A Surrey RCMP officer making a difference in the lives of bullied teens says he was pushed out of his job.
Tad Milmine was running a successful anti-bullying program called “Bullying Ends Here” that took him to classrooms around the country.
He is gay, was bullied as a child and often thought of suicide, but says he eventually landed his dream job as a Mountie, and wanted to share his survival story with youth.
Thousands of teens have reached out to Milmine by email. Two dozen families even credited him with saving a life.
Milmine says the RCMP initially supported him, but later told him if he wanted to continue, he had to change his approach entirely and give up the website.
He refused and continued the presentations with his own money and time, but says last week he was sent a cease and desist letter.
“I am convinced that my sexuality plays a significant role,” says Milmine. “I am not saying to the force, because it is not the RCMP that has done this, it is the individuals with the RCMP that have loud voices, and their decisions are the way it is.”
The RCMP issued a statement saying they made every effort to accommodate Milmine, but they have policies in place.
“The RCMP, and various units of the RCMP, have supported Tad fully with his anti-bullying initiative and were shocked and disappointed with his unexpected resignation at a time when we were working with him to resolve his HR policy conflicts.
While we were very supportive of Tad’s work, the RCMP does have clear policies and guidelines with respect to financial transparency and accountability in secondary employment that applies to all employees. These policies are in place to protect both the organization and its members.
Among these policies are strict conflict of interest guidelines with respect to the solicitation of funds, the image and uniform of the RCMP and the perception that the RCMP is involved in soliciting those funds. Policy compliance is unbiased and not geared to any individual or program.
While we respect Tad’s passion, and have made every effort to accommodate him, we had also hoped that Tad would work with us to find the balance between his outreach efforts and the operational needs of his detachment, regular assigned duties and adherence to HR policies.”
Milmine quit the force and is joining the Calgary police force, where he can continue the anti-bullying program.
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