An African Nova Scotian RCMP sergeant who created anti-racism workshops for his employer says he was removed from his position after he raised concerns about intellectual property rights when the initiative he headed was going to be expanded.
Craig Smith, a Mountie for nearly three decades, was described by the RCMP as a driving force behind its African Canadian Experience workshop, but the two sides are disputing who owns the course material.
The dispute began in 2023. Smith now works for the RCMP in national recruitment.
“I believe that I was sidelined for no other reason than the fact that I said that I want to be compensated for my intellectual property rights,” Smith said.
If the RCMP paid for it, or it was done during work hours, then it belongs to the RCMP. It’s like someone at Intel developing a new chip at work as a side project, then complaining that he doesn’t own the IP for it since it wasn’t his main project.