This is the end of the saga of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), which kept the cultural community in suspense for months in 2020. The lawsuit brought by the former director general, Nathalie Bondil, against the board of he administration that had fired her was finally abandoned, the two parties having found common ground.
“The parties are pleased to announce that they have reached an amicable settlement,” the MMFA said in a press release on Friday. No details on the nature of this agreement have been shared. The parties also declined to comment further on the matter, sticking to brief written statements.
Recall that M.me Bondil was fired in July 2020, following an investigation by an outside firm reporting a toxic climate within the institution. She had a few months later filed a lawsuit against the members of the Board and claimed two million dollars in damages.
In the court document filed in Superior Court in September 2020, she alleged that the 21 board members “orchestrated […] a campaign of smearing and destroying” his reputation and this “in order to hide the real reason which led them to [la] dismiss maliciously”.
The real reason, argued Nathalie Bondil in the lawsuit, had nothing to do with work climate problems, but rather with her “refusal […] to publicly endorse the irregular process that led to the hiring of the MMFA’s Director of Conservation, Mary-Dailey Desmarais.
In their defence, the members of the Board had described her as a director general “obstinate, reluctant to act to correct the alarming problems of the working climate” and who would have done everything after her dismissal to tarnish the reputation of the institution. The defendants insisted on the fact that “the plaintiff’s refusal to recognize the extent of the problematic situation with regard to the working environment, which had persisted for years at the Museum, had become incompatible with the mission of the Museum and raised legal and human resources for the Museum and its employees”.
The Museum salutes his “significant artistic achievements”
On Friday, the Museum clarified in its press release that “Madame Bondil, for her part, was not personally targeted by any allegation of harassment” established by the report of the external firm, and that “just like the CA of the Museum, [elle souhaitait] that this situation be resolved. »
“Although in disagreement with Madame Bondil’s approach to the management of this situation, the Board of the Museum did not question, moreover, her professionalism and her deep and sincere commitment to the Museum”, adds the institution. , thanking her for “the significant artistic achievements she has made” during her tenure.
“Although I have been deeply hurt, I know that this situation has also been difficult for all parties involved, in particular for the employees of the Museum. I wish the best of success to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for the future,” said Ms.me Bondil.
The latter now lives in France, where she holds the position of director of the museum and exhibitions department of the Arab World Institute in Paris.