Human rights complaint says physical and mental disabilities played a role in her termination
A former analyst and video coach assistant with the Vancouver Canucks has claimed she was discriminated against when they fired her. Rachel Doerrie alleges that her “sex and physical and mental disabilities" played a role in her termination, according to a Sportsnet report.
Doerrie, who was hired in January, 2022, has filed a human rights complaint and said the team fired her for “unreasonable and flimsy” reasons. Having shared a six-page document via Twitter addressing her dismissal, she highlighted interactions with Canucks assistant general manager Emilie Castonguay, to whom Doerrie reported, which she believes led to her termination without cause by Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin on September 27.
"Ms. Doerrie suffered damage to her dignity, self-esteem, and physical and mental health resulting from Ms. Castonguay's comments, and her subsequent treatment by Ms. Castonguay. She also suffered financial losses arising from her unexpected loss of employment," read the complaint.
Doerrie told CBC News she was motivated to file the claim to help change hockey culture in Canada. "To me, you can't move forward and create a better environment to be welcoming to people who aren't white men if you don't have the courage to speak up and speak out about this kind of behaviour no matter who it comes from.”
Her complaint outlines how she had post-traumatic stress disorder linked to a heart condition and suffered from depression, anxiety and panic attacks, all of which she openly disclosed to the team during the interview process. The complaint added that Doerrie "never received any complaints with respect to her job performance" and was promoted in August.
Both the Canucks and Castonguay denied all allegations made within the document. Castonguay released the following statement in response to the complaint: “I take a lot of pride in my work with the Vancouver Canucks, being a good leader, a person of high moral character, and always respecting and putting my co-workers first. These allegations by Ms. Doerrie are absolutely not true and her allegations of what I said to her are false and inaccurate. At no time was Ms. Doerrie treated differently due to gender, a mental disability, or a physical condition. As this is a legal matter, I will not make any further comments and will respect the process.”
Canucks Sports & Entertainment also released a statement, saying they as an organization "strongly disagree" with the allegations: “Our organization provided Ms. Doerrie with all the necessary resources, support and opportunities to succeed in her role. We acted in good faith and abided by our contractual obligations, both during and after Ms. Doerrie’s employment with the organization. As this is a legal matter, we will respond accordingly at the proper time.”
