- Hub staff

Another legal proceeding filed in July with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the Grey Bruce Health Unit by a former long-time employee has come to our attention. This article has been updated to include details from the Statement of Defence, filed in October, as soon as they were provided to us.

The employee (the Plaintiff), a senior manager for over 15 years, was dismissed at age 64.5 after almost thirty years of employment and promotions with the Health Unit.

According to the statement of claim, the employee was transferred to a new position “abruptly and without notice” after informing the Chair of the Board of Health that they intended to file a harassment complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario against the Medical Officer of Health and CEO, Dr. Ian Arra. 

Two months after the transfer, their employment was terminated. The former employee says the termination was without cause, and they are entitled to compensation in lieu of notice reflective of their 30 years of work with the Health Unit. 

In total, the claim is for $675,000, the majority of which is compensation for wrongful dismissal and its consequences, but also includes punitive damages and moral damages, as well as $25,000 in damages for the Defendant’s breach of the Ontario Human Rights Code.

In particular, the Plaintiff claims that the transfer and subsequent termination were in retaliation for the Human Rights complaint of harassment because they “refused to comply with unlawful order to breach s. 70, 72 and 73 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act. Specifically, the Plaintiff refused Arra’s instructions to interfere in the collective bargaining process by informing her unionized staff that they should vote for a zero-percentage wage increase or risk layoffs.”

The Defendant filed a statement of defence in October. "The Defendant denies the allegations in all paragraphs of the Statement of Claim and further denies that the Plaintiff is entitled to the relief sought." The GBHU reports that the Defendant "plans to rigorously defend itself against the allegations".

The Defendant specifically says that Dr. Arra "at no time instructed the Plaintiff or anyone else to interfere in the collective bargaining process and did not order the Plaintiff to tell her unionized staff that they should or should not vote for anything."

Another legal proceeding against the Board of Health for the Grey Bruce Health Unit for wrongful dismissal and breach of contract, brought last year by a former senior manager with 32 years of employment at the Heath Unit, continues through the courts, as does a libel suit against the current Chair of the Board, Hanover mayor, Sue Patterson