RCMP disputes city's position in lawsuit
Northern News Services
Friday, June 26, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Court records reveal RCMP are at odds with a key argument the city has raised in its defence against a $770,000 lawsuit brought on by a former bylaw officer claiming wrongful dismissal.
Doug Norrad alleged he was subjected to workplace bullying after unproven theft allegations prior to being fired in 2012. The lawsuit was filed in NWT Supreme Court two years ago.
The latest review of the court file shows an order by Justice Karan Shaner earlier this year to have the RCMP turn over its theft investigation file to Norrad. None of the lawsuit allegations have been proven in court.
In January 2011 Norrad's supervisor, Doug Gillard, contacted the RCMP alleging Norrad stole coins from the city while he was an employee. The amount allegedly stolen has not been revealed. Police maintain the allegation is unfounded.
How that happened is in dispute. The city, according to the documents, claim that Norrad did not co-operate with the investigation which led police to close the case.
That contradicts a statement of support written on behalf of Norrad by Staff Sgt. Stephen Burrill. He wrote police closed the file because there was no evidence a crime had been committed.
"The RCMP did not terminate the investigation prematurely because Norrad quit co-operating and did not tell the city this is why the investigation ended," Burrill's statement says.
In his affidavit, Norrad states another officer investigating the complaint was pressured by the city to continue the investigation despite the lack of evidence.
"(The officer) reported several times during the investigation that he thought there was no evidence a crime had ever been committed let alone that I did it, and that he wanted to close the file but that the city kept pressing him to look harder," stated Norrad.
Norrad sought the RCMP file because the city did not have records related to the police investigation.
Director of public safety Dennis Marchiori, who oversees the bylaw enforcement department, testified that former senior administrative officer Bob Long wanted no paper trail of the city's complaint to RCMP.
Long had "directed there would be nothing in writing in relation to the complaint or communications with the RCMP about it," Marchiori testified, according to the documents.
The city declined to comment on the ongoing case.
In the city's 2014 financial statements, there's a buried reference to the city being sued for wrongful dismissal.
"The city's administration is of the opinion that it is unlikely any liability would result from this claim," the note states.
The city could not confirm on Wednesday whether it was Norrad's case referred to in the statement.
