A former Alberta government staffer is suing the premier’s office, alleging her contract was terminated after speaking out against a toxic workplace that included on-site intoxication and sexual harassment.
Ariella Kimmel, a former chief of staff for Alberta’s minister of jobs, economy and innovation, alleges that she was subjected to a “poisoned work environment,” and was eventually let go after provincial staff believed she had leaked news of former Chief of Staff Jamie Huckabay’s international holiday.
Just two days later, Ivan Bernardo, a principal secretary in Premier Jason Kenney’s government, allegedly made an inappropriate comment toward one of Kimmel’s female colleagues while at another gathering. It’s claimed that Bernardo said: “I haven’t seen you on this floor before because with a body like that, I would have noticed you.”
In January 2021, Kimmel found out that others had been told that she leaked the Bernardo incident and information surrounding Huckabay’s trip to the United Kingdom over the Christmas holidays to reporters, even though she was not the one who leaked the information.Kimmel was terminated on Feb. 5, 2021, and eventually found out that office rumours from senior staff members indicated that she had been terminated for “leaking” the Huckabay travel story to reporters.
“This government has zero tolerance for harassment and takes all allegations of this nature very seriously. We are fortunate to have a highly skilled and diverse public service and we are committed to providing a safe and productive workplace for all of them. In that light, we previously mandated mandatory ‘Respect in the Workplace’ training for all government employees, including political staff.
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