Teacher had run-ins with principal and executive
A teacher in a First Nations community was unjustly dismissed following altercations with her superiors but received sufficient notice of termination of her contract, a Canada Labour Code adjudicator has ruled.
Valerie Anderson was a high school teacher in Attawapiskat, Ont., a First Nations community in the northern part of the province. She began working in February 2010 on a contract valid until August of that year. She later signed a one-year contract starting in August 2010 and, on May 17, 2011, she signed a third contract scheduled to expire in August 2012.
In October 2010, Anderson found racial slurs directed towards her on a blackboard at school. Later that same month, two boys directed racial comments towards her. They were suspended for two days and “talked to.”
Anderson was also involved in a dispute with the school’s principal over helping students who didn’t attend class regularly catch up. She had another dispute with the community’s education authority over her accommodation. She was asked to move to another residence due to a shortage of rooms and Anderson wanted the authority to pay for her cable and telephone fees. She also complained she had allergies that were aggravated in the new residence, but nothing was done. Anderson had an argument with the chief administrative officer (CAO) of the education authority during which she threatened to resign.
On June 23, 2011, Anderson wasn’t at school, so the principal called her at home. Though the school year didn’t end until the next day, Anderson said there were no students at the school so she was home packing. She was told to call in whenever she wasn’t going to be at work.
The next day, Anderson was given a reprimand for abandoning work. She became upset at the principal and yelled at her. The principal felt threatened and tried to leave, so Anderson calmed down. The same day, Anderson exchanged angry words with the CAO, who then terminated her employment. Anderson was informed her contract for the following school year was being revoked. Though the termination provision in her contract required one month’s notice or pay in lieu, Anderson was paid until the end of her existing contract on Aug. 14.
Anderson filed an unjust dismissal complaint denying threatening behaviour towards the principal and that she felt harassed and bullied by the principal and the education authority.
The adjudicator found a “serious lack of communication” between Anderson, the principal and the CAO, of which both sides were at fault. The education authority should have given more consideration to Anderson’s allergy concerns and Anderson should have considered the authority’s financial situation, said the adjudicator.
Though Anderson had altercations with both the principal and CAO in which she acted “aggressive and threatening” and skipped work one day, these were not enough to add up to just cause for dismissal, said the adjudicator.
