An organization that advocates for New Brunswick’s municipal police officers is calling for a provincial investigation into the Saint John Police Force and its chief.
Nine workplace harassment complaints have been filed against Chief Robert Bruce with the province’s police commission, according to the New Brunswick Police Association.
“The Association is deeply concerned about the prevalence of workplace harassment within the Saint John Police Force and the impact this has on front-line officers and their families,” Bob Davidson said in a news release.
“While the individual complaints are now before the Courts and we will not comment on those directly, we believe the broader issue within the Saint John Police Force requires urgent attention.”
The association has requested that the public safety minister conduct a full investigation into the force’s workplace environment, “and whether the New Brunswick Police Commission is complicit and is fulfilling its legislative function as an oversight body.”
It also wants WorkSafeNB to investigate the Saint John Board of Police Commissioners for “potential non-compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”
“In particular, whether they have met their statutory duty to ensure that [the] Force’s workplace code of conduct has been implemented and followed,” said Davidson.
In a statement, Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin said workplace harassment complaints are taken seriously and he looks forward to meeting with the association.
“As there are ongoing investigations and matters before the courts, we will not be commenting further at this time,” said Gauvin.
The Saint John Police Force did not respond to requests for comment from our newsroom.
