CancerCare Manitoba has denied allegations it hired an oncologist from Calgary under false pretenses — claiming it never tried to recruit the doctor, he accepted the terms of his employment and the choice to leave Alberta was his alone.
A statement of defence, filed Sept. 27 in the Court of King’s Bench, is the latest development in a legal battle between the provincial cancer agency and Dr. Maclean Thiessen.
Thiessen, an oncologist specializing in breast and gastrointestinal cancer, filed a lawsuit in August claiming CancerCare provided “misleading, untruthful and/or inaccurate information” when it recruited him to work in the province around the summer of 2018.
Dr. Maclean Thiessen, an oncologist specializing in breast and gastrointestinal cancer, filed a lawsuit against CancerCare Mb in the Court of King’s Bench on Aug. 20.
Thiessen alleged he left behind a $360,000 job, only to find that CancerCare “unilaterally purported to modify the terms of employment” outlined in a letter of intent.
CancerCare denied his claim that it recruited him, saying he approached the agency and asked it to consider hiring him.
It also denied changing the terms of the agreement, saying the letter of intent was not a “binding contract” and was superseded by a formal letter of offer signed by Thiessen in 2019.
“The letter of intent expressly contemplated the creation and execution of a formal letter of offer to the plaintiff,” CancerCare said in the court document. “Any negotiations or discussions leading up to the execution of the letter of offer … are irrelevant.”
Thiessen said he accepted a part-time position that would see him earn up to $95,000 per year while working two half-day clinics per week. He believed his duties would include work in both breast and gastrointestinal cancer clinics.
He was to transition into full-time employment after completing a three-year doctor of philosophy program with the University of Manitoba. During his studies, CancerCare agreed to provide salary support of up to $100,000 per year, he said.
After arriving in Winnipeg, his salary support was slashed to $68,000 and he was assigned strictly to breast cancer clinics, he said.
As a result, the doctor claimed he was ineligible to apply for a number of funding opportunities related to his PhD program and as a scientist with CancerCare’s research institute.
CancerCare admitted it offered Thiessen a part-time position and appointed him as a scientist in its research department, but denied it “led the plaintiff to believe that he would be eligible to compete for research funding.”
It also denied Thiessen’s beliefs about what the job would, or would not, entail induced him to resign from his job in Calgary.
“At all times, (CancerCare) conducted itself in its dealings with the plaintiff in a manner that was honest and consistent with its duties of good faith and fair dealing,” the statement of defence said.
“The plaintiff voluntarily accepted the modified terms of employment without raising any concerns.”
Thiessen is seeking unspecified damages and asking the court to account for his loss of income, inability to secure research funding and a delay in completing his PhD studies.
CancerCare said it has no knowledge of when Thiessen completed his studies and that it fulfilled any and all duties owed to him, contractual or otherwise.
It asked for Thiessen’s claim to be dismissed given “the unwarranted allegations of malicious, deceitful, and fraudulent conduct.”
Thiessen is listed as practising at CancerCare Manitoba at Health Sciences Centre on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba registry, which is updated daily.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle
Reporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press‘s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
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