The Governor General’s office has stripped a former police chief of a medal..Frank Elsner, ex-chief of police in Victoria, was given the Order of Merit of the Police Forces in 2011, said Blacklock’s Reporter..The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General issued a legal notice Saturday stating Elsner was expelled from the Order. No reason was given, but Elsner resigned four years ago over workplace harassment complaints..Elsner in a 2017 affidavit said he was taking anti-depressants, felt “very isolated” and “rarely left the house.”.The Order of Merit was established in 2000 to honour “leadership and exceptional service” on the recommendation of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police..Investigators with British Columbia’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner cited Elsner for sending “sexually suggestive” tweets to another officer’s wife, harassing a secretary when he “pressed his groin against her buttocks,” pinning another woman in a hallway outside a holiday dinner, and remarking to a third woman during use-of-force training: “I could do this all day, you’re so warm.”.“Because Mr. Elsner was the chief constable and the members were his subordinates, he stood in a position of power and responsibility,” said a 2018 Commission report..Kicking out recipients of federal orders is rare. Alan Eagleson, former executive director of the NHL Players’ Association, in 1998 became the first recipient to be stripped of his Order of Canada after pleading guilty to fraud and embezzlement..Toronto financier Conrad Black in 2016 lost his Order of Canada after being convicted of mail fraud and serving three years in a Florida prison..Theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky in 2012 was expelled from the Order of Canada over a fraud conviction..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
The Governor General’s office has stripped a former police chief of a medal..Frank Elsner, ex-chief of police in Victoria, was given the Order of Merit of the Police Forces in 2011, said Blacklock’s Reporter..The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General issued a legal notice Saturday stating Elsner was expelled from the Order. No reason was given, but Elsner resigned four years ago over workplace harassment complaints..Elsner in a 2017 affidavit said he was taking anti-depressants, felt “very isolated” and “rarely left the house.”.The Order of Merit was established in 2000 to honour “leadership and exceptional service” on the recommendation of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police..Investigators with British Columbia’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner cited Elsner for sending “sexually suggestive” tweets to another officer’s wife, harassing a secretary when he “pressed his groin against her buttocks,” pinning another woman in a hallway outside a holiday dinner, and remarking to a third woman during use-of-force training: “I could do this all day, you’re so warm.”.“Because Mr. Elsner was the chief constable and the members were his subordinates, he stood in a position of power and responsibility,” said a 2018 Commission report..Kicking out recipients of federal orders is rare. Alan Eagleson, former executive director of the NHL Players’ Association, in 1998 became the first recipient to be stripped of his Order of Canada after pleading guilty to fraud and embezzlement..Toronto financier Conrad Black in 2016 lost his Order of Canada after being convicted of mail fraud and serving three years in a Florida prison..Theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky in 2012 was expelled from the Order of Canada over a fraud conviction..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
