The longtime ice maker for the Soo Curlers Association is among three former employees suing the club for $250,000 each in damages, claiming they were wrongfully dismissed from their jobs in 2021.
Ian Fisher had worked at the organization for nearly 23 years when his employment ceased at the Community First Curling Centre on April 16, 2021. The facility is now known as the YNCU Curling Centre.
According to a statement of claim filed at the Sault courthouse on behalf of Fisher and two other plaintiffs, all three were terminated by letter without cause and without notice.
None of the allegations have been tested in court. SooToday reached out to the Soo Curlers Association for comment but did not receive a response.
Former accountant Sandra Ferguson and former kitchen manager Kathy Jondreau were also fired on the same date, the lawsuit says. The three former employees are seeking $150,000 each for wrongful termination and an additional $100,000 each in punitive damages, plus court costs.
SooToday reached out to the plaintiffs through their lawyer, Jeffrey Broadbent, but has yet to receive a response.
Ferguson had been employed by Soo Curlers since August 2006, while Jondreau was hired in September 2001. Fisher had been employed at Soo Curlers since September 1998.
Due to his high profile with the club, Fisher was often quoted by local and national media during the height of Team Jacobs’ Brier and Olympic gold medal wins.
According to the statement of claim, all three former employees served their employer faithfully, diligently and completely.
“Each were exemplary employees with no known performance issues ever brought to their attention,” reads the statement of claim, obtained from the courthouse by SooToday. “Notwithstanding their efforts, Ian, Sandra and Kathy have not been able to find reasonably similar employment at reasonably similar pay in Sault Ste. Marie’s depressed labour market.”
The termination came as a complete shock to the three former employees, says the statement of claim.
Ferguson and Jondreau were told they could reapply for their positions, while Fisher was provided a payment of 10 per cent of the value of the sponsorship packages he sold in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, the claim alleges.
In addition to lost salary, the three plaintiffs claim a loss of pension contributions and health benefits.
No statement of defence has been filed in the case yet, and no court date has been set.