Leduc mayor to apologize, city will pay victims as misconduct settlement approved

A settlement between the City of Leduc and employees who claimed physical and sexual assault, harassment and bullying while on the job has been approved by an Edmonton judge.

The lawsuit was filed last year by former firefighters Christa Steele and Mindy Smith.

Seven other Leduc employees have since joined the class action. They will now be eligible for payments between $10,000 and $265,000 and receive a public apology from the mayor.

"It’s emotional. I’m so thankful [the judge] gave us the answer that we wanted," Steele told reporters outside of the courthouse.

"We've been fighting for this for two and a half years, so this is a huge win for women in Alberta and across Canada."

The lawsuit claimed the abuse of female firefighters was systemic, common and tolerated, with incidents dating back to 2002.

The settlement includes confidentiality for any woman who has worked for Leduc and wants to come forward. Steele said it's important that women feel comfortable to do so, no matter where they work.

"This is happening everywhere, it’s not just in our little town. So this might empower women to start coming forward," she said, before adding a message to other women.

"If you guys can be brave enough to be empowered enough to start making change, then you’re going to protect all the students coming in."

Lawyer Robert Martz said although he can't yet say how many women will ultimately join the lawsuit, this is the highest per person settlement for sexual harassment and sexual assault in a workplace in Canada.

He applauded his clients for their strength and courage.

"These are deeply personal issues and they stepped up and exposed themselves to scrutiny to really get justice for other people, for other women," he said.

"There was a desire for real change and to get the appropriate things in the settlement agreement that would create that change was a delicate and lengthy task."

'ACKNOWLEDGING THE PAIN AND HARM CAUSED'

After the lawsuit was filed and Steele and others went public, Leduc's fire chief left his job and city councillors approved $165,000 for a new "equity, diversity and inclusion" plan.

Last summer, Bryan Singleton was hired as the new chief. He was tasked with restoring "a positive workplace."

City officials declined CTV News Edmonton's request for an interview on Tuesday, but released statements.

"This settlement is a critical step forward in acknowledging the pain and harm caused to the victims, and represents a comprehensive, fair and reasonable resolution," a letter signed by city council said.

"Regretfully, we cannot undo the harm of the sexual misconduct that was experienced, but we are committed to learning from the past to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future," said a statement from Leduc City Manager Derek Prohar.

A spokesperson said no date has been set for when Mayor Bob Young will publicly apologize, but Steele said she will be there in person.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti