Remai Modern Reaches Agreement on Discrimination Complaint

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News outlets are reporting that the Remai Modern in Saskatoon has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with a former employee who filed a human rights complaint in 2015.

The complaint, alleging gender discrimination, was filed against what was then the Mendel Art Gallery and its former executive director Gregory Burke, who was later removed from the complaint.

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission decided earlier this year that the complaint against the gallery had "sufficient merit" to head to a public court hearing.

But a final round of mediation overseen by chief commissioner David Arnot led to the settlement, revealed this week by various news outlets.

No decision was made on the issue of liability and the gallery has not admitted to any wrongdoing. The agreement requires the Remai to implement anti-harassment training for all employees and the board.

The complainant, a woman, has never been publicly identified and the amount of the settlement has not been disclosed. CBC News cited an emailed statement from the complainant saying she is pleased with the outcome.

Burke, who now lives in Toronto, has denied the allegation. In January, he was successful in a court petition to remove him as a party to the file based on the length of time it had taken to resolve the complaint.

He told the Globe and Mail in a statement this week that any suggestion that he would discriminate of the basis of gender was "preposterous" and noted the professional and personal impact of the case has been "very significant."

Source: CBC News, Globe and Mail