External expert to be brought in to assess employees’ wellness, identify ways to support staff
The head of Canada’s Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 has retired with immediate effect following a federal integrity investigation.
Marie Chapman, who had led the Halifax-based national museum since 2011 and was its first director, stepped down after the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner released a report alleging serious code of conduct breaches.
According to CBC News, the museum’s board of trustees informed employees and stakeholders of Chapman’s departure in a letter that framed the move as the outcome of internal deliberations after the watchdog’s findings landed in early December. The board described Chapman's departure as her decision to retire, but confirmed she was “stepping away from her role” immediately.
The board’s letter, signed by chairperson Cynthia Price Verreault, sought both to acknowledge the commissioner’s conclusions and to show the museum was acting quickly. According to CBC News, Price Verreault wrote that “in early December as the board was gaining a better understanding of the report — its timing, content and the expectations of government — the board confirmed CEO Marie Chapman's decision to retire, and effective today, she has stepped away from her role.”
Employees’ wellness prioritized
The same letter stated that the board “accepts the commissioner's findings and [is] taking action immediately, working in partnership with government,” CBC News reports, signalling that the institution is coordinating its response with federal officials who fund and oversee national museums.
At the same time, the board expressed its appreciation to Chapman “for her more than 22 years of dedicated service to the museum.”
In addition to accepting the findings, the board committed to implementing the integrity commissioner’s recommendation to bring in an external expert to assess employees’ wellness and identify ways to support staff following the events described in the report, says CBC.
Canada’s federal integrity watchdog concluded that Chapman engaged in a yearslong pattern of inappropriate behaviour that violated both federal and institutional codes of conduct.
This caused emotional harm to staff, according to a case report by public sector integrity commissioner Harriet Solloway.
The report says Chapman’s conduct amounted to a “serious breach” of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector and the museum’s own code under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.
Interim leader appointed for museum
The museum also moved to install interim leadership, with vice-president of revenue generation, Fiona Valverde, taking over responsibility for the museum’s day-to-day operations while the board works on a longer-term leadership plan, says CBC News.
Chapman’s four-year term as CEO expired in October, but the museum’s board of trustees had extended her presence through a 90-day transitional contract scheduled to run until January.
Chapman’s role placed her among the more highly paid leaders in Canada’s cultural sector, according to CBC News, as her salary as CEO was up to $221,700, and she was appointed by the Harper government in 2011 before being reappointed by the Trudeau government in 2016 and again in 2021.
