VANCOUVER — New questions are being raised about a wilderness expedition company that allegedly discriminated against a B.C. job applicant because of her Christian background and university education.
A number of experienced outdoor guides working in Canada say that Amaruk Corp., which promotes itself as a 16-year-old company with luxury travel facilities around the world and hundreds of employees, some of them trained in military crafts, is not necessarily what it claims to be.
"There appears to be one person behind the entire thing, and while he seems like a very Internet-savvy person with a lot of energy, I'm not sure that he has ever led people on a wilderness expedition anywhere," says one outfitter, who, like other guides, did not want to be identified.
Amaruk presents itself as global enterprise run by Norwegian outdoorsmen with military backgrounds. "The Norse background of most of the guys at the management level means that we are not a Christian organization, and most of us see Christianity as having destroyed our culture," an Amaruk hiring manager named Olaf Amundsen wrote to Bethany Paquette, who submitted a job application to the outfit last month.
Ms. Paquette received a Bachelor of Science degree in April from Trinity Western University, a private Christian university near Vancouver. After receiving by email several more anti-Christian diatribes from men identifying themselves as Amaruk managers, Ms. Paquette filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. She alleges her job application was dismissed in part because of her Christian roots.
According to information found on its website and in an Industry Canada filing, Amaruk has two co-chief executive officers, Christopher Fragassi-Bjornsen and Dwayne Kenwood-Bjornsen. Neither have responded to inquiries this week from the National Post.
On its website, Amaruk claims to operate a variety of luxury "outposts," apparently in Canada and in the Scandinavian wilderness. "Because we understand that some of our guests may also require a level of security that matches the level of luxury and privacy we offer in our outposts, all AMARUK® properties are to be upgraded by the end of 2014 to offer optional security features suitable for a head of state," reads the company's promotional material.
Basic details such as outpost locations are not provided. Amaruk claims to offer custom-made outdoor trips, but the National Post could not find any client reviews or testimonials anywhere.
Amaruk says it's a member of something called the Professional Association of Wilderness Guides and Instructors (PAWGI), based in Victoria. A PAWGI website contains background information on wilderness adventuring, and lists Mr. Fragassi-Bjornsen as its technical director for Canada.
A person identifying himself as PAWGI president Bruce Kenwood turned down an interview request Friday, via email. "I am aware Amaruk is in the news because media outlets such as yours are in need of ratings and would rather report trash than actual facts," he wrote to the National Post. "I will not call, and following the trashing of Amaruk, it is unlikely that anybody sane within our industry will want to talk with the media."
Two outdoor guides told the National Post that as far as they are aware, PAWGI is not a recognized association in their industry, and they cast doubt on its purported technical committee membership.
A Victoria-area resident named Chris G. Fragassi used to advertise another adventure company, called Planet Explorer Inc. Archived Internet pages show that it offered "private guiding services anywhere on earth," sometimes with "specially trained Security Teams and Bodyguards."
Planet Explorer said its guides all undergo a "12-month basic training phase that includes sea-air-land operations, physical conditioning, as well as fitness tests with requirements higher than those needed to graduate from U.S. Navy SEAL training. Each candidate also spends 2 years on the field as a trainee."
Planet Explorer also claimed to have at its disposal a vast fleet of ships, land vehicles and aircraft, including two C-130 Hercules military troop and supply transporters and two Boeing 737s.
Whatever its status, Amaruk and its co-chief executive will have to respond to Ms. Paquette's human rights tribunal complaint, says her Vancouver-based lawyer, Geoffrey Trotter.
"The fact that Mr. Fragassi appears to be a B.C. resident will simply make it easier to enforce an anti-discrimination order from the Human Rights Tribunal," Mr. Trotter said in a statement released Friday.
National Post
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