There is a growing demand today for the Chairman of the Board of Canadore College, Bob Nicholls, to call an independent investigation into serious allegations of sex discrimination.
See: Canadore College notified of serious allegations of sex discrimination
In a letter dated Feb. 25 from the Toronto law firm Adair Goldblatt Bieber, a copy of which BayToday has obtained, Gillian Hnatiw states, "I do not believe it would be proper for Canadore's Administration to investigate itself without oversight. As a publicly-funded institution that professes concern for its culture and the welfare of its employees, I would expect Canadore to be eager to retain an impartial third party to conduct an arms' length investigation into the situation. It is only through an arms' length process overseen by the Board, that Canadore's past and future employees might feel secure enough to engage."
That's something Nicholls seems unwilling to do, according to an interview he gave BayToday Monday.
"There's been a lot of stuff that's gone on at the college level between the college and this particular person and it's been referred to legal counsel and they're going to deal with it. I know the individual quite well and I just find it really hard to believe that anything like that is going on, but they're going to do their investigation and, I mean they've already done an investigation and they are going to do more and see where it goes."
BayToday tried to contact Mr. Nicholls today to ask if he would now support an independent investigation but was told he was out of the office for the next month, and an email attempt was not returned.
Hnatiw, in a previous letter to Canadore stated that an investigation by the firm uncovered "over a dozen individuals who claim to have experienced similar types of career-limiting or ending discrimination or abuse while employed by Canadore." That number is expected to climb significantly as more people are coming forward after reading the original BayToday story.
Meanwhile, an email sent by Jodee Brown Yeo, Canadore's Director, Organizational Development and Talent Management to Hnatiw complains that the college hasn't been told who is making the allegations.
"If you are retained by other individuals it is essential that you identify such persons and the events such that the college can determine what actions need to be taken to investigate these matters. If you are not retained the college would urge you invite the individuals to contact me to raise the issues directly."
In other words, the college wants to investigate itself and be given the names of employees making the allegations, despite the clear message from Hnatiw that a number of former employees reported making good faith attempts to raise their concerns internally at Canadore, only to find themselves quickly out of a job, and that it is clear from conversations with Canadore's current employees that they are terrified to speak up or lodge a complaint, for fear of retribution or reprisal.
"They do not trust Canadore's human resources department. They also lack confidence in the willingness and/or ability of Canadore's management to address these issues in a meaningful way," wrote Hnatiw in her initial letter.
In a followup, she wrote "As I advised in a previous letter, the individuals with whom we have spoken do not trust Canadore's human resources department to protect them from workplace or other retribution, or to impartially investigate their concerns. They see you as part of the systemic problem. This actively deters them from attempting to access the policies or processes in place."
Adding to the confusion was an email from the College to its staff yesterday that stated, "Currently the college has requested more information in an effort to determine the appropriate action to address these assertions in a manner consistent with College policies." This is misleading.
Basically, the law reads that an investigation must take place if management is made aware of a situation, even if a formal complaint has not been delivered. Provincial laws supersede college policies. In Ontario, the employer has a legal duty to make the workplace safe.
According to the Code of Practice to Address Workplace Harassment under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, the duty to investigate is triggered by one of two events: (1) the employer becomes aware of an incident of workplace harassment through a worker, or (2) a written or verbal complaint alleging workplace harassment is made to the employer.
In addition, Hnatiw says the situation is further complicated by the fact that the subject of most of the allegations has not been put on paid leave but continues normal activities around the college.
She says this is colouring the current environment and "contributing to the reluctance of current employees to come forward."
