The UofOWatch list of particulars regarding "ethically challenged" Allan Rock

This list is incomplete and is updated periodically. We welcome your submissions for this list. (Sorry for the long post.)

Last updated on February 13, 2011.
COUNT = 19 Particulars

PART-I : As University of Ottawa president

• Gave personal assurance to community that rules would be followed in the Rancourt dismissal case yet refused to receive three of Rancourt's grievances about administrative malfeasance (on-going)

The university launched a motion in December 2010 before the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) to remove Allan Rock from direct responsibility in the matter (LINK). The university then (January 28, 2011) filed for immediate arbitration of the Rancourt dismissal (after 22 months of refusing to follow the rules) BUT without consideration of the three administrative malfeasance grievances (LINK).

• Personally managed a cover up of his administration's 2008 campaign to discredit a student union report about systemic racism (revealed February 2011)

Access to information records show a cover up directly orchestrated by Allan Rock himself to hide the fact that Professor Joanne St. Lewis' evaluation was anything but "independent", as characterized by the administration (LINK, LINK).

• Made a commitment at university Senate (April 12, 2010) to repair the Ann Coulter freedom of expression fiasco and then "clarified" at Senate (February 7, 2011) that this "was not a commitment"

The "clarification" only occurred after physics student Senator Joseph Hickey insisted that the commitment should be honoured as agreed by Senate (LINK, LINK).

• Deceived the student body and university community regarding donation ethics, again (February 2011)

In the fall of 2009 Allan Rock put on a series of show panels as a mock consultation to prepare an upcoming administrative policy for “donor recognition”. The policy was to be presented “within weeks” (LINK). It never materialized.

There was a tacit understanding that large donations would not be accepted until the new policy was developed and instituted.

On June 22, 2010, the University announced a 3.5 million dollar anonymous donation for a research chair in business management (LINK, and below).

On February 7, 2011, the University announced a new exchange program with Israel "generously supported by the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation" (LINK, LINK)

• Explicitly rejects fair information practice (November, 2010)

When formally asked to not use a legal loop hole publicly opposed by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) and characterized by the IPC as contrary to "world-wide trends favouring fair information practices", Allan Rock refused to consider fair information practice regarding the release of respondent documents: LINK-Hides behind his staff.

• Lied about the origin of the infamous March 2010 Francois Houle letter to Ann Coulter

“Worse yet is that Mr. Rock fudged when initially questioned about the letter. He stated that “it was sent with my knowledge” – when the truth is it was sent at his instigation. When it blew up into a controversy, he let Mr. Houle take the brunt of the heat. Talk about the boss hiding behind his staff.”
– National Post, June 30, 2010.

BC Blue blog report: HERE.

• Hypocrisy regarding respect, restraint, civility, consideration, and a reasoned and intelligent approach…

“I therefore ask you, while you are a guest on our campus, to weigh your words with respect and civility in mind. There is a strong tradition in Canada, including at this University, of restraint, respect and consideration in expressing even provocative and controversial opinions and urge you to respect that Canadian tradition while on our campus. ... [This will] lead not only to a more civilized discussion, but to a more meaningful, reasoned and intelligent one as well.”
– Rock-Houle letter to Ann Coulter, March 19, 2010.

Versus Allan Rock to Houle and staff:

"Ann Coulter is a mean-spirited, small-minded, foul-mouthed poltroon... She is 'the loud mouth that bespeaks the vacant mind'."

"She is an ill-informed and deeply offensive shill for a profoundly shallow and ignorant view of the world. She is a malignancy on the body politic. She is a disgrace to the broadcasting industry and a leading example of the dramatic decline in the quality of public discourse in recent times."

"You, Francois, as Provost, should write immediately to Coulter informing her of our domestic laws. ... You should urge her to respect that Canadian tradition as she enjoys the privilege of her visit."

"Quel excellent message! Merci et felicitations. I am sure she has never been dressed down so elegantly in her life!"

• Deceived the student body and university community regarding donation ethics

In the fall of 2009 Allan Rock put on a series of show panels as a mock consultation to prepare an upcoming administrative policy for “donor recognition”. The policy was to be presented “within weeks” (LINK). It never materialized.

There was a tacit understanding that large donations would not be accepted until the new policy was developed and instituted.

On June 22, 2010, the University announced a 3.5 million dollar anonymous donation for a research chair in business management, anonymous no less (LINK).

It seems to us that anonymity would be an important discussion point in any “donor recognition” or donation ethics policy.

• Was publicly accused of lying by a student representative about budget consultations

On June 2, 2010, Martin Schoolts-Mcalpine, Senator-elect for undergraduate students of the Faculty of Arts publicly called for Rock to be impeached and publicly accused Rock of have lied to him about the Faculty of Arts having been consulted in an imposed budget exercise. Rock responded by belittling the student representative who had made every effort to be consulted by his faculty. (VIDEO LINK HERE)

• Mislead the Board of Governors with incorrect budget information

At the April 27, 2010, Board of Governors meeting Rock told the Board members in his briefing that the projected budget deficit was 25 M$ whereas he had previously told the media that the projected deficit was 19 M$ (without ever explaining how the figure jumped from 25 million to 19 million).

Rock only corrected himself to the Board near the end of the budget discussions and only after being confronted on the question during a break by graduate student union representative Sean Kelly (LINK).

• Lied to the media to cover up his attacks against freedom of expression

““Freedom of expression is a core value that the University of Ottawa has always promoted,” said Allan Rock, President of the University.”
– University press release, March 24, 2010.

Rock had been sent a letter in 2009 from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) explaining that the University had violated the principle of freedom of expression by banning a student poster. And in 2010, the national media had the CCLA and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) explaining to the Rock administration that its March 2010 letter to potential speaker Ann Coulter was a violation of freedom of expression.

Therefore Rock knew that the University of Ottawa had not always promoted freedom of expression (LINK).

• Hired a student newspaper editor in the president’s office, effectively as a reward for favourable editorial support, in violation of the paper’s rules of ethics

Quite remarkable: LINK. The student retained a senior position at the paper while he was fully salaried by Rock.

Related background articles: LINK.

• Continues to participate in the extensive cover up of a broad covert information gathering campaign run by the University of Ottawa from 2006 to 2008

Description of the cover up: HERE.

The covert campaign targeted several students (student politicians, representatives, and employees) and a professor and was coordinated via the University office of Legal Counsel in order to shield the University from access to information requests (using an extended solicitor-client pretext). The Legal Counsel is now a judge at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the University executive who first refused to investigate the matter, in violation of the University’s own policy on required investigations into reported wrongdoing, is now the General Counsel (chief) of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Related background articles: HERE.

• Directed the spin and the production of a fraudulent internal report intended to cover up evidence for systemic racism at the University of Ottawa

The internal report by a tenured staff, on which Rock personally made text modification suggestions, was presented as an independent report at publication. The report’s obvious main purpose was to discredit a student union report about systemic racism in the University's student appeal process.

Access to information documents (not yet disclosed by UofOWatch) show Allan Rock directing his senior staff on how to make the report appear independent.

Before the November 25th report was released, at the November 17, 2008, Board of Governors meeting Allan Rock stated “I know enough about the work that’s been done to date to tell you that we’re going to disagree very strongly that there’s any evidence to support the allegations that have been made,” in reference to the student union report about systemic racism in the administrative treatment of student appeals.

Background article: HERE.
[Correction 2012-05-01: "an nontenured staff" was changed to "a tenured staff".]

• Practiced flagrant disregard for student democratic and procedural rights

THIS letter from the student union was sent to Rock requesting urgent attention to student rights being violated by his administration.

The student concerns were disregarded and the student representatives were simply brushed off.

PART-II : Before becoming University of Ottawa president

• Accepted what was effectively a bribe – This put an end to Rock’s political career and showed him to be “ethically challenged”

"[Rock's] behaviour since the Irving affair became public has revealed him to be ethically challenged. […] it took Rock days to apologize. And he only grudgingly did so after Labour Minister Claudette Bradshaw rose in the Commons and offered an unqualified apology for accepting a ride on the Irving corporate jet three years ago. She also announced she was reimbursing the family for the flight."
– Ottawa Citizen, November 8, 2003, page 1.

In 2002 when the then Ethics Counsellor Howard Wilson discovered that Minister Rock had in summer 2001 accepted a private jet stay at the Irving family salmon fishing lodge, he issued a ruling that Rock was to avoid all ministerial dealings benefiting Irving enterprises for one year. During that blackout year Rock made three significant ministerial decisions benefiting Irving Shipbuilding Inc.

On investigating the latter multimillion-dollar violations, "Wilson said it 'would have be better' if a minister other than Rock had signed the $55-million grant, but noted the signature was made by a machine on instructions from Industry officials." (Ottawa Citizen)

Rock accepted the latter whitewashing that the opposition leaders called a "complete joke" but it put an end to his political and federal judgeship ambitions.


Other well known affairs:

• Deceived Parliament and the Canadian public regarding the cost of the gun registry: The costing reported to Parliament was overshot by one billion dollars.

• As Minister of Justice, Rock paid 2 million dollars to Brian Mulroney for no known reason. This was never justified. (RECENT COMMENTARY)

• As Minister of Health, Rock allowed and found justification for a dubiously discriminating attribution of reparations to tainted blood victims: Victims had to have been infected between 1986 and 1990, not before, not after.

“The offer came despite a recommendation by the report of the Krever Inquiry a year earlier, which called for compensation for anyone harmed by bad blood, regardless of when they were infected.

In just over two months, Ontario would break ranks, saying people who were infected before 1986 had waited long enough for help. The province came up with another $200 million for victims of tainted blood.

"Regardless of legal liability, all governments have a moral responsibility to Canadians who placed their faith in the blood system, and, through no fault of their own, became infected," [said Ontario Premier Mike Harris.]”
– CBC media report, July 2006.

"We've done the best we can under very difficult circumstances."
– Federal Health Minister Allan Rock, February 27, 1998.

The cost of the inadequate federal compensation package was less than the gun registry budget overshoot.

This list is incomplete and is updated periodically. We welcome your submissions for this list.
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