Trial dates have been set for a two-year old lawsuit involving a former assistant of Mayor Brian Bigger.
Five days have been set aside beginning May 14 to heard the lawsuit launched by Alicia Lachance, who alleges she was harassed by Bigger's chief of staff, Melissa Zanette.
The former public relations assistant worked first with Mayor Marianne Matichuk for four months, then with Bigger after his election victory in October 2014.
Lachance is seeking $150,000 for being wrongfully dismissed, another $150,000 in aggravated and punitive damages, her legal costs and any other award “the court deems just.”
Alternatively, she's asking the court to award her about $159,000, the amount she says she is owed for the remainder of her contract in salary and benefits.
In her statement of claim, Lachance says that she was a “well-respected” member of Matichuk's office, where “she enjoyed significant status and professional prestige,” the lawsuit states.
But problems began soon after Zanette became her immediate supervisor.
“The mayor's office and its staff were treated with daily criticism, while the chief of staff's behaviour became radical, erratic and unprofessional,” the statement of claim reads.
“She began bullying, intimidating and she began to stalk the plaintiff on her Facebook page. The chief of staff's behaviour became verbally abusive and was often not justified to the situation that presented itself.”
None of these claims have been proven in court. The city has also filed a statement of defence denying any wrongdoing and refuting all allegations.
The statement says Lachance's work was not satisfactory, that she made grammatical, spelling and other errors, missed deadlines, “inefficiently managed her time” and “seemed distracted and unfocused while at work.
“The plaintiff was provided with support and constructive feedback on how to improve her performance,” the defence claim says. “The plaintiff was not receptive to any form of feedback or criticism regarding her work performance. She grew hostile towards her supervisor and towards any assignment she considered to be unimportant.”
The city also says it hired an independent investigator to look into the allegations, and the investigation concluded that Zanette “had not engaged in a course of conduct that was vexatious and had not created a hostile work environment.”
