A geneticist has filed with Alberta Health Services (AHS) that he accuses, among other things, of causing his dismissal from the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of Alberta in retaliation for his condemnation of a climate of toxic work.
Stacey Hume has worked for more than a decade as Co-Head of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL). According to him, the working climate inside the laboratory, a subsidiary ofAHSay extremely toxic and frightening.
In his statement of facts, he said, for example, that employees had told him on several occasions that they had experienced incidents of harassment or intimidation by superiors. He added that nothing happened when he told the subject to members of senior management and then he was bullied by colleagues.
CBC/Radio-Canada obtained a copy of the statement in which the complainant recorded his various allegations. None of these allegations have been substantiated in court.
Allegations of serious facts and omerta
According to the complainant, the situation became particularly serious in 2019. He said he then discovered that a senior manager within the laboratory was altering patient reports to embarrass a constituent. He insists other senior executives knew this and did nothing.
He added that human resources departments had conducted an investigation and proposed the adoption of a charter setting out the behaviors that professionals expect, but it has not been done.
Service snitch
A few days later, his co-director at the laboratory was furious, accusing him of failing to put an end to the alleged acts. enter into [mon] office and asked to find out why the alleged case of alteration of patient records was revealed.
Stacey Hume said this colleague warned all medical staff in the laboratory against the snitch. This way, he will lose trust in his colleagues. He added that he was even banned from using lab equipment and space for his research.
He is asking for $ 2.6 million
Stacey Hume describes herself as a whistleblower, a role she says caused her backlash.
He alleged that he was fired in November of this year by the chairman of the department of medical genetics at the University of Alberta who allegedly cited grounds that thePLA – his former boss – has stopped funding his position.
He is seeking $ 2.6 million in damages and lost wages in the lawsuit.
I think whistleblowers are not protected. […] And because they are not properly protected, many of them end up losing their jobssaid his attorney Kathryn Marshall.
For its part, AHS declared no be able to comment on the case as before the courts.
With information from Elise Von Sheel
Source: Radio-Canada