Former watchdog suing province
Lawsuit alleges breach of contract on pension benefits
Former children’s watchdog Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is suing the B.C. government for breach of contract, alleging “malicious and bad faith conduct” in a dispute over pension benefits.
Turpel-Lafond filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday accusing the province of breaking a verbal agreement to provide her with 1.5 years of pension credit for every year of service as the independent representative for children and youth.
The claim states that TurpelLafond took a leave of absence from her job as a Saskatchewan provincial court judge based on the agreement, and waived her right to contribute to the judges’ pension.
“Despite honouring its commitments to provide the same enhanced pension entitlement to other independent officers of the legislature, the [government] continues to fail to honour the same commitment to [TurpelLafond],” the claim says.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
The Ministry of Justice, which has 21 days to file a response, said in a statement that the Legislative Assembly appointed Turpel-Lafond under the provisions of the Representative for Children and Youth Act.
“Counsel will review the allegations and prepare a response in due course,” the statement said. “As the matter is before the courts, we have no further comment.”
Victoria lawyer Greg Anctil, who is acting for Turpel-Lafond, said his client “takes no joy” in filing the claim and is still hopeful it can be resolved out of court.
The claim alleges that the government’s refusal to honour the pension agreement is “motivated by malice and bad faith” and that the province has a “history of animosity and hostility” toward Turpel-Lafond, who finished a 10year stint as children’s watchdog in November.
The claim alleges that the deputy minister of children and family development met with Turpel-Lafond and her senior staff on Oct. 1, 2015, and advised that “the government would treat her as a ‘member of the opposition,’ ” and that the government “had developed a strategy to personally target” her work.
The suit alleges that part of the strategy involved a review of the child welfare system by former deputy minister Bob Plecas. “His review and the resulting report would be used to deflect any criticism of the government generated by [Turpel-Lafond’s] reports or oversight in her role as [representative for children and youth],” the claim states.
It also alleges that Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux “refused to meet with [TurpelLafond] during the final 12 months in her role as [representative for children and youth].”
The suit says Turpel-Lafond, who is employed as a provincial court judge in Saskatoon, suffered mental distress due to the B.C. government’s conduct and that she is entitled to aggravated and punitive damages as well as damages for bad faith conduct.