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An arbitrator has ruled the former top bureaucrat for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) handled plans to lay off 459 positions in 2024 with a “shoot first, aim later” approach when he sent a 120-day layoff notice to staff while union leaders were in meetings.
In a ruling in April, arbitrator Andrew Robertson also said former chief administrative officer (CAO) Henry Hunter was “tone deaf” towards the concerns of staff, and that how the layoff plans were handled “amounted to bullying.” Hunter, who left the RMWB last year, denied any wrongdoing in a statement to CBC News.
The RMWB was ordered to pay more than $300,000 to CUPE Local 1505, which represents about 800 municipal staff. The union originally sought to be awarded more than $12 million.
“If they were going to eliminate a large number of jobs with a clear plan, they could have first decided which jobs were going to be eliminated, and have some informal discussions with the union,” said Robertson.
“The most positive observation that I can make is that Mr. Hunter and the municipality were doing what they thought was simple ‘checking a box,’ before considering making some staff reductions.”
The layoffs were announced in February 2024, and cancelled a month later after protests and public outrage.
The Provincial Building, right, and the Jubilee Centre in downtown Fort McMurray on Feb. 7, 2026. (Vincent McDermott/CBC)
For months, Hunter argued in council meetings that the RMWB had overextended itself with costly capital projects. Hunter also pointed to shrinking oilsands revenues as a concern.
A grievance was filed after several staff allegedly heard Hunter say in late 2024 the municipality did not face a financial crisis, the jobs were never in danger and he was trying to show the union who was “boss.”
Hunter denied those claims, but admitted he called the team lead positions “useless.” He insisted he was not talking about specific individuals.
In a statement provided to CBC News on Friday, Hunter said the 120-day notice is standard procedure and he is “disappointed” with Robertson’s decision.
“I have never disputed that the process created anxiety and uncertainty for employees. Any discussion involving potential workforce restructuring is difficult and I understand why many employees were concerned. That was never something I took lightly,” he said.
“I am also concerned that a number of findings were based on disputed recollections of informal conversations and statements attributed to me through secondhand accounts.”
Union says relationship with RMWB still poor
Robertson said he found the witnesses believable, criticized the municipality’s human resources department for not investigating the claims in the grievance, and said some members of council may have had early knowledge of the 120-day layoff notice.
Even if Hunter did not say he was showing the union he was “boss,” Robertson said Hunter “consciously or thoughtlessly” asserted himself with the sudden layoff notice.
He also pointed to the absence of Mayor Sandy Bowman during the hearings. Bowman was with Hunter when staff allegedly heard those statements. If staff misheard Hunter, Robertson said the RMWB had a financial incentive to make sure Bowman appeared.
“There was no explanation given for his non-attendance,” said Robertson. “It is appropriate to draw an adverse inference from his absence, further supporting the conclusion that that is what the CAO said.”
Mayor Sandy Bowman, centre, during a municipal council meeting at the Jubilee Centre in downtown Fort McMurray, Alta. on March 10, 2026. (Vincent McDermott/CBC)
Craig Milley, president of CUPE Local 1505, said the union’s relationship with municipal leaders has not improved since the 2024 affair.
“A challenge that we continue with is accountability on senior leadership, and unfortunately, since this award, we were expecting to see a change that has failed to materialize so far,” Milley said in an interview with CBC News on Friday.
“The employer never [condemned] the actions of Mr. Hunter, and in fact went to arbitration in front of an arbitrator — a legal proceeding — and defended his actions.”
A municipal spokesperson said in a statement to CBC News on Friday that the safety and well-being of municipal staff is a priority, but would not comment on the arbitration’s findings.