Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 21/00) - Valerie Inglangasuk had her day in court Tuesday and walked away with a smile.

The former finance officer with the Inuvialuit Communications Society, Inglangasuk launched a wrongful-dismissal claim with the Labour Standards Board after she was terminated during a management shake-up in October.

On Tuesday morning in territorial court in Inuvik, Judge Brian Bruser ruled that Inglangasuk was indeed dismissed without cause and ordered, on the basis of the Wages Recovery Act, the society to pay her compensation in the form of $1,000 plus funds to cover all costs associated with her legal battle. Inglangasuk had already secured severance pay through legal channels.

"She was fired at the whim of a member of the executive, she had to pursue court action to obtain severance and there was no good reason to fire her," said Bruser in making his ruling.

Inglangasuk represented herself before the judge, while Debbie Gordon-Ruben, the society's executive director, spoke for the ICS. Inglangasuk called former society board president Frank Hansen to the stand, while Gordon-Ruben called Sharon Green, the board's secretary/treasurer from Paulatuk. Testimony revealed that the board's decision to terminate Inglangasuk was made Oct. 18, the day after she had interrupted an in-camera executive meeting to come to the defence of then-executive director Darelene Cave.

"All evidence shows that she did her job well," said Bruser, "and the basis for the dismissal is that she involved herself in the board meeting when she heard her friend was in distress."

Cave said her own legal suit is pending.