Former Vancouver Canucks employee Rachel Doerrie has opened up about her experience within the organization.
On Sunday, Doerrie provided more context to her dismissal from the Canucks, while also adding legal documents from her case against the team following her departure in September 2022.
“The past 2 months has been very hard for me. It has mentally and emotionally destroyed me. I feel broken. I am done hiding,” Doerrie wrote in a tweet, attaching a link to a complaint to the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal levied at the Canucks, with the words attributed to Peter A. Gall, Doerrie’s lawyer.
— Rachel Doerrie (@racheldoerrie) November 28, 2022
Doerrie was quietly let go in September from Vancouver, with no immediate clarity behind the reasons for her departure. On October 14, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reported that Doerrie had hired Gall to represent her in legal action against the team.
In the complaint posted Sunday, Doerrie disclosed her diagnoses for post-traumatic stress syndrome with “associated panic and anxiety attacks and depression,” as well as a heart condition known as vasovagal syncope and a leaky heart valve.
The complaint also provided details about an alleged rift with her boss, assistant GM Émilie Castonguay.
“It is clear, based on all of the circumstances of this case, that Ms. Doerrie’s sex and physical and mental disabilities, played a role in the termination of her employment,” one of the closing statements of the complaint read.
Doerrie was let go by the Canucks during preseason on September 27, following a meeting the week prior with Castonguay, who was hired in January 2022.
The meeting was called after Doerrie had shared an article written by Patrick Johnston of The Province containing comments from Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau, in reference to her work and recent promotion to a video assistant role on the team’s coaching staff.
“OMG. So Kind. Wanna include those quotes when you tweet or write about it hahah. Make me look like I’m not an idiot,” Doerrie replied to Johnston when he informed her of Boudreau’s comments prior to the article’s publishing. Johnston, a friend since prior to her taking the Canucks job, did not publish any details from their interaction, as “it was clear that Mr. Johnston was not seeking a story or quote… but was simply conveying compliments that she had received from Mr. Boudreau.”
According to the complaint, Castonguay took issue with Doerrie speaking to Johnston, as well as Doerrie sharing the article on her social media account after it was published on September 19, prior to the start of training camp in Whistler.
“I don’t know if you have what it takes to do the job, mentally,” Castonguay allegedly told Doerrie, while adding “you’re not important enough to be cared about” and “no one in the media is your friend.”
“As a result of this treatment of her by Ms. Castonguay, Ms. Doerrie suffered multiple cardiac episodes and anxiety attacks from September 21 to 25,” the complaint adds.
Doerrie was let go eight days after the article was published, following a series of meetings with Castonguay and the Canucks HR department.
“Ms. Doerrie suffered damage to her dignity, self-esteem, and physical and mental health resulting from Ms. Castonguay’s comments, and her subsequent treatment by Ms. Castonguay. She also suffered financial losses arising from her unexpected loss of employment,” the complaint reads.
Doerrie alleges that Castonguay “did not seem pleased” with her promotion, and was “‘cold’ towards her from that point on.” During training camp in Whistler, the complaint says that Castonguay “stopped acknowledging her presence” in front of co-workers.
The complaint said the only reason given to Doerrie about her termination was that she spoke to Johnston about the promotion, and reposted the article.
“Ms. Doerrie never received any complaints with respect to her job performance. To the contrary, she was generally complimented and praised for her hard-work and job performance by her colleagues.”
Castonguay and the Canucks replied to the allegations with statements to the media
The Canucks, and Castonguay specifically, have responded by providing statements denying Doerrie’s allegations.
“I take a lot of pride in my work with the Vancouver Canucks, being a good leader, a person of high moral character, and always respecting and putting my co-workers first. These allegations by Ms. Doerrie are absolutely not true and her allegations of what I said to her are false and inaccurate,” Castonguay said in a statement released by the team. “At no time was Ms. Doerrie treated differently due to gender, a mental disability or a physical condition. As this is a legal matter, I will not make any further comments and will respect the process”.
“We strongly disagree with the allegations brought forth by Ms. Doerrie,” Canucks Sports & Entertainment added. “Our organization provided Ms. Doerrie with all the necessary resources, support and opportunities to succeed in her role. We acted in good faith and abided by our contractual obligations, both during and after Ms. Doerrie’s employment with the organization. As this is a legal matter, we will respond accordingly at the proper time.”
On a recent episode of the Staff and Graph podcast, Doerrie expressed that it was unlikely she’d return to the NHL in any capacity.
“I’ve got to be honest,” Doerrie said on the show. “The more I think about it, the more I don’t want to work in hockey anymore. All the people saying ‘Oh, she’s never going to get a job in hockey again,’ here’s a newsflash for you: I do not want one.”
The full human rights complaint can be read here.