Alberta MLA regrets firing woman who complained of being sexually harassed

EDMONTON — Alberta’s Opposition house leader says he regrets firing an employee after she told him she was being sexually harassed, and says his caucus is committed to ending abuse in the workplace.

“The United Conservative Party caucus and myself take harassment at the workplace seriously,” Jason Nixon told the house Tuesday.

“I deeply regret some of the decisions that were made by myself and my organization while handling that human-resources issue.”

Nixon was responding to media reports that revealed a British Columbia human rights tribunal ruled in 2008 that Nixon wrongly fired employee Kori Harrison after she complained she was being sexually harassed by a client employing Nixon’s job-site safety firm.

“We were very, very disappointed at what happened to Ms. Harrison. It was not right then and it is not right now,” Nixon said.

The revelation came after Nixon stood in the house days ago to speak about concerns he had with a bill put forward by the NDP government that would toughen rules to end workplace harassment.

“I think the house leader needs to carefully consider his role in the house and the message the UCP is sending to women,” Premier Rachel Notley said in the house.

“Instead of defending a woman who complained to him about sexual harassment, two days later he fired her.”

The B.C. tribunal fined Nixon’s firm and others involved $32,000.

The tribunal said Harrison was a single mother of three with no other means of support when Nixon hired her in 2005 and sent her to a worksite in Kelowna to enforce safety for a client firm on a condo project.

Harrison said one of site managers began touching her on the shoulders, slapping her buttocks, making lewd comments, and asking her to lower the blinds and view pornography on his work computer. At one point, she said she needed new tires and he offered to get them in exchange for sex.

She said the behaviour often left her in tears at the end of the workday.

When she complained about the harassment, the tribunal said, Nixon fired her.

Her termination letter was faxed to her harasser, who then had it passed on to her.

“Ms. Harrison was stunned and upset,” said the tribunal report. “She called Mr. Nixon who she says told her repeatedly it was not his decision to let her go.

“Mr. Nixon told her that [the client] wanted her out.”

Nixon is leading the UCP caucus until party leader Jason Kenney wins a seat to enter the legislature.