A former senior executive at Lloydminster and District Co-op says he was terminated after providing a personal loan to help an employee pay for emergency travel to attend a family funeral. a decision the organization has declined to explain beyond calling it a personnel matter.
Keith Power, who served as vice president of people and culture, said he was terminated by CEO Peter Brown for ethical reasons after providing a $1,800 loan from his own personal account to help an employee return to the Philippines following the death of the employee’s mother.
Power said the loan was interest free, carried no conditions, and did not benefit him in any way. Text messages he shared publicly show the two were still working through repayment months later.
Termination followed positive performance review
Power said the termination came shortly after he received an “exceeding expectations” performance review, the same rating he received the previous year. He said no performance or conduct concerns were raised during that review.
“There were no outstanding performance issues to cloud judgment,” Power wrote in a public post. “To have my integrity and ethics questioned is absolutely disgusting.”
He said he attempted to explain the situation to Co-op leadership multiple times.
Questions sent to Co-op and board
The Border Pulse submitted questions to Lloydminster and District Co-op seeking clarification on the decision, including whether the termination was approved by the board of directors, whether a written policy exists prohibiting a personal interest free loan between managers and employees, and whether a formal complaint was filed by the employee involved.
In response, a member of the communications team provided the following statement.
“Lloydminster and District Co-operative Ltd. does not comment on personnel matters.”
The Border Pulse also submitted separate governance-focused questions to the Co-op’s board of directors, including whether the board was involved in or informed of the decision and whether the termination aligns with the organization’s publicly stated values. The board did not respond as of publication.
Public messaging contrasts with silence
The termination comes as Lloydminster and District Co-op continues to publicly promote its role as a community-focused organization.
Last week, the Co-op announced the return of its Kindness Wins campaign in support of National Pink Shirt Day, promoting values of kindness, inclusion, and respect. The Co-op says the campaign has raised more than $56,000 since 2011 to support anti-bullying initiatives in local schools and communities.
The Co-op also describes itself as a member-owned organization with more than 23,000 local members and says it has invested more than $1.5 million in local charities over the past decade.
Despite those public messages, the organization declined to address whether personal, interest free assistance to employees during emergencies violates its ethical standards or whether termination was the only response available in this case.
Governance questions remain
Without further explanation from the Co-op or its board, questions remain about what policies apply to emergency assistance, what governance process was followed, and how leadership distinguishes between coercive financial relationships and voluntary personal help.
Keith said he plans to establish a $5,000 fund to help Co-op employees facing similar emergencies in the future. A loan from that fund will be interest free with flexible repayment.
“Peter Brown will never change who I am as a person,” he wrote.
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I think was he did was very nice maybe the co op should work with a local credit union to administer such loans in cases like this instead of a manager being put in z difficult position. To fire him seems wrong without more details