Former Mountie who claims he was forced to resign loses B.C. Supreme Court case

VANCOUVER – A former Kamloops, B.C., Mountie who claimed he was forced out of the RCMP has lost his B.C. Supreme Court action.

Brian Flanagan says he was pushed to resign in 2005 after his superiors threatened possible criminal charges and a code-of-conduct review if he didn’t get treatment for a disputed drinking problem.

But B.C. Supreme Court Justice Thomas Melnick has ruled that the court doesn’t have jurisdiction over wrongful dismissal claim, since RCMP officers do not serve based on employment contracts.

Even if the court did have jurisdiction, Melnick concluded that Flanagan’s superiors acted reasonably.

Flanagan also asked for damages based on a letter he claimed was malicious that the RCMP wrote to the B.C. Superintendent of Motor Vehicles about Flanagan’s drinking.

Melnick ruled the letter — which resulted in the suspension of Flanagan’s driver’s licence — was inappropriate, but he did not award damages.