Ex-staffer suing premier's office seeks to compel Kenney to testify
A former Alberta government employee suing the premier's office for wrongful dismissal is launching an effort to compel Premier Jason Kenney to testify.
Former senior legislature staffer Ariella Kimmel filed a lawsuit against the premier's office in October, alleging she was wrongfully fired from her job after speaking up about a toxic workplace environment that included sexual harassment and heavy drinking.
Kenney's office denied the allegations in a statement of defence filed in late November, accusing Kimmel of unprofessional workplace behaviour. The premier is not named in the suit and none of the allegations has been proven in court.
On Wednesday, Kimmel's lawyer Kathryn Marshall said in a statement to Postmedia the government hasn't made Kenney available for cross-examination.
“We are bringing a motion to obtain a court order to compel the premier to attend for questioning because the government has refused to produce him,” she wrote, although she did not specify why the premier's testimony is important to the case.
Marshall said she is also bringing forward a motion for the government to share the results of an investigation into its human resources guidelines.
“The government is also refusing to provide the report that resulted from the investigation launched into the government's broken workplace policies, despite the fact that this investigation commenced as a direct result of Ms. Kimmel's proceeding and is very relevant,” Marshall said.
Kimmel worked as a ministry chief of staff from August 2020 until she was fired in February 2021.
After the allegations became public in late October 2021, Kenney said during question period his chief of staff informed him in the late fall of 2020 about rumours of inappropriate remarks being made to female employees by a senior staffer.
“I was assured that action was being taken,” said Kenney, adding the senior staffer's contract with the government ended shortly thereafter. His office announced in early November that Jamie Pytel, the City of Edmonton's integrity commissioner, had been hired to conduct the independent review.
Justin Brattinga, Kenney's press secretary, said in an email Wednesday the premier's office has not received a filed copy of the application from Kimmel's legal team.
“This is a matter before the courts and we cannot comment further,” he said, adding they have yet to see the final draft of the Pytel report.
“We look forward to receiving Ms. Pytel's findings, and any new policies resulting from the review will be made public and communicated to all staff to ensure they are fully aware of policies and procedures,” he wrote.
He did not respond to a specific question about when it will be released.
At an unrelated news conference Wednesday, Janis Irwin, NDP status of women critic, said Kenney 's refusal to voluntarily appear raises questions.
“He's clearly failed in his responsibility to provide a safe work environment for all and now he's refusing to speak on the record about his role in this scandal,” said Irwin, noting that it has been six months since the government announced the workplace review.