Canada's NDP Lawmakers Facing Legal Case For Unlawful Dismissal And Workplace Harassment

Two of Canada's NDP lawmakers have attracted the ire of their ex staffers. They revolted against the MPs for unlawful dismissal and workplace harassment. Besides dismissal, they also cited undue pressure on them to stop them from filing a complaint against the MPs. One of them is already in court. The litigant, Bouchra Taibi, was working for New Democrat MP Hélène Leblanc. Melanie Bellemare worked for MP François Choquette. Both accused the NDP of wrongful dismissal,

Lawsuit Filed

While Taibi filed a lawsuit in August, Bellemare is expected to follow suit in December. As per the documents filed in the Quebec Superior Court, Taibi says NDP ignored her request to resolve the alleged harassment, reported The Star. Taibi's career as an NDP staffer has been punctuated by work stoppages due to mental and physical fatigue. She also claimed that the NDP offered her part-time work in exchange for dropping her grievance.

Taibi cited the harassment she faced in the workplace. One of her former colleagues verbally harassed her, and Leblanc did not intervene. "Leblanc questioned my ability to handle stress. Then she appreciated my professionalism enormously. So there were really mixed messages," Taibi told The Canadian Press.

Bellemare, former aide for lawmaker Choquette, said she was dismissed without any good reason despite the MP having told her that he was satisfied with her work. "Everything was going really well, I was only getting praise. Then all of a sudden I was taken to human resources, saying I needed to change my work," Bellemare said. A few weeks later, Bellemare was fired.

According to Bellemare, Choquette used to criticise her for making adjustments to her work. This was after the nature of her job had changed. She had moved from Ottawa to the MP's Quebec riding office to replace another employee. Bellemare also charged the union representing NDP employees of ignoring her plight and not doing enough to defend her interests.

Valerie Dufour, the NDP spokeswoman, declined to comment since they "could end up before the courts." One more precedent to this kind of case came from Fabiola Ferro, who in November filed a statement against New Democrat MP Sylvain Chicoine for wrongful termination. Ferro filed her documents on Nov 7 and alleged that she faced a "toxic" and "humiliating" work environment that was rooted in sexism. She said the party tried to lure her with a new job on the condition that she would not sue Chicoine and the NDP. The common thread in all the complaints had been that NDP was trying to stifle the attempts of "victims" from coming forward.

NDP Gesture

Meanwhile, Metro News, in a report, noted the initiative of New Democrats for ushering in a formal workplace harassment policy on Parliament Hill to allow victims to remain in control of the process. NDP Leaders Thomas Mulcair and Nycole Turmel wrote a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and noted, "we can unite behind the development and implementation of procedures and policies that can provide parliamentary staff and Members of Parliament with a respectful work environment that conform to the conditions of the legislature."