA is part of a whole-of-government integrated approach to responding to the security needs of fragile and conflict-affected states. It aims to strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and it advances Canadian values and interests. Canadian police officers, in cooperation with international partners such as the UN and the European Union―or bilaterally with a host country―pave the way for this long-term development.

The IPP is committed to continued dialogue with the various partners and stakeholders on women, peace and security-related matters to further inform and support activities under the action plan. It contributes to various interdepartmental meetings and discussions with civil society, including the action plan advisory group and the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program advisory board, to support the development and integration of gender-sensitive programming and the sharing of lessons and practices.

The IPP recognizes the importance of women’s equal, full and meaningful participation in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and peacekeeping. It seeks to further support women in fulfilling this active role by incorporating gender perspectives in program decisions, seeking opportunities to train female police officers in foreign countries to participate in missions and targeting international deployment opportunities and senior positions that support this important work.

The GBA Plus centre of expertise

The GBA Plus centre of expertise provides centralized advice and support on the implementation of GBA Plus within the RCMP. While RCMP business lines and divisions are responsible for ensuring the integration of GBA Plus within their work, the centre provides support, advice and guidance by working directly with subject matter experts across the organization. To help enhance GBA Plus capacity, the centre also offers subject matter-specific training, using case studies to provide practical learning.

The centre leads the RCMP GBA Plus Network to support the awareness and application of GBA Plus across the organization. The network provides a forum for sharing knowledge, resources and tools and includes representatives from all RCMP divisions and business lines.

Additionally, a GBA Plus expert sits on the senior management team, which helps to ensure GBA Plus is integrated in RCMP decision-making processes. The Deputy Commissioner of Contract and Indigenous Policing serves as the RCMP GBA Plus champion. With the support of the GBA Plus unit, the champion promotes GBA Plus awareness, training and priority initiatives across the organization.

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit (EDIU) is responsible for engaging individuals with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, and embedding equity into its practices to ensure that the RCMP has a diverse, innovative and responsible workforce that is fully capable of achieving its mission. The EDIU advances anti-racism, diversity and inclusion through the deliberate pursuit of equitable RCMP employment and service delivery policies and practices. As the policy centre for EDI, the EDIU conducts evidence-based research, analysis and stakeholder engagement to guide the identification, reduction and removal of systemic barriers to groups identified in the Canadian Human Rights Act. It also ensures that the RCMP meets and exceeds its legislated obligations under various Canadian diversity laws and develops and implements the RCMP EDI strategy, which is a foundation for culture change in the organization.

The RCMP remains committed to the principle that removing barriers to promote fair and equitable treatment of all employees and residents of Canada is the best approach to deliver modern, inclusive and effective police services based on strong and trusting police/community relationships.

The Professional Responsibility Sector

The Professional Responsibility Sector (PRS) provides national leadership in instituting a responsibility-based workplace regime that promotes professional, values-based decision making and behaviour. It also has an administrative process by which members are held accountable for their actions (“discipline”).

Under the direction of the professional responsibility officer, PRS is responsible for providing direction and leadership in the design, development and integration of a comprehensive professional responsibility culture across all RCMP business lines. It is also responsible for championing the entrenchment of values and ethics across all aspects of RCMP decision making and employee behaviour.

Contract and Indigenous Policing

Contract and Indigenous policing (C&IP) is responsible for providing support for RCMP contract policing (front line) across the country, including where the RCMP provides provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous policing. C&IP is committed to delivering the highest quality policies, programs, research and tools that support not only contract policing, but enforcement, prevention and education throughout the entire organization. C&IP’s mission is to provide leadership and support to RCMP operations in the delivery of policing services that are responsive, sustainable, accountable and trusted.

C&IP will support the delivery of quality policing services through the development and maintenance of policing models, policies and tools that meet the changing needs of communities. It is guided by the RCMP’s core values and recognizes diversity, creativity, relevance, people and service.

Currently, C&IP is creating, reporting and promoting items in the WPS agenda through other initiatives and action plans (i.e., Mass Casualty Commission, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People etc.). While C&IP will not directly contribute action items to the RCMP’s implementation plan, C&IP will continue to develop and modernize policies and programs, training, tools and educational content that will align with the RCMP mandate, ultimately aligning with the IPP’s role in ensuring the RCMP meets the commitments in the action plan on women, peace and security.

Logic model for the RCMP implementation plan for the third National Action Plan

Ultimate outcome

1000 Enhanced peace, security and equality for all people Footnote 35

Focus areas and intermediate outcomes

Focus area 2: Security, justice and accountabilityFootnote 36

1200 Improved security and access to justice and accountability for women, girls and gender-diverse people in Canada and abroad

RCMP intermediate outcomes

Abroad (The IPPFootnote 38)

1200a Improved delivery of security sector services to affected populations in an inclusive and gender responsive manner, by national institutions in Fragile and Conflict Affected States (FACS)

In Canada (The IPP)

1200b Improved law enforcement and security-related practices of participating partner agencies

RCMP immediate outcomes

1210a Improved capacity of institutions in host nations to carry out their responsibilities in an inclusive and gender-responsive manner, in accordance with international human rights obligations

1210b Enhanced post-deployment competencies for returning IPP personnel and their home agencies

1211 Canadian personnel are recruited, selected, trained, deployed and supported to assist local security sector partners and the population in fragile and conflict-affected states

RCMP outputs

1212 Support and training provided to international partners (including host nations or through international organizations)

1213 All training materials and all the reporting and assessment tools include women, peace and security principles and gender perspectives

1214 All IPP personnel will have completed the Women and Gender Equality Canada online GBA Plus training

RCMP activities

Inputs

Financial resources (Operations & Maintenance and capital), personnel, equipment and policy

Focus areas and intermediate outcomes

Focus area 3: Crisis responseFootnote 37

1300 Improved integration of inclusive and gender-responsive interventions to crises in Canada and abroad

RCMP intermediate outcomes

Abroad (The IPP) and in Canada

1300a Improved integration of inclusive and gender-responsive interventions to crises abroad (from the action plan)

In Canada (RCMP)

1300b Improved integration of inclusive and gender-responsive interventions to crises in Canada (from the action plan)

RCMP immediate outcomes

RCMP will draft the immediate outcomes the IPP program will seek to achieve under this focus area once all the objectives are established (estimated timeline: by the end of the bridging year).

RCMP partners from Emergency Management program to draft immediate outcomes related to crisis response in Canada by end of bridging year

RCMP outputs

RCMP will draft a list of outputs the IPP program will seek to achieve under this focus area once all the objectives are established (estimated timeline: by the end of the bridging year).

1311b The RCMP emergency management plan and the support for the national emergency operation plan coordinated

1312b National exercise coordination completed and

support for business continuity planning provided

1313b Liaison with other government departments and partners completed

1314b Preparation and dissemination of lessons learned and best practices from past response operations and exercises in which the RCMP was involved and research completed on a wide variety of topics within the EM spectrum, including vulnerable people

RCMP activities

RCMP will draft a list of key activities the IPP program will be carrying out under this focus area once all the objectives are established (estimated timeline: by the end of the bridging year).

Inputs

Financial resources (Operations & Maintenance and capital), personnel, equipment and policy

Focus areas and intermediate outcomes

Focus area 4: Sexual and gender-based violence

1400 Enhanced gender-responsive prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict contexts or perpetrated by actors working in peace, humanitarian, international development and security sectors in Canada or abroad

RCMP intermediate outcomes

Abroad (The IPP)

1400a Enhanced gender-sensitive response to victims of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict contexts or perpetrated by actors working in peace and security sectors abroad

In Canada (RCMP)

1400b Disciplinary measures (“penalties”), and their application, meet modern expectations of adequacy, fairness, transparency and effectiveness

RCMP immediate outcomes

1410a Continued work with CPA partners to implement Canadian and UN policies related to zero tolerance for impunity for perpetrators of SEA in peace operations/missions

1420a Enhanced gender-sensitive elements within peace operations programming in fragile and conflict-affected states, including preventing and responding to SGBV and SEA

1410b Increased accountability of RCMP members for actions that constitute misconduct

RCMP outputs

1411a Completion of the mandatory SEA prevention training (provided by the UN via online training module) by Canadian personnel deployed through the CPA

1412a Deployment letters, which include the zero-tolerance policy signed by Canadian personnel deployed with the CPA

1421a Personnel deployed to gender adviser positions within missions

1422a Personnel deployed to specialized police teams dedicated to SGBV

1423a Cases of SEA in peace operations/missions (allegedly perpetrated by Canadian personnel, based on the UN definition of SEA) are reported

1411b Creation of a select group of appropriate full-time decision makers to effectively manage serious misconduct and discipline for all harassment matters

1412b Increase in the use of serious conduct measures and adopt presumptive dismissal for serious sexual misconduct

1413b Policy direction issued that all sexual misconduct and all family and intimate partner violence allegations must be referred to the full-time decision makers

1414b Updates made to the Conduct Measures Guide

1415b Progressive and ongoing training instituted for disciplinary decision makers and their supporting resources

1416b Capacity to enhance the monitoring of trends in police complaint and discipline processes built

RCMP activities

Inputs

Financial resources (Operations & Maintenance and capital), personnel, equipment and policy

Focus areas and intermediate outcomes

Focus area 5: Leadership and capabilities

1500 Strengthened implementation of the WPS agenda by the Government of Canada and its partners

RCMP intermediate outcomes

Abroad (The IPP)

1500a Increased adoption of policies, doctrines and Canadian positions on peace operations, including women, peace and security by multilateral and bilateral partners abroad

In Canada (RCMP)

1500b Strengthened implementation of the WPS agenda in Canada

RCMP immediate outcomes

1510a Improved capacity of Canada’s multilateral and bilateral partners and other police-contributing countries to implement the UNSC WPS agenda in the context of international peace operations

To draft outcome in case we develop the domestic perspective.

Suggested commitment:

1510b Enhance capacity of the RCMP to support implementation of the UNSC WPS agenda in Canada

RCMP outputs

1511a IPP experts deployed to international peacekeeping and peace support operations to support multilateral and bilateral partners

1512a IPP support provided to increase the participation of women in international peace operations

To draft outputs in case we develop the domestic perspective.

Suggested outputs:

1511b Repositioning done of the action plan’s leadership and coordination role within the organization

1512b Drafting of the new plan/commitments for the RCMP implementation of UNSC’s WPS agenda in Canada

RCMP activities

To draft activities in case we develop the domestic perspective.

Two suggested activities:

Inputs

Financial resources (Operations & Maintenance and capital), personnel, equipment and policy

Focus areas and intermediate outcomes

Focus area 6: Inclusion

1600 Strengthened integration of intersectional and diverse perspectives in shaping and implementing the WPS agenda

RCMP intermediate outcomes

Abroad (The IPP)

1600a Strengthened integration of gender, intersectional and diverse perspectives in shaping and implementing the WPS agenda abroad

In Canada (AIM, EDI)

1600b Strengthened integration of gender, intersectional and diverse perspectives in shaping and implementing the WPS agenda abroad

RCMP immediate outcomes

1610a Enhanced capability of bilateral and multilateral partners to undertake women, peace and security and GBA Plus analysis in the design, planning and implementation of gender-sensitive programming

1610b Enhanced awareness of RCMP employees engaged in action plan initiatives on how to apply GBA Plus

RCMP outputs

1611a IPP support provided to increase the participation of Canadian women in international peace operations

1612a Canadian women police officers and civilian experts deployed in strategic and/or leadership roles in international missions

1611b Meetings conducted between the RCMP GBA Plus Network, the RCMP Employee Pride Network and the RCMP Pride Action Group with representatives from across all RCMP business lines and most divisions to discuss priorities and common issues and to share knowledge, resources and tools

1612b GBA Plus and EDI training delivered and RCMP employees across the organization engaged in awareness-raising presentations and discussions

Inputs

Financial resources (Operations & Maintenance and capital), personnel, equipment and policy

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