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BC whistleblower sticks neck out for turtles
Gordon McAdams, a BC government ecologist, was fired on his last day before retirement for filing confidential government documents with the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
McAdams was dismissed for attaching confidential government records to an affidavit he filed in support of a court action to stop the province from building a road through endangered painted-turtle habitat in Grohman Narrows Provincial Park, near Nelson. His case has become a rallying point for BC advocates of whistleblower protection legislation.
McAdams, who had been employed by the provincial government for 35 years, was fired on his last day at work for the provincial government. This would have cost him $50,000 in lost salary and pension benefits, had the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union not gone to bat for him. He has now reached a confidential settlement with his former Ministry.
The Supreme Court ruled that Bill Barisoff, who was then the minister of water, land and air protection for the Liberal government, had made “an unauthorized exercise of his statutory power” when he approved the road.
The road was not built after Mr. Barisoff’s order was set aside by the courts — but in the meantime, Mr. McAdams had been fired for breaching the civil-servant’s oath of secrecy.
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Gordon McAdams, a BC government ecologist, was fired on his last day before retirement for filing confidential government documents with the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
McAdams was dismissed for attaching confidential government records to an affidavit he filed in support of a court action to stop the province from building a road through endangered painted-turtle habitat in Grohman Narrows Provincial Park, near Nelson. His case has become a rallying point for BC advocates of whistleblower protection legislation.
McAdams, who had been employed by the provincial government for 35 years, was fired on his last day at work for the provincial government. This would have cost him $50,000 in lost salary and pension benefits, had the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union not gone to bat for him. He has now reached a confidential settlement with his former Ministry.
The Supreme Court ruled that Bill Barisoff, who was then the minister of water, land and air protection for the Liberal government, had made “an unauthorized exercise of his statutory power” when he approved the road.
The road was not built after Mr. Barisoff’s order was set aside by the courts — but in the meantime, Mr. McAdams had been fired for breaching the civil-servant’s oath of secrecy.
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