Court awards $250K to investigator fired for political reasons
B.C. judge finds Christy Clark's government used health ministry investigator as scapegoat before losing power in 2017.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has found that Christy Clark's government deliberately made investigator Wendy Taylor a scapegoat, firing her unfairly just hours before the former premier lost power in a vote of non-confidence. Justice Lindsay LeBlanc awarded Taylor $250,000 in damages.
The firing happened on June 29, 2017. At 9:06 a.m., Public Service head Kim Henderson summoned Taylor to a 4:15 p.m. meeting at the Public Service office in Victoria and fired her, offering a severance package if she signed a pledge not to sue. About 15 minutes after that, payments to ex-employees recommended by the Misfire report were made. Less than an hour later, Clark's government fell on a non-confidence vote, and John Horgan took over as premier.
Taylor was an investigator in a 2012 Health Ministry case that led to seven employees being fired based on a flawed investigation. One of those employees, Roderick MacIsaac, later killed himself. A 2017 Misfire report by Ombudsperson Jay Chalke found that rushed decision-making caused harmful consequences.
LeBlanc found that Taylor did not order the firings — she had recommended suspension pending further investigation. Instead, Graham Whitmarsh, the deputy minister of health at the time, acted unilaterally. Yet the government had successfully misled the public into believing Taylor was responsible.
"A clear message must be sent to the defendant that public servants are not to be used as pawns for political purposes," LeBlanc wrote. "There was a significant power imbalance between the plaintiff and the defendant."
Taylor was eventually paid maximum severance of just over $207,000 anyway. She sued, and won. The B.C. Ministry of Attorney General said it is reviewing the decision.