Pascal Nadeau is also embroiled in a dispute with his union, already involved in a civil case and two appeals against Radio-Canada in the summer of 2021. Pres.
Former President of Antenna News broadcast The Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailles de Radio-Canada (STTRC) alleges it failed in its duty of “fair representation” by acting “arbitrarily” and in “bad faith.”
Complaint of M.me Nadeau was filed on April 20, 2022 with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, a quasi-judicial tribunal specializing in federal labor relations.
In particular, the ex-journalist accused the union of giving poor advice and delaying the filing of two complaints. One worries about what she considers “constructive redundancy.”
According to the nearly 800-page file, the former president made the request on March 16, 2021, July 7 and 8, 2021 and August 24, 2021. Pres I was able to consult.
Finally on August 25, 2021 the union amended the existing grievance to include the issue of “constructive dismissal”. However, a jury decided on January 27, 2022 that this cause should be the subject of a separate complaint. So the second appeal was filed on February 16, 2022, but the 30-day limitation provided in the collective agreement had expired.
“Not only did the union fail to communicate [à Pascale Nadeau] The time limit provided in the collective agreement for contesting constructive dismissal, however [il] It failed to provide facts to him by convincing him that there was no need to file a specific charge regarding constructive dismissal,” argued the counsel for Ms.me Nadeau, Sophie Cloutier of Poudrier Bradet in complaint.
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In its response, the CSN-affiliated union admits it made an error in the summer of 2021, but it argues that it was “not such as to give rise to its liability” under section 37 of the Canada Labor Act.
According to the complaint, M.me Nadeau said the union not only gave poor support, but also tried to “cover up its error” after the fact, specifically by insisting on not publicizing the arbitrator’s decision, which was released on January 27, 2022.
In an email exchange dated February 2, 2022, Mr.e The union’s lawyer, Julian Boucher Carrier, said Mr.me Nadeau did not respond to a reporter’s questions Pres. “It will only put Spotlight In uninteresting news, in addition to risks for arbitration,” he wrote.
Complaint of defamation
A quick reminder of the facts: On February 17, 2021, the president of Radio-Canada was suspended for 30 days following an anonymous complaint of “inappropriate conduct” and an internal investigation. It was this suspension that led to the filing of the first complaint on February 25.
On August 5, 2021, Radio-Canada announced in a press release the “retirement” of its host, who had been on sick leave for several months. “The news management team was excited to see it return to the air this fall,” Michael Bissonnette, senior vice-president of Radio-Canada, wrote in a press release. This version is contradicted by Pascale Nadeau, who says she was pushed towards the exit.
In addition to his grievance claims of “constructive dismissal”, Pascal Nadeau has asked his union to file a complaint against his employer for defamation and reputational damage on August 24, 2021.
The request targeted statements by Radio-Canada management and tweets posted on August 19, 2021, which mentioned “multiple victims and witnesses” related to his suspension. The complaint read that the public broadcaster’s “investigation was completely inconsistent with the findings of the report”.
Mme Nadeau contends that the union took too long to file a grievance against his allegations of defamation and defamation. Initially, CSN counsel had wrongly told the news broadcaster that only the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to decide these questions. Beyond the limitation period, these were finally included in the grievances relating to “constructive dismissal” on February 16.
The union says Woods’ company, Mr.me Nadeau took more than five months to decide whether an arbitrator had jurisdiction over the matter. “It’s too complicated to blame the union for a dissenting opinion that hasn’t been questioned by the complainant for months,” he argues.
It remains to be seen whether the arbitrator will agree to extend the normal time limits provided for in the contract as desired by both parties.
Fees and Damages
“He was the victim of what amounted to constructive dismissal, defamation and psychological harassment,” claims Pascal Nadeau of the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
The former presenter says damages should be determined “due to the stress, inconvenience and loss caused by the association’s wrongdoing”.
No verdict yet.
Both sides declined to comment because the case is still under investigation.
Hearings on the merits of the first appeal against the suspension continue this winter.
