City of Nanaimo ordered to pay more than $600K to ex-CFO in racial discrimination case

The City of Nanaimo has been ordered to pay more than $600,000 to its former chief financial officer after he won a human rights complaint over his firing five years ago. 

Victor Mema worked as the city's CFO from 2015 to 2018 until he was suspended and then fired over a report of serious misconduct filed by a city staff member, according to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision issued earlier this month.

Mema, who is Black, alleged the city on Vancouver Island breached the Human Rights Code by discriminating against him on the basis of his ancestry, place of origin, race and colour.

Tribunal chair Emily Ohler found the city's decision to suspend and terminate Mema "were discriminatory."

"Obviously I'm relieved," Mema told CBC News Tuesday.

"I wonder if this will mean anything for people of colour who face the same challenges I faced."

Personal charges on corporate credit card

Mema's firing centres around his use of a corporate credit card issued by the city.

From 2016 to 2017, Mema charged as much as $14,148 in personal expenses on the credit card, according to a separate wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by Mema.

This included an almost-$1,300 charge incurred in Cancun, Mexico, while he was on vacation there. A judge dismissed the lawsuit because he said Mema's claim was filed outside a limitation period.

The cards were subject to a cardholder agreement that said they should not be used for personal purchases, according to the tribunal decision. 

But, in practice, the decision said, employees sometimes used their cards for personal purchases and then would mark those expenses as personal and repay the city.

Mema's card was cancelled after staff raised concerns with city management. Mema agreed to a repayment plan. The city also got auditors to conduct an audit of city staff's use of corporate cards for personal purchases and to recommend any required policy changes. 

In February 2018, city council also decided to amend the policies and administration of the corporate cards. 

According to the human rights tribunal, city staff who raised concerns about Mema were not satisfied with those changes. 

They viewed Mema "as a larger financial risk" to the city, according to the decision, leading a staff member to file the misconduct report with the city's human resources department.

The city fired Mema primarily on the basis of that report, according to the decision. 

'Conscious or unconscious stereotype of Black people'

Mema had argued that the city treated his use of the corporate card differently from other employees in his predominantly white workforce, the decision said. 

"Black people can be treated adversely in the workplace because of a conscious or unconscious stereotype of Black people being criminals, dishonest, of questionable moral character or poor," Mema said in his argument. 

The City of Nanaimo denies discriminating against Mema, according to the decision.

A statement from Mayor Leonard Krog Tuesday said "the decision is not what we expected. We are reviewing it in detail and will determine our next steps after consulting and obtaining advice."

Tribunal chair Ohler found that while Mema "certainly made poor decisions" regarding his use of the corporate card, "I am satisfied on a balance of probabilities that – however subconsciously – pernicious stereotypes of a Black man as less honest or trustworthy factored into the misconduct report."

The tribunal has ordered the city to pay Mema about $643,000, including for compensation of lost wages and for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.

"It will help," said Mema, who is currently unemployed.

"But money doesn't replace professional damage. It doesn't replace the networks that I lost."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.