Alberta premier's office appoints HR expert as minister speaks about drinking allegations
CBC
Premier Jason Kenney's office has selected Edmonton's integrity commissioner to conduct a review of its HR policies for staff after serious allegations of misconduct in the building.
A lawsuit filed by a former chief of staff in Kenney's government alleges sexual harassment and excessive drinking in the building last fall, and says complaints about the behaviour were not appropriately addressed despite being raised to multiple senior staff in the premier's office.
Ariella Kimmel, the plaintiff, also alleges she was fired in February as retaliation for persistently raising these issues.
Kenney's office promised an independent review of its HR policies for political staffs after CBC News first reported the allegations last week. Kenney himself is not named in the lawsuit. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
On Tuesday, an email from Kenney's office to staff in the legislature announced that Jamie Pytel has been retained to perform the review. The email was obtained by CBC News.
Pytel is currently serving as the City of Edmonton's integrity commissioner and is a co-founder of Kingsgate Legal, specializing in workplace culture, harassment, ethics, whistleblower policy and HR management.
"Ms. Pytel's review will begin immediately and will be fully independent. Should new policies be adopted as a result of Ms. Pytel's review, those would be made public," a statement from the premier's office said.
They did not say when Pytel's findings are expected to be delivered. CBC News has also reached out to Pytel for comment.
In addition to the sexual harassment allegations, the lawsuit included allegations of excessive drinking by ministers and staff in legislature offices. Kimmel singled out Agriculture and Forestry Minister Devin Dreeshen for allegedly being heavily intoxicated in October 2020 and yelling so aggressively at her that a bystander intervened. The two had previously been romantically involved.
Dreeshen addressed those allegations for the first time Monday.
"It's been long, hard days in the legislature and I think that's something that everybody's had to deal with," he said, adding he does not have an alcohol problem.
"There's a social aspect to politics where I think people do sit down and talk about politics over a drink. I think that's something that's happened for a long time, obviously I didn't invent it."
Elise von Scheel is CBC Calgary's political reporter. If you have a tip or information, you can reach her at elise.von.scheel@cbc.ca or on Twitter at @elisevonscheel.
A new Alberta government pilot project is hoping to address a common challenge facing citizens accessing health care in a city that straddles two provinces.
The Victoria Police Department will have officers patrolling on foot for the first time since 2022, thanks to new funding from the city.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco has quietly extended its timeline by 22 years to phase out coal for "decarbonized" steelmaking, says a federal government document, aiming for 2050 instead of 2028.
In a week where President Donald Trump says the U.S. doesn’t need cars made in Canada, the Dodge Charger Sixpack — made in Windsor, Ont. — is in the running to win car of the year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this morning.
An Ontario man has reached a settlement agreement with Boeing almost seven years after six of his family members died in a plane crash.
Severe weather has lead to several highway closures across northern Ontario Wednesday morning.
Several Durham police officers diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) say they believe the service isolated them from the day they went on mental health leave and has not provided them any meaningful support.
The City of Toronto’s 2026 budget offers relief many homeowners were looking for in its property tax increase, but it also lays bare the massive amount of infrastructure work hanging over the city in the coming years which, in some cases, may be deferred.
The University of Guelph says it is offering assistance to help students stranded in Iran after a petition was started asking for more to be done by the school.
There may be some relief in sight this flu season — though it may not feel like it right now.
Students will be back in class on Wednesday morning at Robert Service School in Dawson City.
The Canadian Armed Forces would need to buy 72 Gripen fighter jets and six GlobalEye surveillance aircraft for Swedish manufacturer Saab to deliver on its pledge of creating 12,600 jobs in Canada, CBC News has learned.
When news broke of U.S. forces attacking and seizing Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, Barry Blacklock’s phone began buzzing.