A Winnipeg doctor, hailed as a hero after he saved a nursing supervisor from being stabbed to death, has lost a lawsuit claiming he was fired without cause from the Women’s Health Clinic.
Dr. Ken Hahlweg, a longtime abortion provider at the Winnipeg clinic, alleged he was the target of an “underhanded and vindictive” campaign to force him out of the clinic and was passed over for promotion because he was a man, before being terminated without cause, July 23, 2020.
“There was no wrongful termination,” King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne ruled in a written decision released last week that dismissed the Hahlweg’s entire lawsuit.
Dr. Ken Hahlweg, a longtime abortion provider at the Winnipeg clinic, alleged he was the target of a campaign to force him out of the clinic and was passed over for promotion because he was a man, before being terminated without cause in 2020.
Hahlweg signed a contract as an independent contractor at the clinic in 2010, which included an agreement the clinic would schedule his shifts (or “slates”) and would not reduce or change them without consulting him.
Hahlweg alleged the clinic began “unilaterally” reducing his slates from 52 a year to 26 in 2020.
In 2018, Hahlweg applied to be medical director of the centre’s abortion clinic, but the job went to another physician, a woman.
“In our view, he was by far and away the most qualified for the position, but he did not get (it) and he says he was passed over because he was a man,” Hahlweg’s lawyer, Troy Harwood-Jones, told court at trial last February.
Hahlweg alleged then-executive director Dr. Nadine Sookermany and other clinic representatives spread false statements that questioned his medical expertise and claimed he contributed to a “toxic” workplace.
While his contract classified him as an independent contractor, Hahlweg was treated more like a dependant contractor, akin to an employee, Harwood-Jones told court.
The clinic “owns all the tools and equipment, set his schedule, his income, disciplined him if he is late.”
Hahlweg’s termination amounted to a constructive dismissal, Harwood-Jones argued.
Under the Canada Labour Code, constructive dismissal refers to situations where an employer has not directly fired an employee but has failed to comply with their employment contract, unilaterally changed the terms of employment, or expressed an intention to do either, forcing the employee to quit.
“There was an ongoing campaign against (Hahlweg) over a period of years, where the Women’s Health Clinic behaved badly and engaged in activities we say were characterized by malice against him,” Harwood-Jones said.
Hahlweg’s contract stipulated it could be terminated by either party with 90 days’ notice, which Hahlweg was provided.
Women’s Health Clinic complied with all conditions of its contract with Hahlweg, Champagne said.
“If there were any breaches of contract, Dr. Hahlweg clearly condoned the breaches as he had ample time to consider any alleged breach and do something about it,” Champagne said. “He made a choice. He chose to continue to provide therapeutic abortions until his last day of service on Oct. 20, 2020.”
Champagne rejected Hahlweg’s claim he was treated like an employee, not an independent contractor and that the 90 days’ notice he was provided was unreasonable, noting he agreed to the notice period when he signed his contract.
“The 90 days’ notice was reasonable… (and) was part of considered negotiations and deemed appropriate by both parties,” Champagne said.
Champagne said a complaint letter written by the clinic’s then abortion clinic medical director to the clinic’s executive director, which Hahlweg alleged was defamatory, was not disseminated to others in the clinic. Champagne said four other at-issue communications were not defamatory because he found their content to be true.
On Oct. 27, 2021, Hahlweg was at Seven Oaks General Hospital when a knife-wielding man attacked Candyce Szkwarek. Hahlweg tackled the assailant, saving her life.
Former Seven Oaks employee Trevor Farley was later found not criminally responsible for that attack and the slayings of his parents, Judy Swain and Stuart Farley.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
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