A municipal employee of the City of Quebec dismissed, among other things, for driving a municipal vehicle under the influence of drugs, going so far as to hit a pedestrian, was reinstated to work by an arbitrator who considered the sanction too severe.
In the summer of 2023, Antoine Caron-Jobin worked as a leisure activity attendant in Quebec City. He had been employed by the municipality since 2006.
On the weekend of August 26 and 27, 2023, a series of events that occurred during the employee’s shifts led to his dismissal.
On Saturday, the employee who was supposed to work from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. had a breakdown with his personal vehicle, went to the garage, stopped at the grocery store and then lost the keys to the city truck at him, all this during his shift.
Before going to bed, he takes two sleeping pills.
«Deux speeds»
When he woke up the next day, still stunned by the medication taken the day before, he took two “speeds” tablets.
Then his comedy of errors continues.
He shows up at the municipal garage at 7 a.m. rather than 8 a.m., but decides to return home with a city truck. He misplaces the keys again and looks for them until his coordinator calls at 9:45 a.m. Still without the keys, he goes to the municipal garage to pick up a second truck, before finding the keys to the first… in his pants.
After spending “the day in the sun” and under the influence of drugs, he struggles not to fall asleep at the wheel of his truck. So much so that he veered off course onto rue Bégon and hit the hand of a passerby with the vehicle, narrowly avoiding a tragedy.
He was placed under arrest by the police at this time.
Contested dismissal
An internal investigation is opened with the suspension of the employee, leading to an official meeting which is held on September 13. At the end of the process, the employee was fired on October 6.
But now the Quebec Casual Staff Union has contested the employee’s dismissal. The latter explained that a family conflict had caused him “a state of great stress” which would explain his disorganization during the weekend of August 26 and 27, 2023.
“Without criticizing the City representatives, they do not seem to have taken this important element into account. […] They did not consider, either, the principle of gradation of sanctions in the presence of a serious breach, but which remains isolated over the course of a career of seventeen years,” writes the grievance arbitrator in his decision. ,Me Hélène Bédard, specifying that the dismissal “is not appropriate”.
Criminally charged
The dismissal was therefore replaced by a suspension without pay for the duration of the time spent since the dismissal, i.e. approximately one year. Antoine Caron-Jobin will therefore be reinstated in functions “other than that of activities officer” as of October 14.
Archive photo, QMI Agency
The 37-year-old man is not completely off the hook, however, as he has officially been criminally charged in connection with the impaired driving event. He entered a not guilty plea on August 23 and his case will return to court in November.
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