Fired CRTC official vows to challenge dismissal in court
It’s the second time Raj Shoan will fight government to try to get his job back
TORONTO Raj Shoan isn’t giving up the fight for his job as commissioner at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission even though he was fired from the role for the second time on Friday.
The Governor in Council terminated Shoan’s appointment as the CRTC commissioner responsible for Ontario effective midnight Friday, days after he returned to work with the court’s blessing.
By noon, Shoan vowed to challenge his dismissal in court — the second time he will take the government to court to try to get his job back.
Shoan was hired for a five-year term in 2013 and almost immediately clashed with chairman JeanPierre Blais.
Cabinet first dismissed him in June 2016 after a series of legal battles that stemmed from Shoan challenging Blais’ authority and an investigation into Shoan for workplace harassment.
But a judge ruled in September that the investigation was unfair and amounted to a “witch hunt” against Shoan. The judge called Blais’ role in the investigation “quite troubling.”
Shoan challenged his dismissal in federal court. Last week, Justice Cecily Strickland ruled he was not necessarily treated fairly since he was fired before the judge threw out the harassment investigation. She determined there was no way to tell if Shoan’s dismissal was conducted with procedural fairness since cabinet did not indicate how much it based its decision on the questionable harassment investigation.
Strickland ordered cabinet to revisit its decision, though she noted “legitimate concern” over some of Shoan’s actions such as meeting with parties with applications before the CRTC.
Armed with Strickland’s deci- sion, Shoan returned to work on Monday.
But on Thursday, cabinet fired him again. This time, it said it excluded the harassment report from its decision, according to the order in council. Instead, it dismissed him for “inappropriate contact with CRTC stakeholders and his lack of recognition and disregard for the impact of that contact on the reputation and the integrity of the CRTC.” It also cited his “refusal to respect internal CRTC processes and practices” and negative public statements about the institution.
The decision was made without a meeting between Shoan and officials at Canadian Heritage, the ministry responsible for the CRTC, Minister Melanie Joly’s spokesman confirmed in an email.
In a statement, Shoan noted that Strickland’s ruling was underpinned by the fact that cabinet fired him without a face-to-face meeting.
“I am deeply concerned about the manner in which I have been removed and that I have been further denied procedural fairness. Despite the serious impact on my ability to engage in my duties as a commissioner, I was deprived of any opportunity to discuss the alleged basis for my removal.”
Shoan wrote he will challenge the dismissal in federal court in the coming weeks.
In a memo sent to all CRTC staff Thursday evening, Blais praised them for their ability to “rise above the noise” throughout the leadership drama.
“This has been a challenging period in the CRTC’s history. I am fully aware that events that have been playing out before the courts and in the media have created uncertainty and affected employees,” Blais wrote.
Shoan’s departure leaves two regional commissioner roles vacant. By June, the chairman and vice chair’s terms will both have expired, leaving four top spots available.
The government has delayed the hiring process a couple times to try to attract a more diverse pool of candidates for the roles. Blais has criticized cabinet for not appointing indigenous commissioners.
Of the remaining seven commissioners (including the chair and vice chairs), all are white and two are women.