Agriculture minister is included in court’s statement of claim related to the treatment of staffer
Editor’s Note: Dreeshen resigned as Alberta’s ag minister the day after this story was posted. Details here.
Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen is at the centre of a lawsuit launched against Premier Jason Kenney’s office by a former senior legislative staff member who alleges she was fired for speaking out about a “poisoned work environment.”
A statement of claim by Ariella Kimmel said she reported her concerns about alleged excessive drinking by Dreeshen “and the issues it was causing her personally as well as others.”
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She also reported a separate incident of sexual harassment that allegedly occurred during a gathering for drinks Oct. 21, 2020, in then-Health Minister Tyler Shandro’s office.
Remarks were allegedly made by Ivan Bernardo, a then-principal adviser to Shandro, targeting a female staff member who worked under Kimmel. “Mr. Bernardo looked at this female’s body and told her, ‘I haven’t seen you on this floor before because with a body like that, I would have noticed you’, ” the statement of claim reads.
Kimmel is seeking nearly $400,000 in damages for allegedly being subjected to a poisoned work environment, along with alleged occurrences such as “fabricating and spreading malicious rumours about the plaintiff” and terminating her employment in reprisal.
None of the details in the statement of claim have been tested in court. Mackenzie Blyth, press secretary to Dreeshen, did not reply to an email Oct. 27 from The Western Producer requesting comment.
And no statement of defence had yet been filed.
The decision to end Kimmel’s employment “was unrelated to the matters contained in her statement of claim,” Pam Livingston, chief of staff to the premier, said in an email Oct. 29. “The government will fully respond to the allegations in court as appropriate and required.”
Bernardo, who is a lawyer, has said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on a matter before the court. However, he welcomed an impartial and independent review by the court and looked forward to providing testimony.
The statement of claim said Kimmel had been in an “on again and off again romantic relationship” with Dreeshen prior to her accepting a job Aug. 31, 2020, as chief of staff for Doug Schweitzer, minister of jobs, economy and innovation.
It said she was terminated from her job on Feb. 5, 2021. She subsequently “learned that rumours were being circulated by senior members of the Kenney government” that she had been terminated for leaking the trip of Jamie Huckabay to the media.
Huckabay, who had been Kenney’s chief of staff, resigned after it was revealed he had travelled to the United Kingdom for the Christmas holidays during the pandemic, sparking a public relations problem.
The statement of claim said Kimmel was not responsible for the leak. “These false and malicious rumours cost the plaintiff a number of job opportunities and negatively impacted her ability to re-employ.”
Meanwhile, an anonymous Twitter account began releasing details Jan. 6 about Kimmel and Dreeshen’s past romantic relationship, said the statement of claim.
“The plaintiff was extremely distressed about this, and went to Ms. Livingston, who she saw as a mentor, for help and guidance.” Kimmel also disclosed an alleged “disturbing incident involving Mr. Dreeshen” that had occurred on Oct. 19, 2020, telling Livingston she was concerned about his alleged excessive drinking.
The statement of claim alleged Dreeshen had been drinking alcohol in his office that afternoon with another senior legislative staff member.
“Later that evening, the plaintiff met Mr. Dreeshen and (the staff member) at another minister’s office. They had been joined by another minister, a staffer and a former MLA. The plaintiff immediately observed that all the individuals were (allegedly) heavily intoxicated.”
Kimmel became concerned about “how intoxicated Mr. Dreeshen was and encouraged him to cease drinking.”
After Dreeshen and Kimmel together left the gathering, he “angrily confronted the plaintiff about ‘trying to stop him from drinking,’ and aggressively yelled at her to the point where she was in tears and a concerned bystander intervened. The plaintiff felt shaken and scared during this encounter.”
Besides Livingston, the statement of claim said Kimmel had talked about the alleged incidents involving Bernardo with other senior government officials. It included a meeting Nov. 17, 2020, with Kenney’s then-principal secretary, Larry Kaumeyer, in which Dreeshen was also discussed.
Kimmel also met with Kaumeyer at his home on Jan. 9, 2021, about the rumours she was the source of the leak to the media involving Huckabay, as well as a leak involving Bernardo. She assured Kaumeyer “she had not disclosed any of these matters to the media. Mr. Kaumeyer told the plaintiff that he believed her and she wouldn’t get fired.”
She also told Kaumeyer about the anonymous Twitter account and was assured “he had the situation under control.” However, he informed her Feb. 5 about her termination, telling her “this is the best thing for you.”
Kenney said in the provincial legislature Oct. 27 that “sexual harassment, harassment of any kind, is always abhorrent, and we must have workplaces and a society that are free of that harassment.”
He said he had been informed “last fall about rumours circulating about inappropriate comments made to female staffers … I was assured that action was being taken, and shortly thereafter (Bernardo’s) contract ended with the government.”
However, the statement of claim alleged the matter “wasn’t addressed. Instead, Mr. Bernardo was simply told that his contract wasn’t being renewed. No steps were taken by Premier Kenney’s office to support the victim(s) or investigate the sexual harassment.”
Livingston said in the email Oct. 29 that “this government has zero tolerance for harassment and takes all allegations of this nature very seriously. We are fortunate to have a highly skilled and diverse public service and we are committed to providing a safe and productive workforce for all of them.
“In that light, we previously mandated mandatory ‘Respect in the Workplace’ training for all government employees, including political staff.”
Kenney said an independent review is also being appointed “to advise the government on how to improve human resources practices for political staff so that they know that they are safe to come forward to report their experiences to ensure that action is taken.”
However, Leela Aheer, former Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism, and Status of Women, told Kenney in a tweet Oct. 27 that he should step down as premier, describing Kimmel as “an incredible and courageous woman.”
