RNC chief calls for unity, denies he had Jenny Wright pushed out of advocacy job
Former director of women's council says government and police relations were toxic but she resigned on her own
The chief of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says he hopes to repair damaged relationships with local community organizations and broken trust with vulnerable people in the province.
"If you have concerns, if you have been a victim, please reach out. That's our role — we're here to protect and to serve you," says Joe Boland.
Boland was responding to allegations that he conspired to have Jenny Wright removed as executive director of the St. John's Status of Women Council, outlining his reasons for writing to the council with concerns.
"I'm troubled by what has taken place here. Our officers have worked very hard here to build relationships in this community," said Boland. "Really, the fallout of this will be for vulnerable people in our community."
Wright's departure
He was one of eight signatories on a November 2018 letter, which he shared Wednesday morning, that outlined concerns over strained relationships with the council and the working relationship with then executive director Wright.
Several months after the letter was sent to the council chair, Wright resigned from the role, saying the move was clearly the intention of those who signed the letter.
But Boland said he doesn't think the letter led to Wright leaving, and that none of those involved asked for that.
"What we wanted was the relationship to be repaired."
The Independent published an extensive story on Oct. 11, detailing emails between Boland and someone at the provincial advisory council on the council.
It alleges Boland and Linda Ross, at the Provincial Advisory Council for the Status of Women at the time, silenced Wright because they disagreed with her.
'I'm not silenced now'
Wright told CBC News the letter was only one of several contributing factors that led her to step down from the council.
She said she had been healing from an accident, which gave her time to think about other things she would like to be doing. She also said "toxic" relationships with government and police were contributors as well but, she added, it was still a difficult decision to step down.
"It was my decision to resign, without a doubt."
Wright said at no point did she ever feel like she was being silenced by the provincial government or Boland.
In fact, she said the heart of advocacy work is to push back against the status quo that harms marginalized people.
"I'm not silenced now, and I wasn't silenced then. The real point is that this isn't about me," she said.
"This is about our current government officials, and our chief of police monitoring and surveilling citizens within our province, monitoring their social media and then deciding to take action on comments or ideas they don't like."
First Light bows out
In a statement issued shortly before Boland's press conference, First Light, formerly known as the St. John's Friendship Centre, said it is "deeply disturbed" by what it called a "co-ordinated campaign to silence critical voices on women's issues."
The organization was one of several groups involved in the provincial government's committee on reducing violence against women and girls, but will no longer participate after the revelations in the story.
"Silencing critical voices in our community is very troubling to us as an organization, especially when we're working towards change to Indigenous people and we believe in women's rights," Stacey Howse, acting executive director of First Light, told CBC News in an interview Wednesday afternoon.
"All of our community organizations should be able to freely express the challenges with the colonial systems which exist and we should be able to speak up and advocate against these systems and challenge the structures."
Justice Minister Andrew Parsons is unavailable for an interview this week because he is travelling, according to a department spokesperson.
He was copied on the letter in question that was sent in November, "but had no involvement beyond that."
"The government of Newfoundland and Labrador, including the minister of justice and public safety and attorney general, does not give direction to police. Police have independent authority to determine operations," reads the statement.
A spokesperson from the Women's Policy Office said the provincial government had absolutely no involvement with Wright's departure.
"We regret the decision of First Light to suspend participation in the minister's committee on violence against women and girls, but hope to continue working with them in the future," the executive council said in a statement.
Boland on Wednesday focused on the RNC's mandate to uphold the law and support victims, adding, "one of the most critical components of modern law enforcement is establishing trust."
Some RNC officers expressed concern about an Aug. 1, 2018, tweet from Wright discussing an emergency protection order against an officer, where Boland said she tweeted that's why abusers are attracted to becoming police officers in positions of power.
He says officers contacted him upset about that sentiment, he thought about responses and in the end decided Ms. Wright has a boss so he would ask to talk to them, being the board of directors of the SJSWC.
—@McCabeMegBoland's issue was the tweet undermined public confidence in the RNC, he said.
"My only concern was the RNC and how important public confidence is," particularly among vulnerable people who may be in need of such an emergency protection order, Boland said.
Fundamental divide
Boland said the ultimate issue is a divide within local organizations working with sex workers, and concerns about the activities in the downtown St. John's neighbourhood of Livingstone Street and Long's Hill.
"They're all good people. This is not a case where somebody's nasty, it's that they have different philosophies, I think, and they think there should be different approaches," Boland said.
And for the love of all that’s holy, UNDERSTAND why positions of power like police are so attractive to abusers and listen to women’s groups. <br><br>More training<br><br>Repeat.
—@JenEWrightWright has long been pushing for a provincial task force against gender-based violence and, upon leaving her job with the council, vowed to continue to fight for gender equality.
Boland at his media statement Wednesday said that trust in police and their relationship with community groups is essential.
Without trust, he said, "the most vulnerable people in our community" don't feel safe going to police, he said, and reporting of crime declines.
With files from Meghan McCabe