Photo: Thomas Ledl
The council of MBAM has in particular been accused of not revealing the real reasons for the dismissal of its director.
Saying aware that to put an end to the contract of its renowned executive director and chief curator Nathalie Bondil was going to create a ” public outcry “, the board of directors of the Musée des Beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) said Monday in a press release that he was not able to ” disregard the findings of a report analyzing the work climate within the institution, and which would be unfavourable to the place of Ms. Bondil.
While its competence and its grounds have been put in doubt by some voices in the last two weeks of this saga, the C. A. of the museum, chaired by Michel de la Chenelière, has decided to speak publicly because ” it was difficult to remain silent and insensitive to such insinuations “. The council has been accused of not revealing the real reasons for the dismissal of its director.
“The council could not disregard the findings of the report prepared by an independent firm specializing in human resources management that he had commissioned, defends it. These findings, in a direct line with several employee testimonials previously reported by the union, pertained to the management style of Ms. Bondil as well as the deterioration in the work climate within the walls of the Museum. By its denial of several conclusions of the report, its inflexibility and its refusal to implement adequately some of its recommendations, Ms. Bondil has hardly left the choice to the board of directors despite his many attempts to arrive at a solution. “
The C. A. is said to have tried in “good faith” to agree with Ms. Bondil to change his job for the last year of his mandate, but in vain.
The council also adds that it is impossible to make public the independent report on which it based its decision, ” having regard to the legal constraints intended to protect the privacy of the people involved. “
In its press release, the C. A. considers that ” the strong reaction and emotional in favour of Ms. Bondil was predictable and, up to a certain point, quite normal. “The council adds that” the positioning more than enviable to the institution on the world stage of the major museums are in large part due to the enormous talent of Ms. Bondil. It is undeniable, and the council recognizes it immediately. “But he adds that” in the exercise of its fiduciary responsibilities, [it was decided] to go ahead and terminate his contract, with the firm conviction that such action was in the best interests of the Museum and its employees. “
The directors of the MUSEUM have welcomed the decision of Québec to appoint a firm of independent review of the case. In this regard, the ministry of Culture and Communications is simply to say that “a mandate has been given in regard to the independent analysis”, without wanting to make further comments.
The MMFA has also affirmed that the recruitment process to find a new director or a new director is now underway.”
“You must now turn the page and look to the future “, said C. A.
In addition, members of the MMFA, the signatories of a petition demanding under the regulations of the institution held a special meeting with the Board of directors, laments the slowness with which the team of Mr. De la Chenelière takes care of their folder.
According to its instigator Thomas Bastien — a former executive of the MMFA — the petition that eventually reach the general public now reaches more than 4100 signatories, including “several hundred members” of the museum. “I find it extremely difficult that there is the position of the museum so that we do not even listening to the members “. Mr. Bastien request to the C. A. to be made ” the light to know if [the end of contract of Ms. Bondil] it was the best proposal for the museum. “
Mr. Bastien writes that ” for the moment we have opinions that are very contradictory. In the media it has been both for and against, the forces of evil and the forces of good, who are fighting. But who is good and who is evil, who is telling the truth, who tells a lie ? “The application of special meeting was sent last Monday, and has received an acknowledgement of receipt on Wednesday. “Beyond that we had no other news. “
Nathalie Bondil was coming to office in 2007, and has been succeeded by Guy Cogeval and Pierre Théberge.
