Wrigley, N.W.T. woman alleges she was unfairly terminated from mine training program

A woman from Wrigley, N.W.T. says she was kicked out of her 14-week Mine Training Society program in Fort Smith with just two weeks to go, based on what she calls false accusations. 

Jessica Clillie said she and fellow classmate Hilary Daniels, who was also terminated from the program, never got the chance to defend themselves against bullying charges that were central to their dismissal. Now, both students must pay back thousands of dollars the training school provided them in financial support, which would have been forgiven had they completed the program.

According to Clillie's termination letter, she was dropped from the surface mining program on Nov. 8 because of "bullying and a near physical altercation." 

"They gave me no warning. Nothing," Clillie said. "The manager just went ahead and said, 'Okay, well, we don't put up with bullying.' They didn't hear my side of the story. They just went ahead and terminated me."

In an email to CBC News, Alisa Blake, acting general manager of the Mine Training Society, said the organization takes a zero-tolerance policy toward bullying.

"When we receive complaints in this regard, our policies require that we investigate the situation promptly, thoroughly and in a fair manner to all parties. We can confirm we adhered to that process in this instance."

Clillie signed a waiver allowing the Mine Training Society to provide CBC News with details about the reasons for her termination and the process that led to that decision. However, Blake repeated she would not comment on "individual issues" to protect the privacy of all parties.

Daniels was also given a termination letter, and she corroborated the details provided by Clillie.

The Mine Training Society provides training to N.W.T. students seeking careers in mining and partners with industry to help its graduates find employment. The surface miner program gives students training on mobile mining equipment and simulators.

The students' terminations centre on a relationship with one of their classmates that Clillie says became "uncomfortable," souring their initial friendship.

The students took steps to avoid the classmate outside of school. Clillie said she believes this is what has been construed as bullying. Clillie said she now thinks they should have informed staff about the situation with her classmate earlier.

"We didn't bring any of that to the instructors and staff because we didn't think it was a problem," she said.

Clillie believes the "near physical altercation" complaint found in her termination letter stems from an interaction she had with the student in the lunchroom on Nov. 5, but she maintains there was nothing threatening about the conversation.

It was on the following Monday morning that Clillie said two instructors — with Blake on the phone — handed her a letter of termination in person.