Halifax museum CEO steps down after report of her calling employees 'sluts'

Marie Chapman, director and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, has announced that she is stepping away from the role immediately.

The move follows a scathing report released this week by the federal integrity commissioner that called Chapman out over “serious breaches” of both the public sector ethics code and the code of conduct of her own museum.

In an statement shared with National Post, Cynthia Price Verreault, chair of the museum’s board of trustees, said: “The Board is treating this matter with the utmost urgency and focus.  We accept the Commissioner’s findings and are taking action immediately, working in partnership with government.”

She added: “In early December as the Board was gaining a better understanding of the report, (it) confirmed CEO Marie Chapman’s decision to retire, and effective today, she has stepped away from her role.  The Board expresses its appreciation to Ms. Chapman for her more than 22 years of dedicated service to the museum.”

Fiona Valverde, the museum’s vice-president of revenue generation, is assuming responsibility for day-to-day operations until a new CEO can be named.

The case report from the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada, found that Marie Chapman, CEO of the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, “engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behaviour causing emotional harm to multiple employees over an extended period of time.”

Among the findings of the report by Commissioner Harriet Solloway were that Chapman referred to her Senior Leadership Team (SLT) as “sluts”.

“Notably, Ms. Chapman used this term in public and in the presence of Museum employees,” the report said. “This included an incident in which she informed a delegation from another country that ‘I call them sluts’ and laughed about it. While some witnesses recounted that Ms. Chapman was trying to be funny, the use of such language in the workplace is inappropriate and inconsistent with the standards expected of someone in a leadership position in the federal public sector.”

Additionally, Chapman was said to have made comments that included ranking female employees by age; noting there were “no good-looking men” at the museum; and referring to some employees not by their names but by nicknames based on physical or behavioural traits.

The report also noted that Chapman had said a famous female athlete “looks like a man,” making a disgusted face and suggesting the woman looked too masculine to be featured in a museum product. “Suggesting that a woman does not have the right appearance to be able to be representative of women is offensive, and it is even more problematic coming from a Chief Executive like Ms. Chapman,” the report said.

Additional inappropriate behaviour included “using inappropriate and offensive language, raising her voice and yelling, instilling fear and intimidating employees, and mistreating and targeting some employees.” The report said this behaviour took place “over an extended period of time.”

It found that some employees had explored financial options for retirement or departure from the museum. “Others testified about mental health struggles with some reporting that her conduct impacted them so deeply to the point of contemplating self-harm.”

Solloway concluded: “Ms. Chapman’s breach of the (Public Sector) Code was not a one-time lapse in judgment, but a repeated problem that persisted for over a decade. This sort of breach poses a serious threat to public confidence in the integrity of the public sector, and specifically the Museum.”

She added: “I have made one recommendation concerning corrective measures to Ms. Marie Chapman … I recommend that an external expert assess the employees’ wellness at the Museum to determine appropriate support measures.”

The board has said it plans to implement the recommendation, adding: “We welcome opportunities for learning and improvement and are committed to strengthening the organization moving forward.”

Chapman’s own response runs to more than 2,400 words and is included in the report. She took issue with the findings as well as the investigative process.

On the use of the term “sluts,” she noted that it was not directed specifically at her senior leadership team. “This distinction is important because I always considered myself part of the group,” she wrote, adding: “If I had been questioned about my wording, I would have clarified immediately. However, I was never asked.”

The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 opened on Canada Day, 1999, on the national historic site where nearly a million immigrants landed in Canada between 1928 and 1971. In 2011, the government of Stephen Harper appointed Chapman as the first director and CEO of the museum. She was later reappointed by the Trudeau government in 2016, and again in 2021. The CBC reported that she earns a salary of up to $221,700.

In 2021, Mélanie Joly, then Minister of Canadian Heritage, said: “Thanks to Ms. Chapman’s dedication and leadership, the Museum has had a great deal of success. Visitors have benefited from wonderful exhibitions and enjoyed unforgettable experiences.”

Chapman received both the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022, in recognition of her contributions to the museum.

In 2018, she was the subject of a report by the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner over whether she contravened the Conflict of Interest Act when she offered a contract for a term position that year to an alleged friend, and then appointed her to a permanent position. However, that report found no wrongdoing.

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