The former president of the Tahltan Central Government (TCG) was forced out by an adversarial board of directors, the lawyer for Chad Norman Alexander Day told a BC Supreme Court judge in Prince George on Wednesday, May 13.
Day, who lives in Smithers, was employed as the TCG president from July 2014 to March 2024 — after winning four elections — and is seeking damages for breach of contract because he was constructively dismissed.
In employment law, that means no direct firing took place, but the employer forced the employee to quit by breaching an employment contract or by unilaterally changing the terms of employment.
“The primary basis for the constructive dismissal claim is that the board of directors suspended Mr. Day indefinitely from his employment duties in November of 2023,” his lawyer, Christ Drinovz, told Justice Matthew Kirchner.
“Mr. Day’s suspension was neither reasonable nor justified, and so it must follow that putting him on that suspension was a unilateral and fundamental breach of this employment contract.”
Day accepted the constructive dismissal by giving notice on March 29, 2024. Drinovz said Day’s contract was good through the end of June 2025, so he is seeking damages for the period of March 30, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
Drinovz said the claim includes loss of salary and benefits, plus aggravated and punitive damages, for the “insensitive way” that TCG handled the suspension, withheld Day’s wages and comments and accusations made against Day. His contract was worth $210,000 in 2022.
The Tahltan Nation numbers around 4,000 members and TCG is its central governing body. The Tahltan territory covers 11% of B.C., and is rich in wildlife and resources. Its website says the are is comparable in size with Portugal and South Korea.
During his presidency, Day was the lead TCG representative in all negotiations with mining companies. Drinovz said that, in April 2015, one year into his first term, Day led negotiations for a large revenue sharing agreement with the Red Chris gold and copper mine in Tahltan territory.
Drinovz described a rise in animosity toward Day. During his third term in office, in October 2019, his home was hit by a graffiti vandal who spray-painted a slur that translated to “white man” and the name “Chad Anderson,” in reference to the maiden name of his mother, who is caucasian.
Beverly Slater was elected TCG president in a by-election last June. Day has operated Thadu Consulting Corporation since last July.
The case is scheduled to be heard through May 16 before Kirchner, who was appointed in 2021 after being managing partner at Ratcliff and Company, a North Vancouver firm specializing in aboriginal law.
