Lawyer says B.C. Mountie should be fired immediately or quit over group-chat remarks

A Mountie accused of making racist and sexist comments in group chats should be dismissed immediately or directed to resign within 14 days, the lawyer for the RCMP’s conduct authority told an adjudication board hearing Friday.

John MacLaughlan said Constable Ian Solven “has severed the employment relationship with the RCMP” with misconduct that “strikes at the core of the RCMP organizational values.”

In November, RCMP adjudicator Louise Morel found Coquitlam constables Solven, Mersad Mesbah and Philip Dick, failed to treat people with respect and courtesy and committed discreditable conduct when they posted racist, sexist, and homophobic comments in a group chat with other officers and on police computer terminals.

Court documents show the allegations against Solven, Dick and Mesbah came to light after one of their fellow officers complained about what he saw as “atrocious” and “racist and horrible” activity by his colleagues.

The RCMP is seeking the officers’ dismissals, while all three members remain suspended with pay.

MacLaughlan told Friday’s hearing for Solven that the officer’s actions and comments raised concern about the administration of justice and RCMP operations, with comments that “denigrate colleagues” and dehumanized “the most vulnerable members of society.”

At the hearing, Solven said he was proud to be an RCMP member, and still feels that way while recognizing that he failed to live up to the force’s expectations and its core values. He said he “truly regrets” his actions.

He blamed his actions on his frustrations and personal issues, which got to a point where he was “taking cheap shots” at co-workers. Solven, who has been suspended since 2021, told the hearing he would “never repeat these actions again.”

“I’ve cast a shadow over the good work that they’re doing because of my inability to deal with my emotions properly at the time, and not only the RCMP, but also other first responders who are having to deal with the public,” he said.

Solven’s lawyer, Brad Kielmann, told the adjudicator that his client should not be dismissed or directed to resign. He argued such actions would have a “significant impact” on him financially, adding that Solven views his role with the RCMP as a “true calling.”

“In any case, a transfer would be appropriate, retraining, new training would be appropriate, and there ought to be a forfeiture of pay,” Kielmann said Friday.

“He accepts the stiff conduct measures should be imposed, but he only asks for the privilege to be given a second chance to serve in the RCMP.”

MacLaughlan said he was not asking the board to hold anyone to the standard of perfection, but the misconduct at issue “strays far from the line of what can be considered acceptable workplace conduct.”

“You have demeaning comments about colleagues based on their gender and sexual orientation that I’d submitted have no place in the RCMP, which unfortunately has been publicly plagued by reports of harassment and mistreatment of female officers,” said MacLaughlan.

He said there’s a recognition in the case of law that this type of commentary “gives rise to a toxic work environment or poisons the work environment.”

MacLaughlan said that Solven once described a naked woman in a homeless shelter as “his entertainment,” and he used the police communication system to describe other police colleagues as “retarded.”

MacLaughlan also pointed to other instances including Solven characterizing the RCMP vacation plan as “one involving female officers getting pregnant and not working for three years,” and once describing a sexual assault victim as a “dumb girl.”

MacLaughlan said allowing Solven to return to work would be “tone deaf.”

“I don’t want to go on and on about it, but this is a matter that has garnered national media attention. To put it very plainly, the public is watching,” he said.

Morel scheduled her oral decision for Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2025.