You Make the Call
This instalment of You Make the Call involves a municipal employee who said he faced several examples of racial discrimination in his job.
Victor Mema — a black man who immigrated from Africa as a refugee in 2008 — worked for the District of Sechelt, B.C., as its chief financial officer (CFO) from April 8, 2013, to Aug. 28, 2015.
On March 6, 2013, while Mema was still a candidate for the district’s CFO position, an employee of the district – referred to as RP – sent the chief administrative officer (CAO) an email with derogatory racial comments and innuendo about Mema, saying that if the district didn’t hire Mema, they would be “lynched.” Mema didn’t know about the email at the time.
On May 5, 2014, 13 months into Mema’s tenure as CFO, he attended a senior management meeting. A dress code was discussed and Mema gave his thoughts on the subject. However, according to Mema, RP interrupted him and said he had no right to speak about a dress code because from where Mema came from, people ran around without clothes on. Mema said he told the CAO that the comments caused him anxiety and the CAO told him RP would be disciplined and told to be respectful.
In October 2014 Mema discovered the March 2013 email with the “lynching” comment. He said he filed a harassment complaint with his supervisor.
The district’s council met on Nov. 5 to discuss Mema’s allegations regarding the email and the dress code comment. Mema explained the impact RP’s conduct had on him, and he reached an agreement with the council that he wouldn’t file a human rights complaint if RP’s employment was terminated with cause. During the same meeting, the council approved a resolution terminating RP’s employment for cause. In July 2015, RP indicated his intention to begin a wrongful dismissal action.
In July 2015, Mema discovered he needed surgery and advised he needed six weeks off work, returning in September. Five days later, the district announced a reorganization over the next 18 to 24 months and offered Mema a new position. However, Mema was concerned over the timing and nature of the changes and thought it would mean a diminished role for him, but the district tried to assure him it was intended for him to remain the CFO.
On Aug. 21, Mema provided notice that he was resigning effective Aug. 28. Three days later, the district gave him a proposed contract for a position in the new organizational structure, but Mema responded that the district was making unilateral fundamental changes to his position, he hadn’t been told his new salary and benefits, and the district was changing the timeline for implementation. He felt the district was trying to get him to leave. He also said every manager at the district except for him was offered a severance package.
In December 2015, a new council took office in the district. A month later, Mema learned the district had reversed the decision to terminate RP with cause and instead paid him a severance package. Mema then filed a human rights complaint alleging discrimination in employment on the basis of race, colour, and place of origin stemming from the March 2013 email, the dress code comment, the lack of severance when he left the district, and the breach of his agreement regarding RP’s termination — effectively rewarding RP for his racism, he said.
You Make the Call
Was Mema discriminated against in his employment with the district?
OR
Was the district not responsible for any discrimination against Mema?
If you said the district wasn’t responsible for any discrimination, you’re right. The tribunal noted that when the district decided to give RP a severance payment, Mema was no longer employed with it and his employment wasn’t affected by it. Since the B.C. Human Rights Code only provides protection against discrimination within employment, there was no violation of his human rights from the settlement with RP, said the tribunal.
The tribunal also found that while Mema complained he was the only manager not offered a severance package, he didn’t mention if the other managers were offered alternate employment by the district or whether the offers were made before or after he resigned. As a result, there was no basis to infer that Mema’s race, colour, or place of origin were factors in the lack of a severance offer, said the tribunal.
As for the email and the dress code comment, the tribunal noted that those took place well before the six-month limitation period for human rights complaints in B.C. Mema argued that the district’s severance package to RP “reset the clock” for him to make his complaint on all the district’s actions, but the tribunal disagreed. Without a particular reason that was in the public interest, the tribunal decided not to consider Mema’s late-filed complaints about the 2013 email and 2014 comment — in fact, it would be against the public interest to encourage other complainants to ignore the time limits, the tribunal said.
“Undoubtedly, racism exists in Canadian society and the tribunal has an important role in eliminating it,” said the tribunal. “However, the code has established limitation periods that apply to complaints, including complaints involving allegations of discrimination on the basis of race, colour and place of origin. Protection under these grounds are not exempt from the limitation periods.”
For more information see:
• Mema v. District of Sechelt, 2017 CarswellBC 2313 (B.C. Human Rights Trib.).
