An octogenarian Ottawa scouter “treated shabbily” by Scouts Canada deserves a shot at getting his volunteer gig back, says an Ontario Superior Court judge.
Wayne Hannan took Scouts Canada to court after the group commissioner denied his annual application to renew his volunteer status last November. The 86-year-old had been a scouter with the organization for 66 years.
“There is little doubt that viewed objectively, the applicant has been treated shabbily and denied any semblance of due process,” Justice Calum MacLeod said in a recent written decision.
“If the disciplinary management procedure applies to his situation, it was not followed.”
Most recently, Hannan was a volunteer leader with Ottawa’s 115th Sea Scout Troop. The judge, in his written decision dated Sept. 27, says that Hannan argued that his removal as a scouter breached Scouts Canada policies.
The Boy Scouts of Canada was incorporated 110 years ago.
The Sea Scouts Hannan volunteered to lead as “skipper” were between the ages of 11 and 14, said the judge. “Sea Scouts focus on canoeing, boating and other naval skills but otherwise operate in the same manner as other Scout troops.”
Hannan, a widower and retired public servant, told the court “his volunteer work with the Scouts continues to be a passion for him, his major source of social interaction, and, in the joy he obtains from teaching skills to youth, a continued source of pride and satisfaction,” MacLeod said.
“This is not solely for his own benefit. ‘Scouter Wayne’ is considered by other Scouters, Scouts and parents to play (an) important role. In particular, he is valued for his deep knowledge of scouting, his contribution to the ceremonies and traditions of the Sea Scouts, and also it appears for his obsession with safety and safety protocols.”
Last November, Hannan was told by Group Commissioner Candice Armstrong in a letter that she decided not to renew his membership. The judge said the letter “purported to be” a follow-up to conversations the two had had before, and that the decision was made “due to safety concerns and resistance to program adaptation.”
“(Hannan) found this shocking and also deeply unfair because he had no idea what the safety concerns were, in what way he was resistant to program adaptation and he attests that he had never had any conversation about his performance as a scouter with the group commissioner or anyone else at the group level,” MacLeod wrote.
The judge concluded “that the allegation in the letter about verbal warnings, safety concerns and failure to adapt to the changing needs of the organization are without substance. It is then particularly shocking that (Scouts Canada) attempted to further besmirch the reputation of an individual that has devoted much of his life to Scouting by repeating and further exaggerating that claim in the form of inadmissible affidavit evidence” put before the court.
Rather than conceding that the letter was inaccurate, in other words, the respondent essentially ‘doubled down’ on the allegations
Justice Calum MacLeod
That affidavit, “repeats and amplifies the performance issues stated in the termination letter. Rather than conceding that the letter was inaccurate, in other words, the respondent essentially ‘doubled down’ on the allegations.”
The judge deemed those allegations “baseless and without foundation. From an evidentiary point of view, the responding affidavit is both deeply unfair to an elderly and long serving volunteer but also demonstrates an improper litigation strategy bordering on abuse of process. The evidence dealing with these concerns is quite simply inadmissible.”
The affidavit, written by Stacy Adair, an employee with Scouts Canada and the organization’s director of finance and business services, who lives in Dartmouth, N.S., stated that Hannan had “berated youth participants,” which Hannan disputed.
“There is not a single document, note or record produced by Scouts Canada to substantiate these concerns,” MacLeod concluded.
The elderly scouter also provided testimonials from the head of his scout troop and two parents.
“These affidavits indicate that (Hannan) is extremely safety conscious, is a valued Scout leader and that ‘Scouter Wayne’ continued to make important contributions to the 115th until he was removed,” MacLeod wrote.
The judge concluded that Hannan’s ouster was wrongful termination. Last year, Hannan had asked the court for a temporary injunction, “permitting him to continue as a Scouter for at least the balance of the summer and fall canoeing season.”
Instead, MacLeod ordered an expedited hearing for the matter.
“The assertion that (Hannan) failed to meet performance standards or breached the code of conduct is unfounded and without merit,” said the judge.
MacLeod ordered that if Hannan “wishes to volunteer for the current season, his application be reviewed appropriately and expeditiously and unless there are valid demonstrable reasons for non-renewal, his renewal be granted.”
And in what might be considered his good deed for the day, the judge ordered Scouts Canada to repay Hannan for the $50,372 he shelled out in court costs.
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