(Ottawa) Two years after the Lieutenant-Duval saga, the University of Ottawa persists and signs. The establishment maintains that it did not infringe the freedom of teaching of the lecturer, suspended after having pronounced the “word which begins with N” in class.
Posted yesterday at 7:08 p.m.
The University of Ottawa and the Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa, which represents Verushka Lieutenant-Duval, presented their opening arguments Monday at a first arbitration session.
The lecturer filed two grievances against her ex-employer, who defended her management of the crisis to the end.
In a first grievance, the plaintiff contests “the premature condemnation of [Mme Lieutenant-Duval] without due process”.
For context: on September 23, 2020, the part-time lecturer, employed at the University of Ottawa since 2017, utters the “word that begins with N” in the context of her course Art and Genderwhich takes place online.
The same evening, the lecturer apologized by email to the whole class, after a student in the group asked her not to utter this loaded word again.
During the next lesson, on September 30, Ms.me Lieutenant-Duval invites his students to debate the use of the word – without ever pronouncing it in its entirety. This is where the story gets out of hand.
During class, the same student files a complaint with the Faculty of Arts and distributes Ms.me Lieutenant Duval on Twitter. The case provoked a media storm that would lead, two years later, to the adoption of Bill 32 on academic freedom in Quebec.
At the heart of the dispute: the union accuses the employer of having suspended the professor without first consulting her. The day before his suspension, the dean of the faculty sent an email to the whole class in which he condemned the “offensive and unacceptable” use of the “word that begins with an N”.
“What is remarkable in this saga is that at no time did the university ask for a copy of the recording of the discussion in class”, hammered Me Wassim Garzouzi, who defends the plaintiff. And this, still to this day.
Pilloried, M.me Lieutenant-Duval, who is due to testify on Wednesday, is still suffering from the repercussions of the saga on his physical and mental health. Present at the hearing on Monday, she remained silent, occasionally taking notes.
The University of Ottawa defends itself
The University of Ottawa cited “exceptional circumstances,” including media outcry over the crisis, to justify its response.
“The approach taken by the University was in no way related to any desire or attempt to limit the complainant’s academic freedom,” said the lawyer representing the University, Ms.e Celine Delorme.
PHOTO FROM CELINE DELORME’S LINKEDIN ACCOUNT
Me Celine Delorme
According to the University, Verushka Lieutenant-Duval was not suspended, but rather placed on “administrative leave with pay” – which did not constitute disciplinary action.
“There was no punishment. The complainant’s salary was maintained. She only missed a few classes while we looked into the matter,” continued Ms.e Delorme, who was accompanied by Jules Carrière, Vice-Provost for Faculty Affairs at the University of Ottawa.
Still according to the version of the establishment, it is not a student, but two students who filed a complaint after the course of September 30. They did not feel “not safe and feared reprisals”.
You can’t control how people react when they hear that word. We cannot be surprised by such a reaction.
Me Celine Delorme
In this sense, “the remarks and actions taken by the university aimed to achieve a balance between the interests of the professor, the students and the university community,” she added.
As for the second grievance, filed on December 18, 2020 by Mr.me Lieutenant-Duval, he responds to the many public declarations of the University of Ottawa and its rector, Jacques Frémont.
According to the complainant, the version of the facts conveyed in these statements is “fictional”, and it was released while a confidential grievance process was underway.
To which the establishment replied that the ex-lecturer had herself contributed to the media storm by granting interviews, in particular to the popular program Everybody talks about it.
The University of Ottawa will present its full version of the facts on Wednesday. The next hearing is scheduled for November 22.