Three administration staff have been fired from the Sturgeon Foundation, which operates seniors lodges in St. Albert and several surrounding communities.
Executive director Dennis Magnussen said the foundation terminated the employment of the housing administrator, program co-ordinator and an administrative assistant at the Spruce View Manor in Gibbons, but declined to say why.
“I can’t really discuss the particulars because you can’t comment publicly about individual employees, but it became obvious that it was time to make some changes,” he said.
This is not a sign of more layoffs or terminations to come, he added, and this is not a sign of restructuring within the organization. The terminations are limited to the Gibbons area, and there are no planned changes to staffing in the St. Albert-area lodges.
Service will continue uninterrupted until replacements for the three employees can be found. In the meantime, staff from other Sturgeon Foundation locations will step in to do the work that’s needed.
“We’re drawing on other staff in the Sturgeon Foundation to come in and help out, covering off the office and programming and administration,” Magnussen said. “We have to have stability; we have to have somebody in the office so there’s communication and so things work well.”
He noted this kind of change can be difficult on residents, especially in small close-knit communities where everyone gets to know and care about each other.
“It’s hard news for them to take but we’ll try to provide as much support as we can, keep them informed, and move forward in a positive way,” he said.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents unionized workers in Sturgeon Foundation sites, declined to comment because none of the three terminated employees were union members.
