Gilles Marchildon is no longer the executive director of Egale, he confirmed Nov 16.
Marchildon was the only full-time employee left at the troubled national lobby group. This follows resignations from board members and staff, including former vice-president Ariel Troster.
“I’m not in a position to discuss this yet,” Marchildon says in an interview with Capital Xtra. There will be more clarity soon — possibly within two weeks — on exactly what caused his departure, he says when pressed.
Marchildon says he is in negotiations with the board and declines to comment on whether or not lawyers are involved.
But Egale president Gemma Schlamp-Hickey is already in damage control.
“The reasons for his departure were mutually agreed upon,” she says.
Meanwhile, people — even donors — have been unable to reach the beleaguered charity.
Paul Larocque is a longtime Egale donor. He donated in lump sums, then, roughly five years ago, he switched to a direct debit from his bank account. A donation comes out of his bank account on the 15th of each month. That is, until this month.
When Larocque received his bank statement, he noticed that Egale hadn’t deducted its monthly donation in October.
He called Egale several times, but they haven’t called him back. Our attempts to reach the any Egale staff at their office were equally unsuccessful.
“I guess they’re dead,” Larocque says.
Not according to Egale president Schlamp-Hickey. According to her, they’re scrambling to find interim help.
“We’re hiring staff to fill in the holes,” she says. “We’re in the process of hiring a new executive director.”
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