qathet Regional District’s (qRD) board of directors have passed an extensive resolution pertaining to Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne for contravention of the regional district’s workplace discrimination, bullying and harassment policy.
According to a resolution released after an in camera session at the qRD board meeting on March 30, an employee filed a complaint against Gisborne under the policy, the regional district’s code of conduct and the law.
The resolution states that qRD retained an experienced external investigator to investigate the complaint, and the investigator conducted virtual interviews with the employee, Gisborne and 13 witnesses.
According to the resolution, the investigator determined there were five incidents where Gisborne’s conduct constitutes personal harassment and bullying of the employee under the regional district’s policy, as well as WorkSafeBC.
The resolution states that the board disapproves of the conduct of Gisborne as found in the investigator’s report, and that Gisborne is to be directed to treat all employees of the regional district in a respectful and professional manner.
The report recommended that Gisborne will have no face-to-face interaction with the employee or the employee’s staff and all communication will be confined to writing, such as email. This arrangement will be reviewed by the regional district chief administrative officer after six months to determine if it is appropriate to remove these restrictions, or if they should continue for a further period of time.
The second recommendation is that Gisborne issue a written apology to the employee within 30 calendar days of the report.
The third recommendation is that within 90 days of the report, Gisborne will undergo one-on-one sensitivity/respectful workplace training from an expert third-party provider. The resolution stated that this training will be paid for by qRD and will be a minimum of three hours in length.
In a report, Electoral Area A director and qRD board chair Patrick Brabazon stated that normally, conduct on the part of a director would be discussed in an open meeting.
“However, an employee made the complaint at issue,” stated Brabazon. “Therefore, we need to consider and discuss whether to accept the recommendations within the workplace investigation report during the closed session of the March 30 meeting.”
Brabazon stated that Gisborne or his legal counsel would have the opportunity to speak to the board and respond to the resolution prior to any vote.
In an interview, Brabazon said that the matter is ongoing because there are things Gisborne must comply with.
Brabazon said the investigation was carried out by an external third-party lawyer who has extensive experience with workplace investigations, conflict management, mediation and respectful workplace issues.
“This guy knows what he is doing,” said Brabazon. “The investigation was confidential to the extent the identities of those who participated as witnesses were protected under section 90 of the Community Charter.
“In light of that, the board’s comments can be found on our website [qathet.ca]. Let’s hope it is all resolved properly.”
Section 90 of the Community Charter pertains to reasons why a government body may conduct a meeting closed to the public.
The Peak has reached out to Gisborne and he has indicated in writing that he will be providing comment.
