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Ex-director of Folk on the Rocks taking fight for compensation to Supreme Court

Supreme Court dismisses former Folk on the Rocks' director fight for bonus

David Whitelock, the former executive director of Yellowknife's Folk on the Rocks, is taking his fight against the music festival to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories.

Whitelock claims that the Folk on the Rocks Society owes him compensation for unpaid wages and bonuses after he was terminated in December 2015.

Whitelock took the helm of the annual summer fest in March 2014, hired on a three-year contract.

According to court documents, Whitelock was on sick leave in December 2015 when he received a letter from Folk on the Rocks (FOTR) president Ryan Fequet terminating his employment immediately for "various misdemeanors."

The letter offered Whitelock severance of six weeks salary and benefits in exchange for him signing a departure agreement. Whitelock turned down the offer and subsequently filed a complaint with the Employment Standards office.

He argued that FOTR did not have just cause to terminate him and that he was owed upwards of $60,000 in unpaid wages, bonuses, holiday pay, severance and overtime.

An Employment Standards officer dismissed most of Whitelock's claims, but ultimately calculated that FOTR owed Whitelock about $1,600 in wages, which the society paid.

Whitelock filed an appeal of that decision about one month later, which was also dismissed by an adjudicator.

On Friday Whitelock is scheduled to take his case to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories.

In his originating notice of appeal he claims that the adjudicator's decision was "unreasonable and incorrect."