A memorial in Sidney Thursday will honour the life of Krista Carle, the former Nanaimo Mountie who became an advocate for RCMP officers who face sexual harassment.
Carle, 53, died by suicide on July 6, after a long struggle with post traumatic stress disorder.
Carle’s family had a private funeral for her in July and the memorial is a way for anyone who knew Carle or is affected by PTSD to pay their respects, said her brother-in-law John Harper. The ceremony will be held at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney at 1 p.m.
Karen Carle and Kathryn Jarboe will share memories of their sister, who they said fought to make the RCMP a better place for its members.
Carle’s red serge will be on display. Letters will be read on behalf of Premier John Horgan and Senator Grant Mitchell.
RCMP members and first responders from across the country are expected to attend. Janet Merlo, who worked with Carle at Nanaimo RCMP and who graduated from RCMP training college alongside Carle in 1991, is flying from Newfoundland to be at the memorial.
In 2011, Merlo and Carle went public with their stories of systematic sexual harassment, shortly after high-profile B.C. RCMP spokeswoman Catherine Galliford broke the silence on the issue.
What followed was a wave of revelations about sexual harassment and bullying within the RCMP and eventually, a class-action lawsuit for gender-based harassment against the RCMP which ended with an $100 million settlement.
Carle was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for speaking out on behalf of other RCMP officers who experienced harassment within the national police force.
Galliford, a close friend who graduated from RCMP training college with Carle in 1991, is not able to attend the ceremony. She said one of the symptoms of her PTSD is debilitating agoraphobia, which keeps her at home most of the time.
In lieu of attending, Galliford has ordered 27 red and white helium balloons, which will be sent into the air after the ceremony. “Because we came from troop 27 in 1991,” Galliford said.
Galliford spoke to Carle four days before she died and said she sounded like her usual, cheerful self.
Carle would take calls from across the country from fellow first responders dealing with PTSD, her siblings said.
Galliford is still struggling with the fact that she can no longer call Carle to talk about their shared mental injury.
“When I’m having a bad day, I think ‘I’ll call Krista.’ And then I realize Krista’s not here anymore,” she said.
