Arctic research boss harassed chief scientist
Two other former colleagues say they were also mistreated by POLAR CEO David Scott
OTTAWA— A third-party investigation concluded last year that the head of Canada’s Arctic research agency harassed the organization’s award-winning chief scientist at work, the Star and National Observer have learned.
A source with knowledge of the harassment claim — who spoke on condition of anonymity — said David Scott, president and chief executive officer of Polar Knowledge Canada (known as POLAR), was found to have harassed Martin Raillard.
The source did not disclose the exact nature of the workplace harassment, but the federal government’s Treasury Board defines such conduct as “normally a series of incidents” that can include comments and acts that “demean, belittle or cause personal humiliation or embarrassment.” It can also be “any act of intimidation or threat,” the Treasury Board says.
The source said the harassment allegations against Scott were investigated at the request of officials at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), the department that oversaw POLAR at the time.
Raillard said in an email that he is “subject to a confidentiality agreement and not able to speak to the media.”
Two other public servants who have worked with Scott said they experienced his mistreatment in the past.
Jean-Marie Beaulieu, a high-ranking federal scientist who worked for him from 2012 to 2014, said he was forced into early retirement by Scott’s alleged “bullying” and “harassment.”
Peter Outridge, who worked for Scott at the Geological Survey of Canada, won a grievance against him at the public service labour relations board in 2015 after Scott refused his request to attend an Arctic science conference. In an email, Outridge described Scott’s management style as “vindictive” and “dismissive.”
Spokespersons from Indigenous Services and Crown-Indigenous Relations — the two federal departments that replaced INAC last year — referred all questions to POLAR. The agency’s communications manager, Lynn Berrouard, would not answer questions about Scott or any harassment complaints, citing privacy concerns. The Star and National Observer were not able to reach Scott directly, and Berrouard declined interview requests for the agency president.
“POLAR is committed to establishing and maintaining a respectful workplace as well as the prompt resolution of any complaints,” Berrouard said in an emailed statement.
“Any comments would risk disclosure of information which is protected under the Privacy Act.”
Officials responding to an access to information request confirmed government records exist that relate to “allegations of harassment” at POLAR, but blocked their release under a section of law that prevents disclosure of documents created under whistleblower legislation that details how the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner deals with al- leged wrongdoing in the federal bureaucracy.
Edith Lachapelle, the commissioner’s spokesperson, said she could not confirm or deny whether any workplace grievances against Scott are currently being investigated.
“We don’t ever talk about ongoing investigations,” she said.
The claims against Scott come as the Liberal government in Ottawa is looking to revamp anti-harassment policies for political staffers and public service workers. Employment and Social Development Minister Patty Hajdu has said a new bill that is currently before Parliament will cover the “full range of unacceptable behaviours, from teasing and bullying all the way to sexual harassment and physical and sexual violence.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also repeatedly stated his govern- ment’s “zero tolerance” for sexual assault, harassment and other workplace misconduct.
According to POLAR’s website, Scott has years of experience working for federal research agencies. He served as the director of the Geological Survey of Canada’s northern division from 2009 to 2012. He was then appointed director of the Canadian Polar Commission, which became POLAR in 2015.
The new agency was mandated to oversee the completion of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Construction of the $204-million facility was initiated under the previous Conservative government and it has seen its projected completion date pushed back from last summer to some time this year.
When finished, it is slated to become POLAR’s official headquarters, offering a key research platform for Canadian scientists in the Arctic.
Raillard, the agency’s chief scientist, was hired by CHARS in February 2014, according to a government announcement at the time. The award-winning Arctic ecologist had more than 25 years’ experience at that point, with a long career in polar science, guiding expeditions and leading teams in remote locations, the announcement said.
The source who disclosed the Raillard investigation at POLAR said the chief scientist finished some field research in September 2015 and returned to Ottawa to work at the agency’s head office. Three months later, Raillard went on stress leave for a year, the source said.
His absence was felt by the Inuit community in Cambridge Bay, who found Raillard’s “amiable” dealings with local people to be refreshing, said Scot Nickels, senior science adviser with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national Inuit organization.
“There’s a lot of silence,” he said. “I’m sure it was very uncomfortable for (Scott) because there were a lot of questions.”
An article published in September 2016 by Iqaluit’s Nunatsiaq News said Raillard had been on leave since 2015 and that Scott “couldn’t comment on whether Raillard plans to return.”
Raillard returned from stress leave in 2017 and now works remotely from the POLAR offices in Ottawa, where he still reports to Scott, the source said.
Beaulieu, the retired scientist who worked with Scott at the Canadian Polar Commission, said the final years of his career under the agency’s director were humiliating. He told National Observer that he was excluded from meetings and important conferences, taken off important files and demoted.
He recalled showing up one day to find a new desk in his office, with someone else working at it.
“I endured about two years of bullying, harassment, embarrassment and humiliation,” Beaulieu said. “It was awful.”
Outridge, the scientist who won his labour grievance against Scott in 2015, said he had been attending an ArcticNet science conference every year, with approval from his managers. But in 2010, on the afternoon before the conference started, he was notified that Scott had denied his request for leave to attend.
Outridge said by email that he was surprised because the conference organizer had covered his entrance fee and there were no travel costs because the event was in Ottawa that year.
“I came to believe his refusal was based on personal bias against me,” Outridge said.
He decided to take four vacation days so he could attend the conference and filed his grievance with the labour relations board to get the time back. The case was decided in his favour in 2015.
At the time, adjudicator Michael McNamara called Scott’s refusal of Outridge’s conference request “difficult to understand.” Becky Rynor, the National Observer reporter for this story, worked as a communications specialist at POLAR for a short term in 2015 and 2016. None of the information in this article is gleaned from her time at POLAR.
“I endured about two years of bullying, harassment, embarrassment and humiliation. It was awful.” JEAN-MARIE BEAULIEU RETIRED FEDERAL SCIENTIST