MMFA in turmoil, as fired director shoots back

Nathalie Bondil, the former director general and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, is defending herself after being fired Monday becausethe museum's board concluded she had failed to address a toxic workplace.

In a statement Monday, the board said it had tried since last October to work with Bondil to address problems but that she had refused to co-operate, so ithad no choice but to fire her.

"This story is hiding another story," Bondil told CBC Montreal's Daybreakin an interview Tuesday morning.

"The other story is that there is a huge problem of governance, especially about the process of recruitment," Bondil said, taking issue with the recent hiring of a newdirector of the curatorial division for the museum.

'Very troubling' report

Bondilwas named head of the museum in2007. Over the years, she brought in high-profile exhibitions and oversawa significant expansion.

Michel de la Chenelire, who chairsthe board, acknowledgedBondil's tremendous contributions to the museum in an interview with Radio-Canada Monday, but said an investigation prompted by harassment complaints last fall revealed serious problems that couldn'tbe ignored.

"It's great if the museum shines, but if it doesn't shine on the inside, that's bad,"de la Chenelire said.

He said the board's number one responsibility was to protect employees.

"It's 2020. We can't close our eyes to a toxic workplace environment. It's unacceptable," he said.

De laChenelire said he couldn't go into detail about the psychological harassment allegations because they areconfidential, but he said they were "very troubling." He said that Bondil and other senior employees were named in the allegations.

Concern over board's hiring practices

Bondilacknowledged there had been "pressures"at the museum over the last couple of years during a significant expansion, but she said she considered thatnormal.

She said she had worked with the board to address the issuesand that she felt the matter was mostly solved.

Bondil said the suggestionshe refused to co-operate is "absolutely wrong."

"It's very important, frankly, so I would never, never erase any issue about a toxic climate," Bondil said.

She said she believes her firing is connected to her questioning of a recent hiring decision by the board.

Mary-Dailey Desmaraiswas recently named director of the curatorial division for the museum, a responsibility that used to fall to Bondil before the board created thisnew position.

Desmarais is part of the powerful Desmarais family, which is one of the museum's biggest donors.

BondilcontendsDesmarais wasn't the best candidate for the joband says the board fired her when she let them know she disagreed with the choice.

"They want to keep the storytelling away from another story which could annoy them," Bondil said.

De la Cheneliresaid Desmarais was hired because of her qualifications she has a PhD in art history from Yale University and not because of her family connection.

"I don't see any link, none.The name Desmaraisis her husband's name, and she has all the qualities necessary to do this job," said de laChenelire.

"Her work has been recognized byother museums in Canada and the U.S. and she's quite apt to manage this department," he said.

Online petition

An online petition requesting an extraordinary general assembly for museum members so they could learn more about the process that led to Bondil's firinghad more than 600 signatures as of Tuesday morning.

Quebec's culture minister, Nathalie Roy, told La Presse last week that she was stunned at Bondil's firing. But Tuesday, she released a statement saying the province won't interfere in the museum's internal management.

"I would like to thank Ms. Bondil for her artistic vision, which will undoubtedly have contributed to making the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts a world-renowned institution in the museum world and to making it known beyond our borders," Roy's statement said.