A Levis policewoman is harassed by her bosses

An investigator from the Police Department of the City of Levis (SPVL) denounces the harassment of which she claims to have been a victim of her superiors and who, according to her, demolished her career.

"My career has been sabotaged," testified France Beland during a hearing on Tuesday before the Labor Administrative Court. She challenges a decision of the Standards, Equity, Health and Safety Commission which found that she did not suffer an employment injury. She claims that the depressed state she experienced is related to what she experienced at work. She also filed a complaint for psychological harassment.

The detective sergeant-investigator recounted how her 23-year-old police career was "completely upset" by the denigration she claims to have been the victim of two of her superiors between 2014 and 2016. The first, Martin Savoie, occupied the position of Senior Detective Sergeant and is now Captain at SPVL.

"He isolated me, belittled me, he took away training to which I was entitled, he removed me major files for no reason. He shouted as if I was a little less than nothing, "said the policewoman.

The two policemen then had an intimate relationship that the lady described as "tumultuous". The problems have been transferred to work. Ms. Beland argues that Mr. Savoie treated her colleagues "nut head", "little brain", "botcheuse".

Yet, she argued, prior to these episodes, she had never received a disciplinary sanction and was collecting awards for her work.

When she received compliments from male colleagues on her accomplishments, Mr. Savoie replied: "It's because they all want to screw you, it's just that you're not smart enough to get you account, she said. I was a piece of meat. "

Her boss even refused to help other officers when she needed it, she lamented.

The carousel continued under the successor of Martin Savoie, Steeve Ruel, whom she identified as a "good boy" of Mr. Savoie, and that made him "crises" in front of his colleagues, sometimes for trivialities. "The grip on me continued. He started screaming at me afterwards. (…) It's like I'm a ghost in the office. "

Her career suffered from this isolation, as did her relationships with her colleagues, who were "mined," she says. When her disciplinary record was "tainted" in 2017 by a sanction she deemed unfair, Ms. Beland, whose health was already shaky, said it was "the straw that broke the camel" and she filed a complaint for harassment.

During her testimony, she flayed her superiors and fellow investigators, asserting that they were drinking beer at dinner time, at the Maltee Way, in Quebec City, where they were not likely to be seen by the citizens of Quebec. Levi's.

She also argued that "during the afternoons, the guys would go out for beer. It was known to the investigative office. At one point, Steeve (Ruel) was not able to come back with the vehicle and I went to pick him up. I never had trouble, I never denounced and (yet) he isolated me, he ignored me.

The case will return to the TAT in March 2020, while France Beland will continue its testimony. His lawyer and that of the City of Levis will hear their respective witnesses.