A Quebec judge has overturned an arbitration decision upholding the firing of a provincial government employee for serving as an opposition party spokesperson, ruling that the arbitrator made legal errors in assessing the employee’s freedom of expression.
In a recent decision, Superior Court Justice Serge Gaudet ruled that an arbitrator made two “fundamental” legal errors when he upheld the dismissal of Stephan Fogaing, an aerospace adviser with Quebec’s Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy. The ministry dismissed Fogaing in 2023 after he refused to give up his role as a Parti Québécois (PQ) spokesperson.
“In a liberal democracy such as ours, supporting a political party and becoming one of its spokespersons lies at the very heart of freedom of expression,” Justice Gaudet said….