SPANIARD’S BAY, Canada — An enforcement officer says he was fired after telling town council officials they were mishandling allegations of sexual harassment within a fire department.
CBC.ca reported that Steve Smith was the town’s enforcement officer for five weeks before being fired at a council meeting Tuesday. Officials said his termination was for budgetary reasons, but he doesn’t believe that.
“They simply do not have the capacity to understand the issues.... They don’t understand, and the sad part is, most of the community doesn’t understand,” Smith said. “I feel like I’ve walked into the Twilight Zone and it’s 1940.”
Female firefighter and town councilwoman Brenda Seymour recently made public allegations of ongoing harassment, which led 20 Spaniard Bay firefighters to resign — including its chief. Among Seymour’s charges is that a firefighting instructor showed an X-rated film, hard-core porn that played for about five minutes, during a training class where the chief was in attendance.
The instructor said it was meant as a joke and told anyone they could leave before he played the video.
Meanwhile, the firefighters and their supporters assembled for a rally Thursday night after resigning over the controversy. Many carried signs saying, “We support our men.”
Smith said he had several conversations with residents who don’t believe that showing a pornographic video in a training session is sexual harassment. They instead characterized it as “a joke.”
The town is now left with only eight members and neighboring towns will cover its emergency calls.
Those who attended the rally expressed unwavering support. Many accused Seymour of trying to have Chief Victor Hiscock removed so she can become chief, according to the report.
An earlier move to remove Hiscock split the council, with the deciding vote to retain the chief coming from the mayor.
“We just want our fire department back, that’s all,” said Christie Saunders, whose husband is a firefighter in the community.