HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-1203.Damani.01-04-17 Decision
ONTARIO EMPLOYES DE LA COL'RONNE
CROWN EMPLOYEES DE L 'ONTARIO
GRIEVANCE COMMISSION DE
SETTLEMENT REGLEMENT
BOARD DES GRIEFS
180 DUNDAS STREET WEST SUITE 600 TORONTO ON M5G 128 TELEPHONE/TELEPHONE. (416) 326-1388
180 RUE DUNDAS OUEST BUREAU 600 TORONTO (ON) M5G 128 FACSIMILE/TELECOPIE. (416) 326-1396
GSB#1203/99
UNION#99B943
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontano Pubhc ServIce Employees Dmon
(Damam)
Gnevor
- and -
The Crown m RIght of Ontano
(Mimsm the Health and Long - T enn Care)
Employer
BEFORE Owen V Gra, Vice-ChaIT
FOR THE Enc O'Bnen
GRIEVOR Counsel
Ehot SmIth, Barnsters and Sohcators
FOR THE Andrew Baker Counsel
EMPLOYER Legal ServIces Branch
Management Board Secretanat
HEARING July 12 October '30 and '31 and November 8 2000 and
February 19 and March 2 and 6 2001
DECISION
[1] On July 2 1999 Yasmm Damam filed the followmg gnevance wIth Ie
spect to a Job competItIOn.
I grIeve that I have been unJustlv demed a competItIOn for a (Project
AssIstant Blood Program) ThIs IS contrarv to ArtIcle A('3 1 '32,6'3 16'32
and ARtIcle [SIC] 8 & 9
I ask that I be provIded wIth the detailed results of mv competItIOn and that I
be awarded the assIgnment
The Blood Program posItIOn to whIch the gnevance refers was a temporary one
Havmg regard to ArtIcle 8 6 1 of the current collectIVe agreement, It was not a
vacancy to whIch ArtIcle 6 applIed. Although a form of competItIOn was con
ducted to fill It the employer was not oblIged to do that Accorchngly the umon
chd not pursue the claIm that the employer breached 6 '3 1 and 6 '32 It chd, how
ever pursue the claIm that m fillmg the temporary posItIOn the employer had
acted m a chscnmmatory fashIOn contrary to ArtIcle '3 of the collectIVe agree
ment
[2] ApplIcants for the Blood Program posItIOn were solIcIted whIle the gnevor
was on a three month temporary assIgnment as a Project AssIstant wIth the
Mandatory Programs ComplIance Project By the tIme the hearmg of thIS gnev
ance began, the umon was allegmg as part of the gnevance that the employer
had acted m a bad faIth and chscnmmatory manner durmg the gnevor S tempo
rary assIgnment and m faIlmg to extend It, as well as m faIlmg to award the
gnevor the temporary posItIOn m the Blood Program to whIch the wntten gnev
ance refers
Background
['3] The gnevor began wIth the MmIstry of Health m 1976 as an OAG 6 Her
posItIOn was upgraded to OA(~ 8 m the course of a reorgamzatIOn m 1989 Ac
corchng to her testImony m thIS proceechng her current OAG 8 posItIOn IS Ad
mImstratIVe AssIstant EnvIronmental Health Umt, PublIc Health Survey
Branch.
2
[4] In late 1998 the gnevor had two outRtanchng gnevanceR aWaItmg hear
mg They had been filed m June 1995 and AuguRt 1997 In them, the gnevor a'-'
Rerted that Rhe had been dIRadvantaged m vanOUR Job competItIOnR oocauRe Rhe
had earlIer been demed RecondmentR, temporary aRRIgnmentR and other devel
opmental opportumtleR that had not been not been the RubJect of competltIOnR
The gnevor claImed that thoRe demalR of developmental opportumtIeR were a
reactIOn to her race and umon actIvIty and conRtItuted dIRcnmmatIOn on prohib-
Ited groundR contrary to the applIcable collectIVe agreement The partlcluarR of
the claIm aRRerted when thoRe gnevanceR were later heard at arbItratIOn are Ret
out m my decIRIOn dated July 7 2000 m Board FlieR 1581/95 and 1703/98 It IS
of sIgmficance here that the matters about whIch the gnevor complamed m-
cluded management's alleged faIlure to gIve her adequate or tImely feedback
wIth respect to her Job performance and her performance m Job competItIOns
The Temporary Position with the Mandatory Programs Compliance Project
[5] Durmg the courRe of negotIatIOnR for the Rettlement of her earlIer gnev
anceR, the gnevor waR offered the temporary aRRIgnment aR a Project ARRIRtant
wIth the Mandatory ProgramR ComplIance Project The offer waR contamed m
the followmg letter of January 29 1999
Dear YasnlIn.
ThIs letter will confirm our offer of a developmental opportulllty as the
Project AssIstant wIth the Mandatory Programs ComplIance Project m the
PublIc Health Branch.
Your appomtment to the posItIOn will be effectIve February 1 1999 ThIs
posItIOn IS classIfied at the OAG9 level and your salary will be $1949 per
hour
The terms of thIS assIglllllent are as chscussed. The assIglllllent willmItIally
be for '3 months wIth the possibilIty of an extensIOn of up to an adchtIOnal '3
months ThIs extensIOn wIll be dependent upon your abilIty to meet the
performance ei:pectatIOns of the posItIon whIch will be revIewed wIth you at
the begmnmg of the assIgnment I will meet wIth you on a bI weekly basIs to
reVIew performance to date and to assIst In the development process
Job-related trammg needs will be HlentIfied and will be undertaken at the
earlIest possible opportunIty
'3
You will retmn your home posItIon In PublIc Health Branch, and you may
elect to chscontInue thIS developmental assIgnment WIth two we eks notIce to
me and to your home posItIon manager
Please Inchcate your acceptance on the lIne below and return to me as soon as
possible
I look forward to workIng wIth you and wIsh you the very best on your new
posItIon.
Smcerely
Geoff Kettel, Manager
Corporate LImson and Resource ServIce
PublIc Health Branch
ThIs offer was not conchtIOnal on Ms Damam s abandonmg any aspect of her
outstandmg grIevances She accepted It
[6] On the face of It, the prOVISIOn for bI weekly meetmgs was to the grIevor s
benefit That she saw It that way seems apparent from the first portIOn of an e
maIl message she sent unsohcItIed to Suellen Watt m the MmIstry s HR Branch
(wIth a copy to Mr Kettel) on February 10 1999 after the first such bI weekly
meetmg'
Dear Sue:
In attendance Geoff Kettel and DIane Alexander
I met wIth the Manager at hIS request to chscuss my Performance
ExpectatIOns COpy attached for your reVIew
At that meetmg I verbally presented my expectatIOns to whIch the Manager
agreed and are as follows
1) What are we meetmg today about.
2) Need clanficatIOn of settmg up my expectatIOns
3) To acqUIre better knowledge of the IJrO]ect.
4) Better my skills m the area of IJrO]ect management.
5) Ideas as how to manage tune perfornnng so that I can gIve my best
perform ance when carrYIng out the IJrO]ect.
6) To meet deadlmes to get better m the Job and get as much trammg as
possible wIth assIstance from my employer I hope to achIeve m carrYIng out
my responsibilItIes
My expectatIOns from my employer where as follows
To provIde me wIth feedback on my work assIgmnent and to Inform me
anytIme areas where I can Improve and get better
To remove the pnnter before our next meetIng.
4
I Rhall return to the expectatIOn about the removal of the prmter and the bal
ance of thlR meR Rage later m thlR decIRIOn. At thlR pomt I Rlmply WIRh to hIgh
lIght the gnevor R own expectatIOn that Rhe would be provIded wIth feedback on
her performance There IR no eVIdence that the gnevor waR concerned or com-
plamed about the mcluRIOn of a prOVIRIOn for bl-weekly meetmgR for the purpOReR
mclIcated m the offer although It IR apparent Rhe waR conRtItutIOnally RUR!HCIOUR
that the provlRIOn mIght not be admmlRtered m good faIth or to her RatIRfactIOn.
[7] Geoff Kettel haR been a member of management m the OPS for a number
of yearR He came to the MmlRtry of Health m 1996 He became Manager of
Corporate LIaIROn and ReRource ServlceR m the PublIc Health Branch m October
1998 JURt a few monthR before the offer of January 29 1999 waR made to MR
Damam. ARked how that offer came about, he teRtlfied that there waR a dlRCUR
RIOn at management commIttee concernmg provldmg a Remor Recretanal/proJect
aRRIRtant development opportumty to MR Damam. He underRtood that thlR wa'-'
an mltIatlVe of the HR Branch. He chd not know much about MR Damam. He
had a need at that tIme for aRRIRtance for DIane Alexander a Project Manager
who reported to hIm. He agreed to provIde the developmental opportumty
[8] When MR Damam R temporary aRRlgnment aR her aRRIRtant began, DIane
Alexander had been workmg m the PublIc Health Branch for about 2 yearR MR
Alexander R mam dutIeR were m three areaR She waR coorchnatmg the Educa
tIOnR DaYR a conference for memberR of mumclpal PublIc Health umtR to be held
March 1 and 2 1999 She waR workmg on IRRueR relatmg to the momtormg and
aRReRRment of mumclpal PublIc Health umtR wIth reRpect to theIr complIance
wIth theIr legal oblIgatIOnR She waR alRo conRultant to the Ontano BreaRt
Screenmg program.
[9] When the PORRlbllIty of her havmg an aRRIRtant arORe MR Alexander pre
pared at Mr Kettel R requeRt a deRcnptIOn of the dutleR Ruch an aRRIRtant mIght
perform. When It became clear that Rhe would have an aRRIRtant Rhe fleRhed out
the firRt deRcnptIOn m what Rhe conRldered to be a more eaRlly read form. The
revIRed Job deRcnptIOn waR uRed aR the baRIR for a Performance ExpectatIOnR
5
document uRed m the bl-weekly meetmgR contemplated by the Job offer MR Da
mam accepted ItemR correRpondmg to elementR of the Job deRcnptIOn appear m
the left hand column of the document PrIOr to each bl weekly meetmg MR Alex
ander added commentR pORltIVe or negatIVe about MR Damam R performance
OppoRlte the relevant Item. Her commentR were dlRcuRRed at the bl weekly meet
mgR whIch were attended by Mr Kettel, MR Alexander and MR Damam.
[10] Performance ExpectatIOn meetmg were held on or about February 9 and
2'3 and March 9 and 2 '3 1999 On the baRIR of MR Damam R commentR at theRe
bl weekly meetmgR MR Alexander afterwardR mochfied or qualIfied Rome of the
commentR m the Performance ExpectatIOnR She chd not make all the changeR
MR Damam aRked for however She left unchanged commentR to whIch MR
Damam took exceptIOn mchanged when Rhe felt hey remamed valId deRplte
what MR Damam had RaId at the meetmg at whIch they were dlRcuRRed The
Performance ExpectatIOnR document waR cumulatIVe RubJect to whatever
changeR MR Alexander felt appropnate commentR that had been dlRcuRRed Ie
mamed m the document, and new COlllillentR were added to It for purpOReR of the
next meetmg New commentR were marked to dlRtmgUlRh them from commentR
that had already been dlRcuRRed
[11] In adchtIOn to MR Alexander R commentR m the Performance ExpectatIOnR
document concernmg MR Damam R performance the partIclpantR m the bl
weekly meetmgR alRo dlRcuRRed concernR raIRed by MR Damam. Early on Rhe
complamed about the fact that a prmter waR located m her work area and that
Rhe chd not have VOIce maIl.
[12] The deRk m the work area to whIch the gnevor waR aRRIgned had not been
occupIed lmmechately prIOr to her arnval. A fax machme and prmter uRed by
vanOUR nearby employeeR had been located m that work area. The fax machme
waR relocated to another employee R work area JURt before or JURt after MR Da
mam arnved The prmter remamed The gnevor complamed that the URe of the
prmter by otherR dlRtracted her from her work The balance of her e-maIl of Feb-
ruary 10 1999 elaborated on that theme
6
Today (Feb 10/99) I was advIsed by the Manager that the Prmter will not be
removed.
Let me reIterate that after twenty-two years of my serVIce WIth the OPS I
accepted thIS assIgnment as a challenge but I find I am bemg personally
challenged wIth that atmosphere create d around my workstatIOn. The
sItuatIOn you have created for me IS to say the least extremely physIcally
taxIng and stressful.
The pnnter In my workstatIOn Interferes wIth my mental thInkIng of work. I
cannot stay In a normal thInkIng mode to concentrate wIth the constant
stream of actIvItIes gOIng around the pnnter whIch I am sure you would
apprecIate can only serve to negatIvely affect my performance of thIS new
assIgnment.
ThIS Issue also brmgs Into questIOn the health and safety aspect of my
present locatIOn whIch ought to be addressed m a more sensItIve manner
Although I apprecIate the new challenge my physIcal health IS bemg affected
m that I am startmg to feel the anXIety and pressure not normal for what IS
supposed to be and ordmary office assIgmllent
[13] Mr Kettel sought advIce on whether the prmter posed a rIsk to the
grIevor s health and safety and was told there was not an ObVIOUS rIsk. He nev
ertheless further mvestIgated movmg the prmter He ultImately decIded not to
do so He consIdered that there were unacceptable rIsks assocIated wIth relocat
mg the prmter to the only other locatIOn he had IdentIfied as feasIble at the tIme
Mr Kettel testIfied that an alternate locatIOn for the prmter was eventually
found two years later but m the meantIme It had remamed m that work area
wIth two other succeSSIve occupants of It, both of whom had appeared to tolerate
the arrangement
[14] Mr Kettel was sympathetIc to Ms Damam s request for VOIce maIl 1:e
cause he felt every employee should have vo Ice maIl. At the tIme however Mm-
Istry pohcy reqmred that for every group of employees wIth VOIce maIl there
should be a zero target telephone that would be answered by a hve employee
when a caller responded to an outgomg vOIcemaII message by pressmg 0 It
took a whIle to work out the zero target Issue m the area that mcluded Ms Da
mam. Accorchng to Ms Damam she was told at one pomt that her telephone was
to be the zero target, but that chd not happen. She chd get VOIce maIl some tIme
around the end of March.
7
[15] MR Damam teRtIfied that Rhe had a problem wIth office RupplIeR The
deRk m the work area to whIch Rhe waR aRRIgned chd not have RupplIeR Ruch aR a
Rtapler Rcotch tape RCIRRorR and RO on. MR Damam dealt wIth thIR by takmg
RupplIeR from the deRk m her home area at whIch Rhe had been workmg before
commencmg the temporary aRRIgnment The RuperVIRor there Barbara Mar
geRon, aRked that Rhe return the ItemR taken, becauRe a temporary perRon com-
mg to work there would need them. In lu teRtImony MR Damam ffiRerted,
among other thmgR, that thIR waR an example of the employer R unfaIrly prefer
rmg temporary employeeR over permanent oneR - on of the themeR of her teRtI
mony m the hearmg of her earlIer gnevanceR
[16] MR Damam addreRRed the prmter and RupplIeR IRRueR m an e-maIl meR
Rage that Rhe Rent on February 22 to Mr Kettel, wIth unmvIted copIeR to Suellen
WattR m HR and Dr Colm D Cuhna Mr Kettel R Rupenor The followmg pa,-;
Rage from that e-maIl meR Rage ReemR to me both IlluRtratIVe of her dealmgR wIth
Mr Kettel and corroboratIVe of MR Alexander R unchallenged teRtImony about
the gnevor R grammar
On February 18/99 I returned my pnor belongmgs to myoId desk upon
request as per your e-mail dated Feb 18/99 I (lId manage to find whatever
necessItIes that I needed for my new desk out of the cupboard.
Geoff, now I would like to note that I have come to you for the past month
addressIng to you the tnvlals around my new posItIon whIch IS still not
clanfied after thIrty days to my full satIsfactIOn of my posItIon but I can see
that there was tune found to address the facts of Barbara her e-mml dated
Feb 18/99
I feel that you have not put your full potentIal mto solvmg thIS problem that I
am Incurnng In my new posItIOn.
I am not wntIng to create problems but to solve the problems that IS causmg
kaos In my new posItIon, so that I may feel more comfortable In my new
posItIon.
[17] Mr Kettel teRtIfied that a Remor Recretary at the OA(~ 9 levelIR expected
to have certam RkIllR typmg RkIllR famIlIanty wIth certam Roftware mcluchng
RpreadRheet Roftware a RenRe of how to claRRIfy mformatIOn, Judgement about
prIOntIzmg work, attentIOn to detaIl, commumcatIOn RkIllR and the abIlIty to deal
wIth otherR HIR aRReRRment of MR Damam R work durmg the temporary ffi
8
f:.ngnment waR that Rhe waR not at that level, partIcularly wIth reRpect to atten
tIOn to detaIl and facIlIty wIth RpreadRheet Roftware She reqmred a lot of check
mg and eclItmg that Rhould not have been reqmred at that level. There were alRo
clIfficultIeR wIth managmg prIOntIeR, of whIch he gave MR Damam R havmg
mIRRed a Rcheduled meetmg wIth MR Alexander aR an example
[18] MR Damam gave thIR account of the mIRRed meetmg She waR Rched uled
to meet WIth MR Alexander one day at 2 p m. She choRe to go to a reRtaurant for
lunch that day At 1 58 p m. Rhe telephoned MR Alexander from the reRtaurant
to Ray Rhe would be 5 to 10 mmuteR late for the meetmg MR Alexander told her
that the meetmg could not begm late becauRe Rhe had another meetmg Rched
uled at 2 '30 p m. MR Damam returned to the office at about 2 10 p m. Her 2 00
p m. meetmg wIth MR Alexander clId not occur MR Damam R explanatIOn m the
hearmg waR that Rhe would not have gone to the reRtaurant If Rhe had known
MR Alexander had another meetmg Rcheduled for 2 '30 p m.
[19] MR Alexander teRtIfied that Rhe expected an admmIRtratIVe aRRIRtant at
the gnevor R level to have the followmg RkIllR and trammg' profiCIency m the URe
of MIcroRoft Word, Excel and Powerpomt, the abIlIty to wnte a letter excellent
grammar and attentIOn to detaIl. Over the courRe of the temporary aRRIgnment
Rhe found the gnevor lackmg m all of theRe areaR MR Alexander dIRcovered that
MR Damam R grammar waR not very good, nor waR her attentIOn to detaIl. AI
though MR Damam waR pretty good at W orcl, Rhe waR not famIlIar wIth Excel,
the RpreadRheet Roftware m URe m the MmIRtry MR Alexander had wanted to
Ret up mformatIOn concernmg the health umtR m a RpreadRheet and MR ill
mam had clIfficultIeR domg that MR Alexander had to gIVe her mRtructIOn m the
Roftware m order that Rhe could perform faIrly baRIc work Rettmg up RpreadRheet
columnR and entermg mformatIOn mto them. The work then had to be Rent back
for correctIOn when, for example the gnevor kept entermg the nameR of regIR
trantR for the EducatIOn DaYR m the column m whIch Rhe waR RuppoRed to enter
the name of the PublIc Health umt at whIch the regIRtrant worked. There were
9
alRo errorR m Rettmg up the RpreadRheet RO that the CORt of travel of regIRtrantR
could be calculated and totalled.
[20] By the tIme that extenRIOn of the temporary aRRIgnment waR conRIdered,
recent changeR m the fundmg of health umtR had RhIfted the focuR of the comph
ance program away from aRReRRment towardR educatIOn. The major focuR of the
educatIOn component of the program waR on EducatIOn DaYR that were to be or
gamzed and conducted for health umt Rtaff. A good deal of MR Damam R work
had been on Rettmg up the firRt EducatIOn DaYR whIch were held m March 1999
No further work on Ruch an event waR needed for Reveral monthR thereafter
(~lVen the financIal RItuatIOn m hIR area, Mr Kettel felt that an extenRIOn of MR
Damam R temporary pORItIOn could not be JURtIfied on the baRIR of need, partIcu
lady m VIew of chfficultIeR they had expenenced wIth MR Damam R performance
No further temporary pORItIOn waR eRtablIRhed to aRRIRt the perRon who took over
MR Alexander R work when Rhe left that pORItIOn at the end of Apnl1999 to take
another pORItIOn m the MmIRtry
[21] At one pomt It waR aRRerted on MR Damam R behalf that the termR of the
offer of the temporary aRRIgnment gave her the nght to an extenRIOn, whether or
not the employer had any contmumg need, If Rhe met the performance expecta
tIOnR of the pORItIOn. I do not agree wIth that mterpretatIOn, but the pomt IR
moot becauRe It IR apparent that Rhe clId not meet the performance expectatIOnR
[22] It IR appropnate to repeat here Rome of the obRervatIOnR I made when I
dIRmIRRed the gnevor R earlIer gnevanceR
[17] I accept as a general matter that raCIsm IS out there as the gnevor
put It at one pOInt. I agree wIth unIOn counsel s subnllssIOn that raCIsm IS
often latent, m the sense that those whose conduct IS Influenced bv racIst
attItudes mav not openly acknowledge It It IS not necessary for the umon to
prove that chscnnllnatIOn on the basIs of race was the sole or even a major
reason for employer conduct detrlluental to the grIevor If chscrmllnatIOn on
the ba-ns of race played any part In the employer s treatment of the grIevor
then It breached the collectIve agreement prOVISIOn that prohibIted such
chscnmmatIOn. The presence and effect of racIst ath tudes mav be chfficult to
detect and prove It does not follow and the unIOn does not suggest that
proof IS therefore unnecessary or that the mere allegatIOn of racIal
chscrmllnatIOn shilts the burden of chsprovIng the allegatIOn to those accused
10
of It. The same may be sald about antI unIOn anImus and chscnnllnatIOn on
the bmns of umon actIvIty
[18] The gnevor says she cannot understand why she has not advanced In
the cIvil SErVICe unless It IS because she IS the vIctIm of chscnmInatIon on the
basIs of her race or umon actIvIty or both. Her subjectIve belIef that she IS the
vIctIm of ch.'lCnmmatIOn, however strong IS not proof that she IS
[23] Durmg the hearmg there was an mItIal faIlure by the employer and Its
counsel to make full clIsclosure of documents they had undertaken to produce
There was also a clIfficulty wIth the form and completeness of certam purported
COpIeS of relevant documents DIsturbmg as those matters were I am not per
suaded that they mvolved any delIberate mIsrepresentatIOn, or that they support
the gnevor s claIms of clIscnmmatIOn.
[24] Dmon counsel cross-exammed Ms Alexander and Mr Kettel exhaustIVely
m aId of Ms Damam s search for eVIdence of bad faIth m the admmIstratIOn of
the temporary a<.; sIgnment TheIr testImony thoroughly persuades me there was
no such bad faIth, and that the gnevor s race played no part m any of theIr deal
mgs wIth or decIsIOns about Ms Damam.
[25] In her testImony and later m the argument umon counsel presented on
her behalf, Ms Damam pomted to a number of CIrcumstances that she felt dem-
onstrated that the temporary posItIOn was managed m bad faIth, m retalIatIOn
for her past complamts and attempts to advance and to clIscourage her from
complammg or seekmg advancement m the future I do not propose to catalogue
those CIrcumstances and arguments here I have revIewed each of them. I am not
persuaded that they demonstrate any clIscnmmatIOn on the basIs of race or un-
IOn actIvIty
[26] I am not persuaded that the temporary assIgnment was offered or con
ceIVed or desIgned m bad faIth eIther The gnevor s eVIdence was not sufficIent to
ShIft the burden of persuaSIOn on thIS pomt to the employer so It IS of no conse
quence that the employer clId not call anyone to explam why the temporary pOSI
tIOn was offered or structured as It was
11
The Tem porary Position with the Blood Program
[27] In September 1998 the ProvmceR and TerntoneR together formed Cana
chan Blood ServIceR, to take over functIOnR prevIOuRly performed by the Cana
chan Red CroRR Ontano provIded about half of the fundmg for the new RervIce
ItR MmIRtry of Health waR the lead mmIRtry WIthm that mmIRtry reRponRIbIlIty
for Ontano R mvolvement mItIally reRted wIth the Health EconomIcR Branch. In
the Rprmg of 1999 there waR dIRcuRRIOn of tranRferrmg that reRponRIbIlIty to the
Health ProtectIOn Branch. The budget related to that reRponRIbIlIty waR tranR
ferred to the Health ProtectIOn Branch aR of Apnl 1 1999 No permanent pORI
tIOnR came WIth that budget The Branch decIded to offer a temporary 5Y2 month
pORItIOn to aRRIRt wIth the Rtart up m thIR area Mr Kettel teRtIfied that they chd
not have anyone m mmd for the pORItIOn when that decIRIOn waR made On
Apnl21 1999 there waR an mformal pORtmg bye-maIl, mVItmg applIcantR for
the pORItIOn. MR Damam waR one of the reCIp18ntR of that pORtmg She applIed
for the pORItIOn.
[28] The pORtmg had been drafted by Mr Kettel R Recretary on hIR mRtructIOn
whIle he waR away from the office on bURmeRR He left the detaIIR of the meRRage
to her It went out late m the day on Apnl21 and had a cloRmg date of Apnl2'3
When Mr Kettellearned of the cloRmg date he thought that the applIcatIOn pe
nod waR too Rhort aR a matter of prmcIple He dIrected hIR Recretary to extend
the cloRmg date and advIRe all potentIal applIcantR
[29] MR Damam claImR to have been told by Mr Kettel R Recretary or to have
overheard her tell Romeone elRe (It IR not clear whIch) that herR waR the only ap
plIcatIOn receIVed by the ongmal cloRmg date The umon chd not call the Rource
of thIR hearRay to ffiY whether It waR true In any event, Mr Kettel teRtIfied
wIthout contrachctIOn that when he dIrected that the cloRmg date be extended he
chd not know who If anyone had applIed for the pORItIOn. He chd not learn any
thmg about applIcantR untIl the extended cloRmg date had paRRed At that pomt
there were two canchdateR MR Damam and Nancy McGumeRR
12
['30] Mr Kettel and DavId Reeleder mterv18wed both apphcantR Mr Reeleder
waR the perRon handlmg the CanadIan Blood ServIce file They aRked each apph
cant the Rame Ret of prepared queRtIOnR MR McGumeRR gave more complete ac
curate and mRIghtful anRwerR, and got a better Rcore on the mtervIew Mr Kettel
and Mr Reeleder decIded to offer MR McGumeRR the Job Mr Reeleder made the
offer Once the pORItIOn had been accepted by MR Mc(~umeRR MR Damam waR
mformed that Rhe waR not the RucceRRful canchdate
['31] WhIle the competItIOn proceRR here may not have had all of the featureR
that the GSB haR RaId that competItIOnR for permanent pORItIOnR Rhould, the re IR
nothmg about the chfferenceR that dIRadvantaged or waR calculated to dIRadvan-
tage MR Damam relatIVe to the other canchdate Nothmg m the cIrcumRtanceR
comeR cloRe to eRtabhRhmg that dIRcnmmatIOn on the rnRIR of race played any
part m the decIRIOn to award MR Mc(~umeRR the temporary aRRIgnment
['32] WIth reRpect to the allegatIOn of dIRcnmmatIOn on the baRIR of umon oc
tIVIty I waR told agam about the requeRt that waR made to MR Damam wIth re
Rpect to faxeR arnvmg from the umon after Rhe had returned to her home pORI
tIOn. The added detaIl of the eVIdence preRented on thIR occaRIOn chd not change
the ImpreRRIOn I formed of theRe Rame eventR when the umon put eVIdence about
them before me m Rupport of MR Damam R earher gnevanceR Mana gement R
conduct m thoRe eventR chd not conRtItute dIRcnmmatIOn on the baRIR of umon
actIvIty nor doeR It demonRtrate any mclmatIOn to engage m Ruch dIRcnmIna
tIOn. There IR nothmg m the eVIdence before me that perRuadeR me that there
waR any Ruch dIRcnmmatIOn durmg or m relatIOn to the gnevor R temporary a,-;
RIgnment or the fillmg of the temporary aRRIgnment m the Blood Program.
Decision
['33] For the reaRonR gIVen, thIR gnevance IR entIrely wIthout ment and IR
hereby dIRmIRRed
['34] A central theme of the gnevor R complamtR m thIR and the preVIOUR gnev
anceR waR that only dIRcnmmatIOn on the baRIR of her race or her umon actIvIty
1'3
can explam the fact that Rhe haR not advanced ooyond the OAG 8 level m her
approxllllately 25 yearR m the OntarIO CIVIl RervIce From the eVIdence I heard It
IR clear that the gnevor lackR computer communIcatIOn and other RkIllR that are
mcreaRmgly Important m pORItIOnR at hIgher levelR of reRponRIbIhty and mde
pendence The energIeR Rhe haR thuR far expended caRtmg groundleRR aRperRIOnR
on the motIVatIOnR of management mIght be more productIVely refocuRed on llll-
provmg her quahficatIOnR for the kmdR OfpoRItIOnR to whIch Rhe a<,;pIreR
Dated at Toronto thIR 17th day of Apnl, 2001
~v:
Owen V Gray VIce-ChaIr
14