A former assistant Prince George Fire Chief is taking the PG Fire Department to the BC Human Rights Tribunal over what he calls age discrimination.
Elden Gjerde alleges he was asked to retire following an investigation into a fire event in May 2015. Gjerde claims that his union representative was told by Fire Chief John Iverson that “they would come down hard on me” if he did not resign.
He says he was bullied into considering retirement as opposed to dealing with the alleged issues around the incident. When says when he refused, he was terminated.
Gjerde is looking for compensation for “impact on my reputation as an assistant fire chief”, his job back with lost wages and “to be made whole, resume my career and retire when I choose.”
However on the other side, the PG Fire Department says it’s investigation into the incident in question found that Gjerde “failed to fully discharge the responsibilities of Incident Commander”, and that it had just cause to fire him.
Details of the fire event are not available.
The Human Rights Tribunal has deferred its decision, until the Firefighters Union’s grievance hearing on the matter is complete which is planned for six days in September and October.
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