NDP says political staffer fired for cause, wants lawsuit turfed
The NDP government said it did nothing wrong when it fired a political staffer in 2024 and has disputed her allegation it was due to racial bias.
In response to a lawsuit launched by Shondell Orinthia Babb, the government said in a statement of defence that she had violated its code of conduct by making derogatory comments about Jewish people.
Babb, a former press secretary to Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and Housing Minister Bernadette Smith, is seeking damages for wrongful dismissal in a statement of claim in December.
She alleged her firing was a result of discrimination and said the government did not have just cause to terminate her in May 2024. In her lawsuit, Babb describes herself as an African-Canadian.
In its statement of defence, the government argues it had sufficient cause to terminate Babb and asks the court to throw out her lawsuit.
'On… May 24, 2024, the plaintiff made derogatory and discriminatory comments about Jewish people in the presence of other employees, including her supervisor,' reads the government court filing.
'The derogatory comments violated the defendant's code of conduct and respectful workplace policy.'
The court filing doesn't mention the specific comments.
The government said it had received a complaint about Babb as per its code of conduct, but when she met with the human resources director to discuss the issue, the plaintiff 'repeated the derogatory comments and failed or neglected to apologize for the offence that been caused by the said comments.'
As a result of the comments, her response to the complaint and meetings with employees who heard the comments, the government said it decided her termination was warranted and justified under its employment agreement with her, its defence filing said.
Premier Wab Kinew's chief of staff, Mark Rosner, told Babb in a letter dated May 29, 2024, that she had violated the code of conduct and workplace policy and that she was terminated immediately, Babb said in her court filing. She denied violating the policy in her lawsuit.
The government denied the allegation of discrimination and her claim she suffered mental distress as a result of being let go.
Babb was hired on Oct. 18, 2023, the day Kinew was sworn in as premier after winning the election. Press secretaries are political staffers — not civil servants — hired by the party in power.
Before the termination, Babb had been moved from the press secretary role to that of an executive assistant to the sport minister, Babb said in her court filings.
She characterized the assistant job as administrative, which the government disputed in its filings, describing the role as an advisory position that fit her employment agreement. The government said it was not a demotion and her pay had remained the same.
Babb's lawyer filed a notice of motion seeking to disqualify Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, a Winnipeg law firm, from working on the case on behalf of the government.
Babb argued she had used the law firm's services, beginning in 2020, in relation to her hair care business.
She alleged the firm was in a conflict of interest.
The law firm has denied there is a conflict of interest. A judge has yet to rule on Babb's motion.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik PinderaReporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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