UofOgate: More revelations accumulate – On the connections between student journalists and the University President and on keeping your lies straight

See the last UofOWatch report about UofOgate HERE.

See the recent Canadians for Accountability report about UofOgate HERE.

For the latest revelations just read the documents (and see related press releases below):

• DOCUMENT-1: The student newspaper Ombudsman’s interim report (the Ombudsman was suspended by the paper’s Board of Directors the day after the report was released because he refused to accept unjustified Board directions/interference in running the enquiry)

• DOCUMENT-2: A letter from the teacher assistant union (CUPE Local 2626) to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario pointing out that the University appears not to be keeping its lies straight…

We guess it’s difficult for the University of Ottawa to conceal so many unethical practices for an extended period of time?

University of Ottawa student newspaper Ombudsman finds unethical practices in treatment of former physics professor

OTTAWA, February 24, 2010 – The Ombudsman of the Fulcrum Publishing Society (FPS), Mr. Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, has released a damning interim report about journalistic and editorial mistreatment of former physics professor Denis Rancourt by the student newspaper The Fulcrum.

The FPS-Ombudsman’s Report is posted HERE along with reactions from The Fulcrum’s Business Manager Mr. Frank Appleyard.

Appleyard was hired by U of O President Allan Rock’s office at the same time as he retained his Fulcrum position of Business Manager, after he wrote a highly critical editorial about Rancourt that was used in a University press release and cited in the national media.

Regarding Appleyard and given his admissions the FPS-Ombudsman’s Report states:

“I would judge this to be in breach of the FPS Editorial Constitution and an embarrassment to the FPS and the University of Ottawa. This is very serious…”

Regarding former Fulcrum contributor and editor Maureen Robinson who was hired by the University in a broad campaign of covert information gathering from 2006 to 2008, the FPS-Ombudsman concludes:

“I have to reaffirm that I believe Maureen Robinson acted unethically and was in a conflict of interest under the FPS Editorial Constitution.”

This report comes only days after the teacher assistant union (CUPE Local 2626) formally accused the University of Ottawa of submitting false statements either to the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of Ontario or in a legal labour proceeding with CUPE Local 2626 regarding the alleged campaign of covert information gathering.

All background is posted HERE.

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CUPE exposes inconsistencies: U of O cover up of covert information gathering activities thickens

OTAWA, February 22, 2010 – Sean Kelly, President of the teacher assistant (TA) union (CUPE, Local 2626) at the University of Ottawa, has written a detailed letter to the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of Ontario to alert the Commissioner to documented inconsistencies between the University’s legal Representations to the IPC on the one hand and the University’s defence statements against a CUPE grievance on the other hand.

The CUPE letter is posted HERE. It states:

“…[I]n this very broad and important case, the University of Ottawa appears to have made false written statements to the IPC or false verbal statements in legal labour-relations proceedings [to the CUPE]…”

The alleged cover up relates to grievances from two unions (CUPE Local 2626 and the Association of Professors University of Ottawa, APUO) against covert information gathering practiced between 2006 and 2008, made public in a January 2010 report by former physics professor Denis Rancourt and recently reported in the national media: HERE.

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[Photo: Frank Appleyard.]