Wrongful dismissal trial could face one more delay

SASKATOON A Saskatchewan justice does not know how long it will take to issue a decision on whether the firing of two senior managers at Saskatoon’s Credit Union Centre (CUC) was inappropriate.

Closing arguments in the wrongful dismissal trial of Brian Swidrovich, the CUC’s former director of business development and sponsorship, and Will Antonishyn, the CUC’s former director of ticketing and finance, wrapped Friday in Saskatoon.

Justice Richard Elson said he hopes to write a decision as quick as he can, but Saskatchewan courts are facing “a perfect storm,” in part because of judge vacancies, so there could be yet another delay in a case that took more than five years to get to trial.

Swidrovich and Antonishyn were fired in January 2012 after the CUC’s board determined they inappropriately spent more than $7,000 on a trip to Arizona in October 2011 that involved golfing and attending an NHL game with a vice-president of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA).

The CUC — since renamed SaskTel Centre — argues there was no legitimate business reason for the trip, while the terminated employees say there was no just cause to fire them because the trip was work related and approved by the outgoing executive director, Ken Wood, who approved similar trips in 2009 and 2010.