Newly hired commissioner has ties to NDP
The Wildrose party raised objections Friday after the Notley government appointed a veteran Edmonton labour lawyer with strong NDP ties as Alberta’s first essential services commissioner.
Gwen Gray, who has had a long career in labour relations, employment and human rights law in Alberta and Saskatchewan, takes over the new position June 1.
The commissioner, who also holds the title of vice chair of the Alberta Labour Relations Board, carries broad powers to decide disputes over which government employees should be “essential” personnel who must continue to work during a labour stoppage.
Though the role is described as a neutral adjudicator, the Wildrose said Friday that Gray may not be the most neutral choice for the role considering her strong ties and regular financial support of the NDP.
Elections Alberta records show Gray has given more than $23,500 to the NDP over the past decade, including $5,000 directly to Premier Rachel Notley’s campaign to become party leader in 2014.
Though now semi-retired, Gray worked under the Edmontonbased Chivers Carpenter law firm headed by former NDP MLA Barrie Chivers. The law firm and Chivers also gave the NDP many donations.
“This hiring leaves some doubt about the impartiality of essential services commissioner who has, let’s be clear, wide ranging powers and will have a serious impact on Alberta,” said Jason Nixon, Wildrose democracy and accountability critic. “If a person has significant partisan roles or commitments, it puts that impartiality into question.”
He said the NDP was fiercely critical of the former Progressive Conservative practice of appointing party allies to key government jobs, but has fallen into the same pattern.
Labour Minister Christina Gray (no relation to Gwen) said the selection was done through a fair recruitment process that emphasized talent and experience.
She said a search committee recommended Gwen Gray from among 19 applicants. The top three spoke to an interview panel that included the chair of the Labour Relations Board and representatives from labour and the government.
“We chose the best possible person to do the job through a transparent process. Ms. Gray was chosen because of merit, not because of her political affiliation, and it would be wrong to disqualify the choice of the search committee because of her support of the party in power.”
Gwen Gray spent the bulk of her career in the 1980s and 1990s in Saskatchewan, where she also served as chairwoman and vicechairwoman of that province’s labour relations board. She returned to Edmonton in 2003 to practise labour and human rights law.
One of her most notable cases revolved around a strike at West Edmonton Mall’s Palace Casino in 2006, when union members photographed and videotaped people crossing the picket line.
The union, represented by Gwen Gray, was ruled to have violated privacy rules. The case went to the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled in the union’s favour and struck down the privacy law.
Andy Sims, an Edmonton labour lawyer who served on the executive of the Alberta Labour Relations Board, dismissed the idea Gwen Gray’s partisan leanings will have any impact on her job performance.
“Where does a tie to the NDP lead you? Pro-labour or pro-NDP government? I’m not sure I know. It’s not an issue. I know the woman and I know her personal integrity. She is a first-rate person.”