Canada’s junior stock exchange is facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit from a former senior executive who alleges he was fired for trying to enforce the law.
Jamie Anderson was dismissed without cause in May, 2022, from his position as general counsel and corporate secretary for CNSX Markets Inc., the operator of the Canadian Securities Exchange. The CSE primarily lists the shares of small public companies, though it also launched a senior tier in 2023 for larger businesses.
According to a statement of claim filed in June, 2024, and reviewed by The Globe and Mail, Mr. Anderson is seeking more than $2-million in compensation for wrongful dismissal as well as the company’s “failure to properly carry out an investigation into complaints of harassment, bullying and a toxic work environment.”
Mr. Anderson alleges CSE chief executive officer Richard Carleton regularly “lost his temper” and engaged in “abusive” behaviour, including yelling at staff, throwing objects and disclosing the personal medical details of staff and their family members.
“He made several employees cry,” the statement of claim says.
In a July, 2024, statement of defence, the company acknowledged that Mr. Anderson was dismissed without cause but denied all the allegations of abuse. The company said Mr. Anderson never complained of abuse, harassment or a toxic environment while he worked at CNSX Markets, adding that no other employees complained either.
“CNSX specifically denies that Mr. Carleton engaged in any of the conduct complained of” by Mr. Anderson, according to the statement of defence.
The case has not been heard, and none of the allegations have been proven in court.
In an e-mailed statement, Mr. Carleton questioned why the lawsuit is “even remotely newsworthy” and said the litigation is “founded on faulty premises.”
He also provided The Globe with the results of an internal survey of CSE staff conducted in September, 2023, by the Tandem Team, an employee satisfaction and engagement consultant based in Vancouver. Of the 57 employees who completed the survey, 43 (75 per cent) said they would recommend the CSE as a great place to work.
Mr. Anderson alleges his firing was in retaliation for clashing with Mr. Carleton over how to deal with two potential conflicts of interest and concerns regarding the selection of an independent director for the CNSX board.
According to his statement of claim, Mr. Anderson attempted to include details about the conflict of interest issues in a regulatory filing, but Mr. Carleton “was furious that the matters were included … lost his temper and declared they were not conflicts of interest, arguing for forty-five minutes.”
In its statement of defence, the company said the two potential conflicts of interest were identified in 2021 – one involving a CNSX officer and the other a contractor – but were managed in accordance with existing corporate policies.
Mr. Anderson also alleged that he clashed with Mr. Carleton about whether CNSX board member Michael Bluestein met the Ontario Securities Commission’s definition of an “independent” director. Mr. Bluestein was nominated in 2020 by Urbana Corp. CEO Tom Caldwell, CNSX’s single largest shareholder.
CNSX said in its statement of defence that the conflict of interest issues and the question of Mr. Bluestein’s independence had no connection to the decision to terminate Mr. Anderson’s employment.
In his statement to The Globe, Mr. Carleton said “the CSE disputes various positions taken by the plaintiff, including specifically the allegations made about violations of securities laws, the claims rooted in reprisal and any suggestion of discrimination or maintenance of a toxic workplace.”
Mr. Anderson’s statement of claim says that despite his best efforts, he has yet to find comparable employment in the more than two years between his dismissal and the filing of his lawsuit.
When reached by telephone, he declined to comment in detail about the case but said he felt compelled to speak out.
He said that when improper conduct goes unchecked, “confidence in the system is eroded. People fear speaking up about it, which further emboldens the perpetrators.”