Nunavut court awards ex-QEC worker $153,000

A Nunavut judge has awarded $153,000 to Chris Cousins, a former Qulliq Energy Corporation employee who sued the corporation for constructive dismissal — a situation where the employer has not directly fired the employee.

Cousins was seeking $500,000 in damages, arguing he had no choice but to leave the corporation in March 2011 after being suspended and demoted. Lawyers for QEC argued that Cousins quit.

In January 2011, QEC handed Cousins a 30-day, unpaid suspension and a demotion from his management position to a unionized job.

The demotion happened four days after Cousins — who is Inuk — drove with unionized Inuit employees to the home of the minister responsible for QEC on a Saturday night to raise concerns about Inuit employment at QEC.

The decision

In his decision Justice Paul Bychok wrote that Cousins had been constructively dismissed because of his demotion in Jan. 2011 — which constituted a breach in the employment contract between the parties, which does not outline using demotion to discipline employees.

Justice Bychok also wrote that the demotion constituted a substantial change in the essential terms of employment, because Cousins was not allowed to return to work until he signed the employer's "offer" of re-employment.

According to Justice Bychok it is unreasonable to expect anyone in Cousins' position to continue his employment in the terms offered by QEC.

Justice Bychok also wrote that by January 2011, the atmosphere between Cousins and QEC was extremely acrimonious — if not poisonous.

The former QEC employee was awarded less than a third of what he sued the utility for.

Justice Bychok wrote the damages were less because Cousins' did not consider other job offers seriously, and did not make an effort to find other employment after leaving QEC.

Cousins is also awarded costs related to the trial. 

This is the third constructive dismissal lawsuit by a former QEC employee against the corporation. Sarah Kucera lost her case in 2014 but Amy Hynes won her lawsuit in 2013.