School bus authority, ex-manager still disagree over 'bad faith' dismissal

Recent court documents delve further intoOttawa's English school transportation organization and its former general manager beingat loggerheads over her alleged dismissal last year.

VickyKyriaco, former general manager of the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA), sued theorganization for more than $800,000for allegedly dismissing her in "bad faith" anddamaging her health, career and reputation.

Last October, OSTA announced Kyriaco was taking a leave of absence while apologizingfor anongoing shortage of bus driversresulting inhundreds of cancelled runsforstudents in Ottawa's two English school boards.

In December, the same month OSTA said she had "departed her position,"Kyriaco filed a statement of claim against her former employer of about 12 years.

It said the announcement of her leave "left the public with the impression that [she] had been identified as the culprit for the shortages."

• Ex-manager sues school bus authority over alleged 'bad faith' dismissal

Last month, the bus authority filed its statement of defence denying allallegationsand arguingshe isn't entitled to any damages and compensation calling it"unreasonable and excessive."

"OSTA denies it implicitly blamed Ms. Kyriaco for the shortages and service disruptions OSTA denies that it created a toxic work environment, publicly humiliated [Kyriaco], or reduced or undermined her effectiveness,"OSTA states in the defence

The organizationfurther deniesKyriaco suffered damageto her reputationand argues it was "as a result of her own actions alone."

It requests the court dismiss the lawsuit with costs.

Kyriaco filed her response to that this week, denyingallallegationsin OSTA's defence statement.None of the allegations have been testedin court.

OSTA'sdefence

OSTA denied Kyriaco was cut out of meetings,saidit took her warnings aboutmoney"seriously and took steps to address it" and said it provided her with "all information required to perform her duties" which Kyriaco continues to deny.

Kyriacosaid she wasn't made aware of the "true financial impacts of the funding formula" from school boards until the end of May.

"Despite numerous virtual meetings, discussions, and spreadsheets provided by Ms. Kyriaco between mid-April and July 18, 2023, the Directors of Education and the Associate Directors of Business could not reach a consensus as to how to deal with OSTA's anticipated cost overruns or deciding on service cuts," reads Kyriaco's response.

OSTAalleges"any restriction of information between the OSTA Board and Ms. Kyriaco was as a result of [her] actions," and said Kyriaco "refused to allow OSTA staff to provide data to the OSTA Board" or school boards.

"Instead she directed staff to ensure that the finances reported to the OSTA Board looked as poor as possible," OSTA wrote. Kyriaco denies this.

OSTA said in June 2023, Kyriaco sent correspondence "banning the OSTA Board of Directors from accessing OSTA staff for information while she was absent."

Kyriaco saidshecautioned the board that staff members were "extremely busy" with their jobs and it was necessary to "set clear parameters."

"Likewise, when Ms. Kyriaco went on leave in July 2023, she restricted staff from providing financial information to the OSTA Board," OSTAfurther alleges.

Kyriaco denies this and said prior to her leave, she already provided a draft revised budget spreadsheet "with multiple scenarios" to the directors of education and associate directors of business.

Kyriacocontinued toblameOSTAfor failing to take steps to secure contracts, address service disruptions and communicate with parents during her medical leave.

She saidthe board was aware there would be disruptions as early as July 24. OSTA denies this allegation, saying it successfully negotiated remaining contracts for all but one bus operator during that time.

"OSTA Board's failure to announce the service disruption in a timely manner resulted in Ms. Kyriaco experiencing significant public backlash following her returnfrom leave," Kyriaco wrote in her response.

Events surrounding medical leave

OSTA'sdefence also describes the events surrounding Kyriaco's leave of medical absence from July 19 to Aug. 27and saida medical note she submitted dictated a gradual return to work plan of four hours a day until the end of September.

That note, according to the statement, stated that Kyriaco "could only occasionally deal with deadlines," "could cope with only small degrees of distraction," "was unable to cope with confrontational situations," and "was not able to work fully in co-operation with others but could do so when required," among other limitations.

Kyriaco saidher medical note was not intended to be sent to the whole board but that it wascirculated by the board president"without her consent."

• Read OSTA's full statement of defence and Kyriaco's reply here

OSTA said it hired a consultant to help transition Kyriaco back to work and manage her accommodations whose role, Kyriaco argues, was not adequately explained to her.

The parties met in August to discuss the medical limitations "at length," when OSTA saidKyriaco "reiterated her desire to work four hours per day" and "wanted total discretion to respond to critical matters as needed,and to prioritize and delegate with support from staff."

During that meeting, OSTA saidit proposed to delegate authorities and responsibilitiesto an acting general manager orretired staff member stressing this was not "removal of duties," which Kyriacopreviously alleged.

"Ms. Kyriaco declined these offers and refused to collaborate," OSTA alleged."She ended the meeting by saying everyone needed to get out of her 'f..ing' way and let her do what she does 'without any help or interference.'"

Kyriaco, in her reply, explained that she felt "blindsided" by a new consultant directing the meeting, and felt a sense of "betrayal and animosity" as she had to spend an hour defending herself, prompting her to state "get the f--- out of my way and let me do my f---ing job."

She said it was not meant as a literal suggestion that the board shouldn't provide her with input or assistance.

OSTA said "given Ms. Kyriaco's position in regards to proceeding unilaterally with full control of every aspect of OSTA," it approved her flexible work schedule, with Kyriaco prioritizing and delegating tasks as she requested.

Kyriacosaid she "never stated a desire to control the governanceof the organization."

WATCH | How bus shortages affected rural areas:

How bus disruptions are impacting parents in rural areas

8 months ago

Duration 0:53

Osgoode resident Cheri Nixon is part of a parent group that's sent a petition to Queen's Park calling for the Ministry of Education to fire Ottawa Student Transportation Authority executives.

OSTA saidinSeptember, Kyriacowent onher second medical leave of absence as Ontario's Ministry of Education began athird-party review of OSTA. Kyriaco saidthose two events were "completely unrelated."

An Ottawa-Carleton District School Boardspokesperson saidOSTA will not comment on ongoing legal matters. In an email to CBC, Kyriaco said she is not giving interviews at this time.

Last month the bus authority announced Joel Lemieux as its new general manager starting April 15.

Lemieuxhas 24 years of experience working in transit operations, OSTA said, including as a driver and most recently in the city's transit control centre.

Read both OSTA's statement of defence and Kyriaco's reply below: