WINNIPEG – A Manitoba official lost a tentative appointment after traveling to the United States to conduct mixed martial arts.

The move, first reported by the CBC, comes after Jerin Valel opened the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas in late February and March.

Valel was a long-time UFC umpire and also served as the director of technology transformation for the Manitoba government.

In February, Valel was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister for Transformation in the Family Department to stand up for someone else.

The government says the appointment has been revoked and Valel is back at his previous job.

Manitoba’s Prime Minister Brian Pallister issued an instruction to political staff and other appointed individuals in early February to avoid vacation travel or possible dismissal.

“This person’s trip to the United States should not have continued after the Manitoba Government Official Non-Essential Travel Policy was passed,” Blake Robert, director of media relations for the Progressive Conservative Cabinet, wrote in an E on Wednesday -Mail.

Robert made no reference to Valel by name, but said that while the clerk followed health protocols, the trip “was against the intent of provincial travel policy.”

Pallister was unaware of the trip beforehand, Robert added, although he would not say whether the clerk had received approval from other government officials.

“Since this is a personnel problem and the confidentiality of the employees is maintained, no further comment may be made,” wrote Robert.

Attempts by the Canadian press to reach Valel on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

This Canadian press report was first published on April 14, 2021

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