This very blog, which should be celebrated by the
University of Ottawa as an example of open self-criticism and vibrant discourse (e.g., see
Professor St-Amant’s many contributed comments to the
previous post), has in fact been threatened with legal action on two counts and its creator,
Professor Denis Rancourt, has been disciplined and is now under review for suspension.
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Professor Rancourt’s final supplementary brief (posted
HERE) in the matter of his suspension for the blog was deposited today. The
Board of Governors (BOG) of the University of Ottawa has 40 working days to provide its decision and its reasons therefor. BOG meetings are public.
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A brief history of the University’s reactions to the UofOWatch blog is as follows.
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First, on August 20, 2007, University of Ottawa’s VP-Resources
Victor Simon initiated a “private” action against Rancourt using the third largest national law firm in Canada,
Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG), which is known to specialize in libel and defamation cases. The
Chairman of the BOG of the University of Ottawa is a Partner in BLG.
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The BLG letter of threat “Notice under the
Libel and Slander Act” is posted
HERE. It is signed by BLG Partner J. Bruce Carr-Harris who has been involved in high-profile fund raising activities for the University.
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The letter states:
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“Mr. Simon hereby demands that you immediately remove the two blogs [THIS ONE and THIS ONE] … from your U of O Watch blog, failing which we expect to receive instructions to commence the requisite legal proceedings to do so.
. In addition, we require a full, absolute, and unequivocal and fair apology and retraction of all defamatory statements…”
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Similar letters of threat of legal action, in this matter of Victor Simon and UofOWatch, were sent to graduate students Jean-Paul Prévost and Severin Stojanovic (for allegedly providing material support) and to three (student) staff members (Editor-in-Chief, Director General, and the journalist covering the Victor Simon matter) of the student newspaper
La Rotonde (presumably to intimidate the paper away from publishing on the matter).
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La Rotonde bravely published a full spread on September 10, 2007, with copies of some of the BLG letters. Rancourt did not budge, trusting truth as the ultimate defence. The lawsuits never materialized.
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Next, on August 28, 2007, came a letter from the University of Ottawa’s Legal Counsel (
Michelle Flaherty). This letter is posted
HERE and states:
“the University of Ottawa hereby requires that you immediately remove the images of Tabaret Hall, of the President of the University of Ottawa with Mr. Telfer and of the President of the University of Ottawa and Mr. Lau from the U of O Watch blog site … If you fail to remove these images by August 31, 2007, the University of Ottawa may take whatever action it deems necessary to protect its intellectual property rights.”.
The Flaherty letter explained that it is University policy that the images “may be used by faculty, staff, students, and the news media solely for the positive promotion of activities related to the University of Ottawa.”
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Having been informed of the University policy, Rancourt responded by making more widespread use of copyrighted University images, which greatly enhanced the blog.
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The Dean of the Faculty of Science,
André E. Lalonde, next enthusiastically took on the job of
“protect[ing] [the University’s] intellectual property rights.” The Dean initiated his own investigation on November 23, 2007 (see letter posted
HERE). In his letter, the Dean explained
“I am concerned that your refusal to remove the copyrighted images from the U of O Watch website constitutes insubordination.”.
What followed was a long series of meetings, exchanges of letters, and procedures (see Rancourt’s brief
HERE for a summary) in which Rancourt tried to explain to the dean that both criticism and allowing criticism were positive and that, consequently, the University policy was not being violated.
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The Dean disciplined Rancourt and warned of more discipline if the images were not removed. The Dean then appealed to the
good judgement of VP-Academic Robert Major to ask that Major schedule the continuation of the investigation in order to pursue a suspension of Rancourt. Major obliged – leading to the present evaluation by the Board.
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The Executive Summary of Rancourt’s
BRIEF to the Board reads as follows.
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The University of Ottawa has a stated policy of allowing professors to use its copyrighted images from its web site “for the positive promotion of activities related to the University of Ottawa.” (See Legal Counsel’s letter to Denis Rancourt dated August 28, 2007.)
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Denis Rancourt uses credited copyrighted images from the University’s web site in the UofOWatch blog that he manages (see attached item-1).
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The UofOWatch blog features commentary and critical articles about activities of the University of Ottawa (see attached item-1).
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The credited copyrighted images from the University’s web site significantly enhance the UofOWatch blog (a picture is worth a thousand words) and show a positive image of a university open to self-criticism.
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University professors have academic freedom in their research and communications, including in criticisms of the university itself. The university has a duty to support the work of its professors, within the usual limits of resource constraints.
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The University has disciplined Professor Denis Rancourt (Letter of Reprimand dated February 5, 2008) for not removing the copyrighted images from the UofOWatch blog.
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Dean André E. Lalonde presently seeks further discipline (a one-day suspension) to be approved by the Board, before a grievance (filed on February 24, 2008) against the first discipline has been heard.
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The University’s discipline and the on-going attempt to further discipline are not legitimate and appear to constitute attempts at ideological (political) censorship. The actions of the dean (and of Legal Counsel) appear to be petty and contrary to fostering a vibrant and critical university intellectual environment in a free and democratic society.
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In addition, there are many procedural anomalies that point to serious problems in ethical and responsible management. These include illegal gathering and use of personal information and unwarranted legal threats.
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In wrapping up his
BRIEF, Rancourt states:
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“Criticism is positive, healthy, and necessary to produce change. Congratulatory niceties only support the status quo. Not exposing known problems encourages their continuation. Criticism is vital work that needs to be encouraged rather than censored and attacked.”
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Let us hope that the Board, in its collective wisdom and mandated fairness, will find a way to celebrate freedom of expression and inquiry at the University of Ottawa.
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[Photo Credit: University of Ottawa. Mr. Marc Jolicoeur, BLG Partner and Chairman of the University’s Board of Governors.]
