Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez
The office of the federal heritage minister, Pablo Rodriguez, has expressed concern at the recent dismissal of four senior employees, including the deputy director, at the National Gallery of Canada.
"The situation at the National Gallery of Canada is concerning," Laura Scaffidi, a spokesperson for the minister, told Galleries West on Monday.
The dismissals included Kitty Scott, deputy director and chief curator, and Greg Hill, senior Indigenous curator. The senior conservator and communications person were also axed last week. Hill, the only one of the four to speak publicly about the dismissal, says he is perplexed.
The dismissals were ordered by the interim director, Angela Cassie, a recent import who had worked at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. Cassie came to the gallery to lead a decolonization and Indigenization program and was appointed interim director this year after Sasha Suda left the gallery for a job at an American museum.
The most recent dismissals add to a growing list of important curatorial positions that are vacant. Along with the departure of Scott and Hill, the vacancies include the senior curators of contemporary art and European art. Meanwhile, the number of bureaucrats in charge of decolonization and Indigenization continued to grow.
So, what’s happening? When will these jobs be filled?
"All roles are being reviewed and discussed internally as part of the ongoing restructuring," Josee-Britanie Mallet, senior media and public relations officer, said Monday. "We are not at liberty to share those details at the moment."
The shake-up comes at a time of growing turmoil in the government’s national museums. Both the Canadian Museum of History and its subsidiary, the Canadian War Museum, have been without a director for a few years. News stories over that time indicate those museums are adrift, with employees frustrated and the quality of exhibitions deteriorating.
There have been calls from some senior museum professionals in Ottawa for the government to launch a federal inquiry into the national museums.
Rodriguez’s office was asked what action he planned to take to deal with the situation. This is the response from his spokesperson:
"Our Canadian Heritage portfolio organizations are arms-length from government. They are responsible for their own day-to-day activities. Minister Rodriguez expects that these Crown Corporation institutions are well-managed, safe and inclusive workspaces that reflect the Canada we know and love."