The former head of Kelowna’s Women’s Shelter is going after UBC Okanagan for unpaid wages.
In a statement of claim filed last month, the shelter’s former executive director Karen Mason said work she did directly benefitted UBC in a number of ways but she was never compensated, despite assurances to the contrary.
Mason explains in the lawsuit that she was working at the Kelowna shelter when she started dating Dr. Paul van Donkelaar.
Van Donkelaar’s is a member of UBCO’s staff who specializes in brain injuries and together, at Mason’s urging, they started working on a project that looked at the potential intersection between intimate partner violence and traumatic brain injury.
In 2016 they founded the UBC/KWS Brain Injury in Intimate Partner Violence research project and that was funded through grants sought out and attained by van Donkelaar with the support of Mason.
Research activities were conducted at UBC facilities, with recruitment, intake and initial assessment of participants happening act Kelowna Women’s Shelter.
UBC provided the funding for the project, including wages for van Donkelaar’s staff, and funding to the shelter as part of the collaboration.
Throughout it all, Mason claims she contributed to the project’s research, marketing and operations.
Among other things, she presented to community agencies and conferences, recruited and supported research participants and staff and in 2019, the efforts paid off.
That year, the federal government awarded UBCO $1 million to fund the project.
Before, and after, Mason argues she worked to create and expand the brand, writing and leading development, building relationships with organizations government-based and otherwise that could expand its reach.
She travelled around the world to conferences where she co-presented with van Donkelaar to more than 75 audiences.
Then, in 2019, Mason resigned from the women's shelter, and van Donkelaar began discussions with the director of UBC about paying her. Given their personal relationship, van Donkelaar connected with the UBCO Conflict of Interest committee to ask for direction.
With what he learned from the committee in mind, van Donkelaar and Mason came up with a proposal to create a job that Mason would be eligible for, and if she got it, would be supervised by another senior member of the faculty.
The Conflict of Interest committee felt that it met their needs, according to the statement of claim, but UBC wasn’t onboard.
"In June 2021 UBC advised that they could not pay Mason through existing grant funding, but if van Donkelaar could develop an acceptable conflict of interest management plan, she could be supported through future grants," the claim reads.
The couple carried on doing the work to keep the project successful, while trying to come up with conflict of interest management plans that would lead to Mason getting to work at the university.
This work was done with assurances from the university that they were going in the right direction, the document indicates.
“Through this all, UBC knew, or reasonably ought to have known that Mason was performing extensive duties on behalf of (the project) and UBC without compensation,” the claim reads.
In March 2024, van Donkelaar received word the school secured a grant from the Public Health Agency of sa国际传媒, which promised in excess of $1.6 million over three years.
The lawsuit alleges Mason "played a pivotal role" in drafting the grant application.
“For four years, after leaving her full-time role at Kelowna Women’s Shelter to focus her efforts entirely on SOAR, Ms Mason did not receive any compensation from UBC, despite ongoing assurances from its leadership to van Donkelaar.”
Only in 2023 did she start receiving part time compensation, and the aim of the lawsuit is to make up for revenues and profits made by the university by what is described as “unjust enrichment.”
UBC has not yet filed a response to the allegations in court.
