In his untested claim against
Leedham, 52, who is seeking
"Sienna chose to actively ignore Mr. Leedham’s calls for help, going so far as to tell him to 'stop bringing these issues up,'" the suit alleges. "Sienna terminated Mr. Leedham’s employment in whole or in part because he raised concerns."
Sienna, which operates 37 homes in
"Sienna takes any concern brought forward from team members, residents and families very seriously," said spokeswoman
"While out of respect for privacy we generally do not discuss issues about former employees, we must make it clear that
Leedham began working for Sienna as a vice-president in
He says he received "glowing feedback" and even a merit increase on
Among other things, he claims Sienna failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment to staff. The company, he alleges, allowed staff who tested positive for COVID-19 to keep working, and failed to separate infected residents from the uninfected.
On one occasion in March last year, he alleges, the entire management team at one Sienna home was drunk.
Last fall, amid the second wave of the pandemic, Leedham claims top executives ordered staff cuts to ensure Sienna would meet its financial objectives.
"Resident abuse is entrenched in the culture; it's a low-cost culture," Leedham alleged in an interview.
"There were hundreds and hundreds of reported cases of resident abuse during my time there. Verbal, physical and sexual abuse is just rampant."
Sienna, which also operates retirement and long-term care facilities in
A company motion to strike Leedham's "scandalous" allegations is to be heard in
Leedham was fired
The publicly traded company has been previously named in a proposed class action that targets several long-term providers for their pandemic response.
Last June, it cut ties with an executive vice-president, who had referred to relatives of infected residents as litigious and blood-sucking. Its CEO resigned days later.
In all, COVID-19 killed more than 300 people living in Sienna homes.
"The numbers speak for themselves," Leedham said.
The province took over three of the facilities, including
The province also took over Sienna's
This report by
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