By The Canadian Press

B.C. Mountie ordered to resign or be fired after vulgar group chats

Dec 18, 2025 | 11:42 AM

A British Columbia Mountie convicted of discreditable conduct for making sexist comments in group chats has been ordered to resign within 14 days, or he will be fired.

RCMP adjudicator Louise Morel said the actions of Coquitlam Const. Ian Solven were a “fundamental breach of the public trust” and that allowing him to remain an officer would damage the reputation of the RCMP.

“It defies comprehension how a police officer sworn to serve and protect the public would think that posting vulgar, sexualized and offensive comments … was acceptable or tolerable,” she said.

“Police officers hold an elevated position in the community, and as such, there’s a higher expectation placed on them. They are the keepers of the community trust. They must respect the law, their duty and themselves. If not their behaviour taints the reputation of the police service.”

In November, Morel found 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.

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In her decision on Thursday, Morel said that on the RCMP communications system Solven described a naked woman in a shelter as his entertainment, characterized maternity leave as the RCMP vacation plan for female members, and called colleagues retarded.

In the group chat, Solven “made use of pejorative terms for female colleagues, homophobic remarks, and comments which body-shamed female colleagues,” she said

She referenced messages including one where Solven referred to a sexual assault victim as “a dumb girl.”

“Const. Solven took an oath to serve and protect the public, and he put aside the oath to degrade members of the public, vulnerable persons and colleagues by posting vulgar, racist and degrading comments, thereby violating the public trust,” she said.

The hearing heard that Solven had been on the job three and a half years before he was suspended with pay after a complaint was filed in 2021.

Morel said she was not convinced by Solven’s lawyer’s argument that there was a minimal likelihood of recidivism if he remained a police officer, pointing out that “his misconduct took place over the majority of his service.”

Morel said Solven had abandoned several of the essential core values of the force and his actions constitute a fundamental breach of the public trust.

“The seriousness of this misconduct is so egregious that further damage to the reputation of the RCMP would be too great if Const. Solven was permitted to remain on the force,” she said.

The lawyer representing the RCMP conduct authority argued previously that Solven should be dismissed outright or be given a direction to resign in 14 days.

Solven’s lawyer said his client was remorseful and accepted responsibility and that measures short of dismissal, such as a loss of pay, were appropriate.

Solven previously testified that he was proud to be an RCMP member, while acknowledging he failed to live up to the force’s expectations and its core values. He told the hearing earlier this month that he “truly regrets” his actions.

He blamed his behaviour on his frustrations and personal issues, which got to a point where he was “taking cheap shots” at co-workers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2025.

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press