Alberta Premier's office dealing with a 'Me Too' scandal that could escalate into a caucus crisis

This column is an opinion from Graham Thomson, an award-winning journalist who has covered Alberta politics for more than 30 years. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

Premier Jason Kenney's usual response when facing an opponent can be summed up in three words: deny, deflect, demonize.

That's how he's dealt with political opponents on a litany of issues as diverse as the pandemic, the federal equalization program, and the Allan Inquiry into so-called anti-Alberta activities.

But not this time.

This time the Premier's office is facing a political challenge that cannot be denied, deflected or demonized.

Her name is Ariella Kimmel.

She was once part of the Kenney government, a political staffer who had access to the most senior politicians including cabinet ministers and staff inside the premier's office.

She was with the UCP government from Day 1, after it won the provincial election in April of 2019, moving upward to work as chief of staff to Doug Schweitzer when he became minister of jobs, economy and innovation in August of 2020.

She was fired last February and is now suing the premier's office for $400,000 in lost wages and damages, revealed in an exclusive story from CBC News. 

Her lawsuit paints a disturbing picture of a "poisoned work environment" where men in positions of power allegedly drank and sexually harassed women.

Kimmel says she complained repeatedly of harassment to senior staff in the premier's office but her complaints were not only ignored or downplayed but she herself became a victim of a rumour campaign she had been leaking damaging information to the news media. 

She said the rumours were false but they nonetheless damaged her reputation and preceded her dismissal.

I must point out that these are allegations in Kimmel's lawsuit. Nothing has been proven in court. We have not yet seen a statement of defence from the premier's office.

Kenney himself is not being sued. But the lawsuit does mention various senior members of the Kenney government as part of Kimmel's narrative of allegations involving harassment and a government apparently slow or unwilling to take action.