The Tessalong First Nation's community health manager has been added as a defendant in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed against the band.
In the amended complaint, Mary Jane Wardell accuses Wendy Pekalski of obtaining her medical information without authorization on Dec. 20, 2023, approximately one month after she was fired from her position as TFN's director of operations.
Wardell alleges that TFN's newly elected chiefs and council members instructed Pekarski to access her personal medical information, bolstering her broader allegations that the band's leaders spearheaded a “coordinated attack” to discredit her in the community.
Wardell was initially seeking $850,000 in damages for wrongful dismissal, but is also seeking $200,000 for “unlawful intrusion” into his health records.
“Because the information disclosed was Plaintiffs' personal health records, it is inherently private and a reasonable person would find the unauthorized access extremely disturbing and to cause severe distress and anguish,” Wardell's statement said.
Mr Wardell was informed of the alleged privacy breach on February 26 through Mamwaising North Shore Community Health Services, which is responsible for primary care and medical record keeping in the community.
The following month, MumWathing's chief privacy officer Michelle Brisbois told The Salt Star that at least 20 TFN members had suffered a similar fate to Wardell, with their medical records accessed without permission between October and January.
The Star has obtained several letters sent by Mamwesingh to TFN members informing them of the alleged privacy breaches, and all of them name Pekarski as the culprit.
Because of this alleged massive privacy breach, Maamweising has been relocated to the nearby town of Thessalon, leaving many TFN members in the reserve concerned about their future access to primary care.
The TFN administration has publicly denied Mamweising's claims that a massive privacy breach occurred under its watch, writing in a Facebook post on April 5 that the health authorities' claims were “unproven.”
The Star reached out to Pekarski for comment on Wardell's allegations in the amended statement but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Chief Joseph Wabigwane and TFN executive director Leslie Boules had not responded to The Star’s requests for comment as of Monday afternoon.
Wardell claims his wrongful dismissal came shortly after the Nov. 17 election that led to the appointment of Chief Wabigwan and several new council members.
The following evening, Wardell alleges, Wabigwan and newly elected city councillor Robert Simon Sr. visited her at her home and personally delivered the envelope, while several other band members and OPP officers were parked outside.
Wardell did not receive the envelope at the time because her sister refused to wake her “given the time of day and the aggressive nature of those present,” according to court documents.
When Wardell turned himself in to the band office on November 22nd, he was given a termination notice and asked to leave the premises.
Wardell, who started working at TFN in 1991, claims he had “no history of formal disciplinary action” before being fired and believes his dismissal was completely unfair.
In addition to being fired without cause, Wardell alleges the current administration's “unprofessional” conduct during this period also included a “planned” and “systematic” attempt to tarnish her reputation in the community.
Wardell said he believed the current administration's intentions were made clear through a private Facebook group run by Bowlis and others which was allegedly used to post and spread false information about the former chief of staff and his family.
“The Indigenous people's actions are tyrannical, outrageous, oppressive and so far removed from normal standards of decency that they justify the payment of punitive and/or aggravated damages,” the statement said.
When asked to comment on the initial legal filings in April, Chief Wabiegwan told the Star in an email, “The Thesalon First Nation disputes her allegations, but we do not comment on matters that are before the courts.”
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Kyle Darbyson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Salt Star
