The federal cabinet quietly handed a substantial pay raise to the head of the Canadian Museum of Immigration even as she was under investigation for workplace misconduct, with a report now accusing her of years of belittling and demeaning staff.Blacklock's Reporter says Marie Chapman of Bedford, N.S., the museum’s CEO since 2021, was awarded a salary boost from $221,700 to $272,000 on March 7 despite an active probe by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. Her term expires January 20.Heritage Minister Marc Miller called the findings “alarming” after investigators detailed a pattern of bullying that caused “emotional harm to multiple employees.” Miller said he expects the museum’s board to act but noted ministers do not have the authority to fire museum CEOs.The misconduct report, released Thursday, said Chapman repeatedly referred to her senior leadership team as “sluts,” including once telling an international delegation, “I call them sluts,” before laughing. .Investigators also cited remarks in which she ranked women by age, complained there were “no good looking men” at the museum and assigned staff hurtful nicknames based on their appearance or behaviour.Other allegations included telling managers “you guys have no idea what trouble you’re in,” calling researchers “troublemakers” and throwing a stack of union cards at an employee.The case stemmed from complaints filed in 2023. Investigators concluded the recurring nature of her behaviour amounted to serious breaches of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.Chapman has denied wrongdoing, saying the accusations stem from isolated disputes with unhappy former staff. She insisted she has never threatened anyone’s job and said her record of performance reviews shows consistent praise from the board.
