Kingston causeway workers still waiting for severance months after bridge demolished

Tom Vilneff and Doug Stewart spent their days caring for the LaSalle Causeway bridge, lifting it to let boats through and crawling around its green metal frame to maintain the structure that served Kingston, Ont., for more than a century.

They described its demolition last June as "heartbreaking" and "like losing a best friend."

Nearly a year later, insult has been added to injury: the two men still haven't received their severance.

"I've tapped out my credit cards. I'm dipping into my line of credit. I'm not quite at the point where I have to remortgage my house, but that's in the cards," said Stewart. "I still haven't seen a cent."

Vilneff said between abruptly losing his job and waiting to be paid the roughly $80,000 he's owed, he'll likely have to sell his home and downsize.

"Definitely our savings are taking a beating," he said. "To make everything work, we'll probably have to move."

Union calls situation 'unacceptable'

In a statement to CBC, the Government Services Union (GSU) said it's has been supporting the men, including escalating their case and that their files are "nearing completion."

However, "it is absolutely unacceptable that these workers who dedicated years of their lives to serving Canadians have been left waiting months for their severance and facing difficulties accessing benefits," read the message from spokesperson Dominique Barrette.

"This situation has placed undue financial stress on their families and added an emotional toll at a time when they should be transitioning into retirement or the next stage of their lives with dignity."

Barrette described the situation as an example of the "ongoing Phoenix pay system fiasco," adding it not only affects current public service workers, but also those who have been laid off or retired.

Contacted for comment on the morning of May 1, PSPC did not respond to questions about the situation by deadline.

In a statement sent by email four days later, a spokesperson for the department confirmed it's aware of "issues faced by its former employees" who worked on the causeway, and is "working to ensure that the situation is resolved as quickly as possible."

Last to lift the bridge

Vilneff worked on the causeway for 13 years, including three years as bridge master.

He was on shift at the bridge on March 30, 2024 when workers who were supposed to be repairing it removed supports from part of a steel truss supporting its massive counterweight.

A report obtained by CBC said a section of the structure "buckled instantly."

Over the months that followed, bridge staff continued in their roles, believing the crossing would be repaired and reopen. 

Stewart had been bridge operator for about a year-and-a-half at that point. In the end he was the last person to lift it.

"It was an amazing thing to do because the thing was so gigantic, it was tons of steel," he recalled.

As a lifelong Kingston resident, working on the "singing bridge" — so called for the sound it made when people drove over its grating — was a dream job.

Stewart felt that way even while collecting garbage, sweeping up or crawling around the crossing to grease the more than 115 parts that helped it function.

One day bridge staff noticed a crew with hard hats and bright orange vests. Stewart said they assumed the workers were there to were there to fix it. Then they noticed the word "demolition" written across one man's back.

"It was shocking," he said, explaining how the five people who took care of the bridge learned it was being destroyed, and their jobs with it.

"We heard [it] from the from the demolition crew," said Stewart. "We didn't hear from our superiors."

He's owed approximately $2,000, along with an amount for transition support based on his time at the causeway and 13 years as a Parks Canada employee, which he did not want to disclose.

Of the five people who worked on the bridge, three were laid off or retired. Their last day was Jan. 29.

According to their collective agreement, severance should have been be paid within 30 days. As of this week, triple that time has passed.

Bridge was a 'second home'

Stewart said he blames PSPC and has filed a grievance with the union, adding he believes the department "botched the bridge" and his job, so someone should be held accountable.

"I cannot collect unemployment because of the theoretical incoming money," he said. "They've been promising and promising and promising and [I'm] pretty upset for myself and my co-workers."

Vilneff said he believes the Phoenix pay system is the culprit, offering a warning to other public service employees who are expecting to receive their severance in a timely manner: "Don't believe 25 days. Plan for, I'd say, 60 to 100 days."

He called the causeway bridge a "second home," recalling 16-hour shifts and six-day work weeks when his crew was short a person, but said those years of service don't seem to count for much.

"I was a dedicated employee," Vilneff said. "I'm not sure if that means anything to them. I don't think so."