The CEO of a Canadian nationwide stepped down on Thursday following a particular commissioner’s willpower that she had mistreated workers all through her decade-long tenure, utilizing slurs and misogynistic language to seek advice from senior management.
“In early December because the board was gaining a greater understanding of the report—its timing, content material and the expectations of presidency—the board confirmed CEO Marie Chapman’s determination to retire, and efficient right this moment, she has stepped away from her position,” Cynthia Value Verreault, chair of the Museum of Immigration at Pier 21’s board of trustees, wrote in a letter to stakeholders and workers on Thursday.
The Workplace of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner launched the findings of its investigations into Chapman on Wednesday night time, as first reported by CBC. The report accused Chapman of “severe code of conduct breaches” that jeopardized the “confidence within the integrity of the general public sector, and particularly the museum.”
Chapman was appointed CEO beneath former Canadian prime minister Stephen J. Harper was reappointed by the Trudeau authorities in 2016 and 2021. Her four-year contract expired in October, nonetheless the museum’s board of trustees had granted her a 90-day transitional time period that may have concluded in January, in accordance with the CBC.
The commissioner’s investigation, launched in 2023, centered round office misconduct that was reportedly so extreme that some workers informed investigators that they had contemplated self-harm. Chapman was accused of violating the federal authorities’s core values through the use of her place to “strike concern into staff” leaving them too intimidated to report considerations. In line with the report, Chapman referred to the senior management staff—generally abbreviated as SLT—as “sluts” in entrance of the general public, different workers, and even a visiting overseas delegation. She additionally reportedly ranked feminine staff by age, commented that there have been “no handsome males” on the museum, and bestowed “hurtful nicknames” primarily based on workers’s conduct or appearances.
The museum’s board of trustees informed CBC it “acknowledges” the report and is addressing the matter “with the utmost urgency.”
“We settle for the commissioner’s findings and are taking motion instantly, working in partnership with the federal government,” Value Verreault wrote within the letter, thanking Chapman for her “22 years of devoted service.”
In her response, Chapman challenged the report’s impartiality and denied fostering a office tradition of concern and humiliation. She admitted, nonetheless, to calling the senior management staff “sluts,” saying she thought-about herself a part of the group and meant no disrespect.
“Throughout my practically twenty years on the museum, my conduct and efficiency have by no means been questioned by the board, to whom I report,” Chapman wrote, as quoted by the CBC. “Yr after 12 months, I’ve achieved wonderful scores beneath the Privy Council Workplace’s efficiency administration system. I’ve not obtained any warnings, disciplinary actions or unfavorable evaluations, nor have I been topic to efficiency administration measures. My efficiency has persistently met and exceeds the expectations of the board.”
Marc Miller, Canada’s identification and tradition, described Chapman’s departure as “creating information, however most probably the precise transfer.”
