'I will crucify him': Inside the workplace culture at Alberta's energy regulator

Asprovincialinvestigators probedallegationsof wrongdoing atthe AlbertaEnergy Regulatorlast year, the hunt was on at the top of the AER to identifythe whistleblower who'd brought them knocking on the door.

Initially, the regulator's CEO,Jim Ellis, thought the complainant wasa long-serving geological engineer who was recently let go, a conclusion he shared with a member of his inner circle, who didn't mince words.

"If it is Corey I will crucify him on the private side with everything in my possession in response to this," theconfidant texted to Ellis, as documented in a provincial investigationreleased last week.

The text was one of many communications reviewed byEthics Commissioner Marguerite Trussleras her office examined thebehaviour of the energy regulator'sformer leader.

Her investigation as well asthose ofAlberta'sauditor general and public interest commissioner made headlines last Friday.

Among their conclusionswas that Ellisdisplayed "reckless and wilful disregard" for the proper management of public funds. Their focus wasthe creation and operation of the International Centre of Regulatory Excellence (ICORE),established two years agoas a separate entitythat would offertraining toregulatorsaround the world, which was found to be outside the AER's mandate.

The reportsalso highlightwhat the auditor general's investigationsaid was described by staffas a"culture of fear" at the public agency that stifled concerns aboutICOREactivities.

Even AER lawyers who were uncomfortable with ICOREwere worried that speaking up would hurt their career.

"What struck me was almost like an atmosphere of arrogance and, on the other hand, a culture of fear that existed," Public Interest Commissioner Marianne Ryantold a news conferenceFriday.

According to Ryan, it was a culture that did notsupport AER staffbringing forward concerns.

'Theyweren't very happy with me'

Awhistleblower who remains anonymous ultimatelydid step forward in June 2018 to tell Ryan's office about allegations of "serious wrongdoing."

The person Ellis seems to have assumed was the complainant, Corey Froese, told CBC News he'd raised concerns about ICORE with both Ellis and human resources. Ten days after seeing human resources in the fall of 2018,Froese says he was told his skill set was no longer required and was terminated.

The text threatening to"crucify" him was sent to Ellis a week later.

Interviewed after the release of the reports on Friday,Froesesaid he'shappy the investigationswent into such detailabout what happened.

"These were things that people whispered about but nobody wanted to come out and say."

He wasn't even surprised to see thetext exchange about him.

"I chuckled a bit," he said. "I got to know how those people worked and how they treated people that didn't move along with their direction, so I expected they weren't very happy with me."

Froesedid speak with investigators whose work formed part of the three separate probes intoICORE.

Ellis, who resigned in January,has not responded to CBC's requestsfor an interview to discussthe reports' findings.

Corey Froese reacts to the investigative findings into the AER and ICORE

5 years ago

Duration 1:14

Froese worked at Alberta's energy regulator for 13 years and was heavily involved with ICORE as Innovation Lead. As a senior engineer, he was tasked with finding out which countries would have interest in joining ICORE. He said his job was terminated after he complained to human resources about problems at ICORE.

The reports also found evidence of a conflict of interest involving Ellis,gross mismanagement and waste of public resources, and critical failures related to theAER board's oversight role.

The ethics commissioner's report saysthe primary motivation behind ICOREwas to provide future employment for Ellis and others.

During Friday's news conference, Ryanacknowledged the courage ofstaff who spoke up andraised their concerns aboutICORE.

She saidher reportis not a condemnation of the AER as a whole.

"It was employees of the AER that brought this matter to my attention and assisted with the investigation."

Some AER employees were fearful about raising concerns about ICORE, Ryan'sreport says.

"Further, when an anonymous complaint to another authority was shared with Mr. Ellis, he and other AER executives attempted to determine the identity of the complainant."

For Ryan, this raised "serious concerns" about the management of employee complaints within the AER.

Trussler's reportnotedlawyers with the AER's legal branch raisedobjections to doing ICORE legal workbut they "were concerned that not supporting ICORE would have adverse career consequences."

Her report sayswhen the legal department started to push back, Ellis approached AER'sexecutive vice-president of law and, "under the guise of succession planning, suggested she step down" months ahead of her intended retirement.

Ryan said her report confirmed that some AER employees reported being fearful of disagreeing with Ellis.

She also said there were concerns within thelaw branch about ongoing ICORE-related requests for advice and how there "was the impression that refusing to assist, providing adverse advice or being critical of ICOREcould result in adverse consequences, including termination of employment."

The auditor general's report found the internal whistleblowing process at the AER separate from the public interest commissioner's process was ineffective and not widely known by employees.

"AER's designated officer for the whistleblower system told us she had concerns because any complaints brought forward were to be taken to [Ellis], which would have been problematic," Wylie's report says.

In his comments Friday, Wylie said effective whistleblowing mechanisms are essential, and mustbe seen by employees as safe, secure and reliable.

'Substantial progress'

The interimboard of the AER, put in place recently by the UCP government,said itwill take the recommendations made in the three reports seriously and take any required actionto enhance public confidence in the regulator.

The board said it's clear now "a small group of senior leaders" used AER resources in a way that is unacceptable. It also notedthese individuals, including Ellis, are no longer employed there.

"There has been substantial progress already to improve governance, policies, controls, and culture," the board said in a statement.

"We have also reinforced the value and importance of employees coming forward with concerns about questionable practices and behaviours."