Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld has filed a lawsuit against the service’s former director of human resources following social media comments the lawsuit claims threaten confidential information about the police service.
Angela Whitney served as the Calgary Police Service (CPS) human resources director between 2019 and 2021 and resigned following a medical leave of absence. Almost three years later, Whitney began raising allegations of bullying and harassment during her time within CPS on social media.
In an interview with Global News, Whitney described a culture rife with harassment, bullying and discrimination that ran counter to best practices in human resources.
According to the statement of claim Neufeld filed on March 20, Whitney’s comments “have caused, and will continue to cause irreparable harm to CPS.”
The lawsuit argues the disclosure of confidential information about employees “engaged in HR processes” will have a “chilling effect” on employees’ willingness to trust and participate in the HR process, “thereby interfering with CPS’ ability to continue and modernize the HR process.”
Neufeld is seeking a permanent injunction preventing Whitney from making any further “inappropriate posts or interviews” related to the matter and making her pay for the legal costs of the civil action. The lawsuit notes several social media posts from Whitney’s account, including an open letter to Calgarians with her allegations, and comments she made in a Global News interview.
When Whitney resigned from her role at CPS, the service confirmed she was not bound to a non-disclosure agreement.
However, the lawsuit claims Whitney signed a “memorandum of agreement,” which included “standard confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses” due to the sensitive nature of the information she had access to during her time at the service.
Following her posts on social media, CPS sent Whitney two letters demanding the posts and comments be removed.
In a statement to Global News, the Calgary Police Service said the lawsuit is not meant to prevent Whitney from sharing her concerns, experiences, or perceptions of the CPS with the Calgary Police Commission.
The statement said CPS welcomes the “ongoing oversight” of the commission and that they’re working collaboratively to advance HR reform at the police service.
“The CPS has asked the court for assistance in preventing a former human resources director from sharing details of confidential HR processes and private information of our employees in a public realm,” it says. “We have taken this civil action to protect the confidentiality and privacy of those involved and to ensure others who want to raise concerns can do so safely without having their information shared publicly by anyone.”
The police service’s statement also said it has been transparent about the workplace culture challenges it continues to face, and is working to “rectify decades of systemic issues within the culture of policing.”
Whitney said she plans to speak to the Calgary Police Commission during its meeting on Wednesday, and says her actions are an effort to “bring change to systemic cultural problems.”
“I will implore the Calgary Police Commission and Calgarians to demand accountability, and request our Minister of Public Safety and our province to conduct a public review,” Whitney said in a statement to Global News.
None of the claims in the lawsuit have been tested in court, and a statement of defence has not yet been filed.
Doug King, a professor of Justice Studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said transparency will be required as the case moves forward.
“It will cause many people to wonder what CPS is trying to keep below the surface,” King told Global News. “The challenge with confidential information is it may be true and it may not be true.”
King said Neufeld inherited issues with workplace culture and sexual harassment when he became chief, and was tasked with making internal changes.
Ongoing work to address those issues, King said, appear to be “going very well,” and Whitney’s allegations could call that into question.
“I think Chief Neufeld’s reputation, that’s what’s at risk here,” King said. “If I was him, knowing full well that I’ve done good work, I’d be suing too. I would want the person making these allegations to put up in a court of law.”
A hearing related to the lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.
The Calgary Police Commission, which meets Wednesday, said it doesn’t have a comment at this time “out of respect for the court process.”
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