Natural justice as foreign concept::: U of O's dismissal of Denis Rancourt (Video)

"The employer will be relying upon post-dismissal conduct and events... first of all to support the decision to dismiss..."
-- Lynn Harnden, hired lawyer for U of O

"The state will be relying upon post-incarceration conduct of the prisoner... first of all to support the sentence of guilty..."
-- Crown prosecutor on appeal, Fascist dystopia

You decide.

This is a video extract from the first day (May 2, 2011) of binding arbitration hearings in the academic freedom case of tenured physics professor Denis Rancourt at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

The hearing dates are scheduled well into 2012.

Links to key relevant background are HERE.

Read THIS chronology!
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St. Lewis files motion to force Mandatory Mediation, Rancourt files response to motion

Re: Update in the $1 million lawsuit of law professor Joanne St. Lewis against former physics professor Denis Rancourt.

As background, all related posts on the matter are HERE.

Links to all pleadings and court documents are HERE.

"House Negro" Not Racist, Expert Opinion (LINK)

On August 18, 2011, Joanne St. Lewis' counsel Richard Dearden filed a Motion before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the on-going action. The Motion document is HERE.

The Motion is intended to force immediate Mandatory Mediation under plaintiff-defined circumstances.

Rancourt filed his response to the Motion today (including Factum): PART-1of4, PART-2of4, PART-3of4, PART-4of4.

Rancourt's Motion Record (reply) includes an expert opinion (pages 28-29) that the term "house negro" used as intended does not in itself constitute a racist communication: LINK-to-expert-opinion.

Law Times covers the legal case, today's report: HERE.
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UPDATE::: Video news reports about student Mahdi Darius Nazemtoaya in danger in Libya

Background article: The Truth About the Situation in Libya

UPDATE::: Student Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya in danger in Tripoli

Background article: The Truth About the Situation in Libya

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya <>
Date: Tue, Aug 23, 2011 at 7:44 PM
Subject: RE: IOM Boat
To: darcy.mcfarlane@international.gc.ca

Please do your best. I am afraid I will be executed in cold blood

Subject: IOM Boat
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:24:03 +0100
From: Darcy.McFarlane@international.gc.ca
To: mahdi_nazemroaya@hotmail.com

Mr. Nazemroaya,

I am the Consular officer in Tunis, Tunisia. You may, or may not, be aware that the IOM has sent a boat to Tripoli to evacuate migrants. They recently confirmed that it has not yet docked due to local security concerns. I also note that it may not be safe to get to the docks but wanted to ensure you were made aware of this possibility. Below is the link for their site on which you could monitor for updates.
http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/media/press-briefing-notes/pbnAF/cache/offonce/lang/en?entryId=30403

Best regards,

Darcy McFarlane
Premier Secrétaire et Consul
Ambassade du Canada
Tunis, Tunisie
Lot 24 Cité des Pins, les Berges du Lac 2
1035 Tunis-Belvédère
71 268 080

Related post: HERE.

U of O student Mahdi Darius Nazemroya in life-threatening danger in Tripoli -- PRESS RELEASE

Background article: The Truth About the Situation in Libya

Ottawa – August 22, 2011 :
University of Ottawa student and independent journalist currently in Tripoli fears for his life

At 11:27am today, Mireille Gervais, Director of the Student Appeal Centre (Student Federation of the University of Ottawa) received a phone call from Mahdi Darius Nazemroya, a Canadian citizen and independent journalist who indicated that he was currently hiding in the Tripoli hotel Rixos Al Nasr, fearing for his life. Mr. Nazemroya, a client of the Student Appeal Centre, asked Mrs. Gervais to do everything in her power to “get me out of here”. He feared that he may be dead at any moment and asked that Canadian Foreign Affairs intervene to save his life.

Mr. Nazemroya further indicated that he had not slept in three days and was hiding in the hotel with other journalists.

The Student Appeal Centre calls on federal authorities to do everything in their power to obtain the safety of the un-imbedded journalists and humanitarian observers who have sought refuge in the Rixos Al Nasr hotel in Tripoli.

Mahdi Darius Nazemroya studies political science and anthropology and he is a past Ombudsman of the Englissh-language student newspaper. He has been a dedicated contributor to student and alternative media for many years.

For further information:
Mireille Gervais
Director, Student Appeal Centre (SFUO)
case.cresac@sfuo.ca

U of O arbitrary deadline on harassment policy repudiated

And again... Once again all the unions and associations of students and professional workers at the University of Ottawa have judged it necessary to call the university administration on one of its half-baked and ill-motivated plans...

See the letter posted on the Student's Eye View blog: LETTER HERE.

The letter is signed by eight unions and associations representing all the university community members except the executive officers.

It says:

Stop imposing arbitrary deadlines without reason which harm the democratic collegial governance process of the university. Back off and take a deep breath and tell us that you will actually have a fair and open process...

Will the administrative culture of "Canada's university" be perturbed by yet another reasoned request for reason?

Rock admin backs down on subverting Senate authority

University of Ottawa senate member Joseph Hickey reports (HERE) that the Allan Rock administration has now backed down in its attempt to subvert senate authority to elect its own representatives to the selection committee for the next VP-Resources. (See previous post in this matter here.)

This retraction of the administration's firmly repeated position that the Executive Committee would select the senate representatives comes after Hickey made a public request that the democratic process must be respected and exposed the move as unnecessary and questionable.

The latter email exchange between Hickey and the university administration was posted by Hickey HERE.

Despite the strength of Hickey's arguments the administration has been know to simply plow ahead in other such cases, or to pull a last minute unannounced reversal at senate itself in order to avert further public exposure.

Therefore, this is good news and a sign that Allan Rock may be learning something new about democracy from students.

St. Lewis files Reply to Rancourt's Statement of Defence in $1 million defamation lawsuit

As background, all related posts on the matter are HERE.

Plaintiff Joanne St. Lewis' lawyer Richard G. Dearden filed a Reply to defendant Rancourt's Statement of Defence with the Ontario Supreme Court of Justice on August 5, 2011: LINK-Reply.

All pleadings (Statement of Claim, Statement of Defence, and Reply) are a matter of public record.

Labour Board retains Allan Rock as a responding party and asks for final submissions, again

Former physics professor Denis Rancourt's on-going adventure with the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) to force the Allan Rock administration of the University of Ottawa to recognize several of his outstanding labour law grievances is document HERE.

(The broader overall context of Rancourt's struggle is described HERE.)

Allan Rock argued (HERE) that he should not be a responding party. The OLRB in its most recent Decision (Decision 2567-10-U) retained Allan Rock as a responding party and decided to first consider Rock's motion as a preliminary motion to dismiss Rancourt's OLRB Application.

The University of Ottawa and the professor's union (APUO) have been added as responding parties and all parties were invited to submit final submissions on the motion by strict deadlines (Decision 2567-10-U).

Rancourt's July 26, 2011, submission is HERE.

Allan Rock, the University of Ottawa, and the APUO have since chosen to not submit submission pursuant to the OLRB Decision 2567-10-U and have informed the Board accordingly.

We now await yet another (final?) OLRB Decision about the motion to dismiss Rancourt's OLRB Application.

Rock admin erodes democracy, again -- Senator reports

University of Ottawa university senate member Joseph Hickey reports how the Allan Rock administration is attempting to thwart democracy at Senate, again, in an apparent effort to manipulate the selection committee for the next VP-Resources:

See senator's report HERE.

For some reason VP-Resources Victor Simon is stepping down.