*DISCLAIMER* Country 105 has reached out to the various named individuals in this article as well as those who were not named. If those individuals were able to provide a response, it has been included. As more statements and responses become available we will provide them. The names of certain individuals have been removed or omitted from both the audio interview and written article to protect their privacy.
FULL INTERVIEW: Randy Narine sits down with Country 105 and Bayshore Broadcasting Reporter Phil De Land:
A local firefighter is talking about his struggles with racism within the department.
Randy Narine has served as a volunteer firefighter for the Shelburne and District Fire Department for 8 years until he was put on leave in 2022.
Narine sat down with Country 105 to outline his allegations of racial comments, discrimination, and what he calls unfair behaviour, from not only the department itself, but the Shelburne and District Fire Board.
Narine says he was subjected to comments, starting on his very first day on the job, alleging someone said as he walked up in uniform, “holy (F-word), we hired an (N-word).”
He claims that prompted laughter from fire department members who were there, and being relatively new resident, it caught him very off guard.
According to Narine, the racialized comments made toward him continued, and he says even came from a Captain.
He says getting it to stop was difficult, with only an Acting Chief on the crew at the time, but he says he did formally complain to another Captain who told him he would deal with the issue.
Not long after, he says the other captains and the acting chief, held a meeting aand told him his behaviour wasn’t good, and he would be suspended unless an apology was made.
Narine says he had to apologize twice because the officials involved didn’t like the way he initially approached it.
About a year later with Brad Lemaich taking the role of Fire Chief, Narine says he ended up speaking to him directly, after comments got his attention.
Narine claims Lemaich, along with the deputy, did their best to make it stop.
In 2020, Lemaich left for another job elsewhere, at which point Ralph Snyder was hired on after serving in the same role with Adjala-Tosorontio.
Narine alleges that meetings he had with new chief Ralph Snyder about racial discrimination “fell on deaf ears”.
According to Narine, fire education continued in a public manner but he says anything he wanted to do for the ethnic community was never approved.
In a written statement to Country 105, Chief Ralph Snyder said:
“The Shelburne and District Fire Department treats all allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously and in accordance with its obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Human Rights Code. The Department is required by law to treat all such allegations in a confidential manner and cannot comment on any situation.
Any allegations regarding my actions as Fire Chief in Adjala Tosorontio, and my exit from that employment, need to be directed to the Township of Adjala Tosorontio so they can also meet their obligations under the same act and code.”
Narine says he also complained to Walter Benotto, a Town of Shelburne council member and who at the time was Chair of the Fire Board.
But still there was no resolutions.
By the end of 2022, Narine had filed a pair of official complaints, one with the Ontario Human Rights Commission for racial discrimination.
Narine says he was trying to communicate with the department around July 7th when he says they put him on “suspension” which was then changed to say he was on a “leave of absence.”
He says Chief Snyder offered him the chance to come back if he would “play nice” but Narine says he didn’t want to give in.
Weeks turned into months when Narine decided to also file a separate complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, which he says wasn’t related to the prior complaint but is still connected to the discrimination.
Narine claims in a separate incident, involving another firefighter, he tried to help them deal with an issue they had, which was a common experience among those in the fire service.
During his talks with this individual, Narine offered to act as their witness to make sure they got the help they needed.
He says that individual filed a complaint which lead to both of them being placed on leave, however, the others named in the complaint – were allowed to stay.
According to Narine a harassment had been acknowledged by the department, but that it couldn’t be proven as they needed another witness account, along with his.
He says the department told him that by telling the individual about the incident, he was the one who actually caused the harassment of that person.
The individual who was said to be the victim of the harassment by few people on staff, made an official statement on social media this week, saying “the sexual harassment and assault claims being made are false.”
In his initial interview that sparked this story, Narine says he wanted to focus on the racial issues, but an anonymous Facebook post is what made that particular incident public.
He says that case is part of his complaint with the Ministry because he had to explain to them why he was in that situation, and why he was put on leave.
Since the initial article was published in The Alliston Herald on Tuesday, the Shelburne and District Fire Board held a meeting in which Randy Narine attended.
He posed three questions, asking why the Fire Board has not addressed his complaints, why was Ralph Snyder hired as Chief following his dismissal from the Adjala-Tosorontio Fire Department for harassment complaints that cost the town $120,000.
He also asked why he is on suspension as a witness, despite serious allegations against others who stayed on-duty.
The board responded by saying they would have answers in about a week.
The fire board is made up of two members from each of the surrounded townships (Amaranth, Mono, Melancthon, Mulmur and Shelburne) as well as three staff members, Fire Chief Ralph Snyder, Deputy Chief Jeff Clayton and Secretary Treasurer Nicole Hill.
In response to the Herald’s article, The Town of Shelburne released an official statement which reads, “The Town of Shelburne treats all allegations of racism, discrimination and harassment very seriously and is committed to continuing to be a municipal leader in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this particular case however, it must be clearly understood that the SDFD is not a department of the Town of Shelburne which was not clearly explained in the article.”
The statement clarified the “board employs all members of the SDFD including the Chief, and the board operates as its own independent entity.”
Narine says it’s his understanding that following mediation with the Board’s past-Chair Walter Benotto, he was removed from the fire board.
During mediation, Narine says he was offered a settlement which he turned down and told them “to give it to that other individual” involved in the harassment situation.
He says ultimately he asked for money be given to the other firefighter involved in the harassment situtation, that the board investigate and disclipline the others involved, and allow him to return to work.
He says he also asked for Ralph Snyder’s termination.
Narine says he wasn’t given any official reason why he was put on leave.
He says at the end of the day he just wants to bring awareness to the racial discrimination he has experienced.
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