Two Parks Canada employees who were charged, convicted and subsequently fired for swimming naked at the historic Cave and Basin – home of the endangered Banff Springs snail – have been given back their jobs.
In August, the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board reinstated Kristy Hughes and Stephan Titcomb to their positions at the Banff Upper Hot Springs almost two years after they were fired, but without any retroactive pay.
Board adjudicator Linda Gobeil said Titcomb and Hughes showed a complete lack of respect for the mandate and values that Parks Canada promotes, but believed firing them was too severe.
“While I think that the grievors’ actions were very serious and contemptuous and that they deserve a serious penalty, I think that the terminations, which were imposed for a single unplanned event and on employees with lengthy years of service without incident, were not appropriate,” she wrote.
Hughes, a seasonal lifeguard at the Banff Upper Hot Springs, worked for Parks Canada for 30 years. Titcomb, a full-time cashier at the same location, had been employed by the federal agency for 14 years.
After an internal investigation led to charges against Titcomb and Hughes, they both pleaded guilty in Canmore Provincial Court in November 2014 to unlawfully entering the closed thermal spring at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site.
The harsh climate of the thermal springs in Banff National Park, including the underground Cave pool, is the only place in the world this unique and endangered snail calls home.
The couple entered the building after hours on the night on May 18, 2013, and went skinny-dipping in the underground cave pool. Both Titcomb, who later bragged about the incident, and Hughes were fined $1,500 each in provincial court.
Parks Canada fired both employees on Sept. 5, 2013. That day, both Hughes and Titcomb filed a grievance challenging Parks Canada’s decision to terminate their employment, requesting reinstatement without loss of pay and benefits.
The union representing Titcomb and Hughes – the Union of National Employees – indicated the two employees have not returned to their jobs as the matter is still sitting with senior labour relations on Parks Canada’s side.
Parks Canada did not respond to calls on the matter.
However, snail expert Dwayne Lepitzki said he is disappointed with the decision to reinstate them, noting both employees would have been aware of the endangered snail given their jobs.
“I’m disappointed in the decision, especially because of the lack of remorse they showed,” he said.
“You would think Parks Canada employees should be held to a higher standard than your regular visitor. I think Parks initially sent a clear statement you can’t do this, but this reinstatement reverses all the good things that were done.”
Gobeil said Titcomb and Hughes needed to clearly understand that what they did was serious and that it was certainly not something to be proud of or to brag about, as had been the case.
She said while they had lengthy years of service without discipline, and they acted in the spur of the moment, she is not convinced they expressed genuine remorse for what they did.
“I am reluctant to impose a disciplinary penalty that would result in them being paid for time not worked,” she wrote. “Therefore, I order the grievors reinstated effective the date of this decision, but with no retroactive pay.”
The Banff Springs snail was upgraded from threatened to endangered in 2000 under the Species At Risk Act because of its extremely limited distribution, the many threats to its habitat and significant fluctuations in its population numbers.
The population seesaws dramatically, with the numbers at their lowest from March to June. This makes the snail especially vulnerable at the beginning of the main tourist season, when human activities pose the greatest threat.
Any factor that affects the thermal spring ecology could harm this species. By bathing or dipping their hands in the water, people may unintentionally disturb or kill snails, as well as their eggs.
Even minor movements in the water can upset the floating microbial mats on which the snails feed and lay their eggs. Chemicals such as insect repellants and deodorants on people’s skin can also harm the snails and their habitat, as can changes in water levels.
Natural threats to the snail may include competition from soldier fly larvae and predation by waterfowl, thrushes, garter snakes and robins, as well as the drying up of thermal springs resulting from global climate change and drought.
The Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board’s decision is posted online.
