Worker claims she was drugged, assaulted at work, then let go by employer after incident
A woman in Edmonton is suing her former employer and a co-worker for $18 million, claiming that she was sexually assaulted at a northern Alberta work camp and her employer dismissed her from employment after the fact.
Leah McLeod, now 44, is seeking $14 million in damages from ATCO and ATCO Frontec Corp for wrongful termination and negligence. She is also seeking $4 million in damages from Darrell Brian Tennant for sexual assault and battery, according to the CBC.
The ATCO incident happened on the evening of June 22, 2008, when McLeod shared a mixed drink with Tennant at work. McLeod – a cleaner at the camp – believes she was then drugged and sexually assaulted by Tennant – a cook – that night, according to a CBC report.
She claimed to have regained consciousness in the man's bed hours later and ran into the hallway screaming "rape." A security guard was called and McLeod later went to hospital in Fort McMurray. There, she underwent a medical examination and reported the assault to the RCMP, according to her statement of claim.
The following day, the RCMP arrested the man and he was placed on leave from work.
Employment terminated
However, when McLeod later told her supervisor that she needed to leave the work camp as she was suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), her supervisor handed her a sticky note and told her to write down that she was leaving work for "personal reasons,” McLeod said in her statement of claim, according to the CBC.
McLeod later found out that ATCO had terminated her employment. Meanwhile, Tennant returned to the job, the lawsuit alleges.
The Alberta Rules of Court were amended in January to introduce a new streamlined trial process, and the first decision considering these rules set an unexpected precedent for wrongful dismissal trials, according to a previous report.
No charges were laid at the time of the incident, according to CBC.
The case was reopened in 2018 and a DNA warrant was obtained, resulting in Tennant's arrest in 2019, but he was acquitted following a provincial court trial in Fort McMurray in 2021.
The judge said McLeod could not say with certainty how Tennant’s semen got into her body, “whether it could be consensual or non-consensual sexual activity, through transference or any other method.”
In 2020, McLeod filed a complaint against Wood Buffalo RCMP, and the RCMP later admitted negligence on the part of the lead investigator, according to CBC.
Accused parties deny allegations
Meanwhile, ATCO and ATCO Frontec deny the allegations and any liability in the case. The employers say the assault was not formally reported and that the incident is alleged to have happened outside of work hours.
"We take these allegations very seriously," ATCO said in the CBC report. "Subsequent to being made aware of this matter in 2019, ATCO conducted an internal investigation and supported the RCMP investigation."
The companies also claim that their employees were subject to a "violence and harassment-free" policy and that managers at the camp, operated by Frontec, were trained in how to handle such complaints.
Tennant also denied the allegations, calling them "high-handed, outrageous, scandalous and vexatious,” reported CBC.
In December 2023, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) spoke up to correct what it claims to be “factual inaccuracies” in the media’s reporting of sexual harassment allegations raised by two workers.
