(Ancestry)
Ms. Couchie was terminated after the first of six sessions she was contracted to deliver on Aboriginal relations for staff from various Ontario government ministries. Evaluations from that first session included comments such as “whining about all the past historical injustices.” Her non-Aboriginal co-presenter also received negative reviews. One week later, Ms. Couchie’s contract was terminated at the direction of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Her co-presenter, however, was retained – with the direction that he get some “refresher work.”
The Tribunal concluded that Ms. Couchie was subject to “heightened scrutiny, disproportionate blame and over-reaction when compared to her co-presenter.” They also found that the Ministry “was prepared to remediate the poor performance of the non-Aboriginal person, but was not prepared to remediate the performance of the Aboriginal person.”
The Tribunal ordered:
- $20,000 to the Applicant for loss of the of the right to be free from discrimination
To read the full decision, visit CanLII