How Osama bin Laden got a train ticket from Montreal to Ottawa; How Ottawa bungled a termination
How Osama bin Laden got a train ticket from Montreal to Ottawa
Montreal — A VIA Rail worker who bought a one-way train ticket from Montreal to Ottawa on the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had his punishment cut in half by an arbitrator. Benoît Dulong bought the ticket at an automated kiosk, under the name of Osama bin Laden, and posted it on a company bulletin board to prove a point to management and co-workers about lax security practices. VIA gave Dulong 30 demerit points for the stunt, taking him halfway to termination, but the arbitrator thought that penalty was too severe given Dulong’s clean record. However, the arbitrator pointed out that workers owe employers a duty not to “undermine unduly the public image, credibility, reputation or operations of the employer.”
How Ottawa bungled a termination
OTTAWA — The Federal Court of Canada chided the previous Liberal government for the way it handled the firing of Jean Pelletier, former chair of VIA Rail, in the wake of inappropriate comments he made about Olympic gold medalist Myriam Bedard. Bedard blew the whistle on VIA for what she considered wrongdoing related to the sponsorship scandal. Pelletier, who gave an interview with a Montreal newspaper in which he said Bedard was a struggling single mother with economic responsibilities who deserved pity, was never told exactly why he was being let go. Only when a press release was issued, which included comments from Prime Minister Paul Martin, did Pelletier fully understand the reasons surrounding his dismissal. The court said the government had a responsibility to tell Pelletier disciplinary action was being considered, disclose the reasons why and give him an opportunity to answer. The court called that a “minimum requirement.” According to law firm Sherrard Kuzz LLP, Pelletier was reinstated and then terminated again, but this time properly. Pelletier has also reportedly launched a $3.1-million civil suit against the government and VIA Rail for wrongful dismissal, it said.
