Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018
March
28,
2018
|
Canadian
Employment
Law
Today
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JEFFREY R. SMITH
Jeffrey R. Smith is the editor of Canadian
Employment Law Today. He can be reached at
jeffrey.r.smith@thomsonreuters.com, or visit
www.employmentlawtoday.com for more information.
incident at the Abbottsford Bar and then
terminate him four months later after the
cocaine allegation.
e board found that there was no doubt
from the Abbottsford police officer's ac
-
count and Braich's acknowledgement that
Braich had purposely showed his badge to
the police in the bar as a means to identify
himself. Since he was not performing any
duties for work, he used his badge for non-
official purposes, said the board.
e board also found that Braich's claim
that he happened to run into his old friends
who were gang members didn't seem cred
-
ible. Since the bar was a known gang hang-
out, it was a strange destination for a cor-
rectional officer, and the police indicated he
was likely at the table for more than a few
minutes, since he was sitting down. In addi-
tion, if his school friend had asked for help
in going straight, as Braich claimed, he knew
the friend was involved in criminal activities
— something he denied when interviewed.
In light of the evidence, it was reasonable
for CSC to conclude Braich had continued
criminal organization associations while
employed with CSC, said the board — espe
-
cially since he had already disclosed crimi-
nal connections to an SIO.
In addition, the evidence pointed to Braich
using cocaine at his co-worker's apartment.
e co-workers who saw the powder on his
nose and in the bathroom were reliable wit-
nesses and Braich himself said he couldn't
remember much of that night. e board
supported the likelihood of the scenario in
which he used cocaine.
e board found the reason CSC didn't
do anything initially after learning of the bar
incident was because the Abbottsford police
asked it not be disclosed at that time to avoid
jeopardizing an investigation into organized
crime. e delay also didn't hurt Braich's
chance to address the incident once the in
-
vestigation was launched, said the board.
e board also found Braich couldn't
explain why cocaine was in the bathroom
after he had been in it and why some of it
happened to be caked on his nostril. ere
was no other logical explanation other than
he had taken some while in his co-worker's
bathroom.
e board determined that criminal
associations which Braich had were
"deeply troubling and completely
unacceptable" for a CSC employee that
could harm the credibility and reputation
of CSC. In addition the use of cocaine at a
gathering with other CSC employees was
a poor decision and further risked CSC's
reputation. Since Braich insisted he had
done nothing wrong, termination was an
appropriate level of discipline, said the
board in dismissing Braich's claim.
For more information see:
• Braich v. Deputy Head (Correctional Service
of Canada), 2017 CarswellNat 8346 (Fed.
Pub. Sector Lab. Rel. & Emp. Bd.).
CREDIT: BING WEN/SHUTTERSTOCK
