Firing in question
A former Penticton Indian Band administrator was fired after raising concerns about chief and council’s financial management abilities, he claims in a lawsuit.
Brent Ryan-Lewis alleges he was fired without cause May 7 from the $169,000-a-year job for which he had moved this family from Manitoba just eight months earlier.
His notice of claim, filed June 21 in B.C. Supreme Court in Kelowna, seeks unspecified damages and lists the band itself as the defendant.
Ryan-Lewis alleges he was hired as band administrator in September 2017, but by November “had realized that his actual duties were far in excess of the duties listed in the contract and he approached the defendant about terminating the contract.”
In March, he was given the new title of chief administrative officer and a “significant” raise retroactive to January to go along with it, the lawsuit states.
“In or about April 2018, the plaintiff began raising questions about decisions made by the defendants chief and band council in accordance with his duties under the relevant legislation and the defendant’s financial administration law,” the document continues.
“On or about May 4, 2018, the defendant decided to terminate the plaintiff’s employment and has alleged cause for dismissal.”
The lawsuit casts doubt on the veracity of the cause for dismissal, referencing “patently and demonstrably untrue” allegations of wrongdoing to which Ryan-Lewis claims he wasn’t allowed to respond.
He further claims he was denied the chance to appeal his termination to a personnel committee and that the band failed to grant him whistleblower protection.
“The defendant’s conduct in dismissing the plaintiff was unfair and extreme in its nature such that by any reasonable standard it is deserving of full condemnation and punishment,” alleges the lawsuit.
PIB spokeswoman Dawn Russell said in a statement Monday it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter because it is before the courts.
Ryan-Lewis’s dismissal prompted a protest outside the PIB administration offices in May.
“The details relating to the termination of the previous band administrator are obviously confidential, but were made with the best interests of the band in mind,” the band said in a statement at the time.
Ryan-Lewis’s tenure coincided with a particularly rocky chapter in the band’s history under Chief Chad Eneas, marked by a disputed byelection to fill five council seats that were vacated by resignations, protests over the byelection results, and a lawsuit against former band councillors seeking return of shares in band-owned businesses.