University Of Ottawa Racism, Censorship And Abuse Of Power
24 February 2013
By Stephen Lendman
In June 2008, Allan Rock became university president.
He's a former Canadian politician and UN ambassador.
He's a pro-Israeli flack. He supports its worst
crimes.
His administration is unprincipled. It's marked by
secrecy, political censorship, abuse of power, and
repudiation of fundamental university values.
He targets academic and speech freedoms. He violates
Canadian law.
Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms states:
"Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and
expression, including freedom of the press and other
media of communication;
(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
(d) freedom of association."
Article 7 assures "Everyone has the right to life,
liberty and security of person and the right not to be
deprived thereof in accordance with the principles of
fundamental justice."
Hardline rule is university policy. What Rocks says
goes. Faculty and student activists are targeted,
vilified, persecuted, suspended and dismissed.
Marc Kelly was an exemplary student. In October 2008,
he was deregistered, expelled for a semester, and
prevented from completing his final three courses to
graduate.
His legitimate research was rejected. He was never
contacted or questioned. He was targeted for
supporting tenured Professor Denis Rancourt.
In September 2008, Rock got the Executive Committee of
the Board of Governors (EBOG) to suspend him. In
December, he recommended dismissing him. He wanted him
barred him from campus.
In March 2009, he fired him. He targeted his
principled activism. He supports Palestinian rights.
He does so honorably. Rock cited his creative teaching
methods. They deserve praise, not condemnation.
Rancourt is a distinguished physics professor. He's an
expert in his field. He's a respected environmental
science researcher. Students called him a "phenomenal
teacher." His pedagogical methods work. Student
achievement proved it.
Rock's game plan was get Rancourt. He fired him for
supporting right over wrong. He couldn't do so for
legitimate reasons. Contrived ones were invented. His
teaching methods had nothing to do with it.
Rock ordered campus police to bar him from campus.
Orders said remove him if he shows up. That's how
despots operate. Rock runs U of O more like a police
state than university. Education and learning suffer.
U of O Law Professor Joanne St. Lewis is complicit.
She colluded with Rock. She did so against Rancourt.
She sued him for $1 million. She charged racism. Doing
so was spurious.
Her relationship with Rock is unprincipled. Rancourt
called her his "house negro." He did so for good
reason. He cited Malcolm X. In 1963, Malcolm first
used the term.
St. Lewis had no justification to sue. Rock put her up
to it. U of O pays her legal expenses. Rancourt's on
his own. He's up against two of Canada's largest law
firms.
He's holding his own. He's doing so with limited
finances. His U of O Watch blog posts regular updates.
It includes other vital postings.
It has information on his legal fund. Since 2009, he's
been nonsalaried. Litigation drained his savings. He
appreciates whatever help readers can afford. It's for
a good cause. It supports his struggle for justice.
It's about right over wrong.
U of O is a hotbed of racist autocratic extremism.
Rock made it that way. A November 2011 lawsuit said
so. A January 2012 press release explained.
Foreign medical students face systemic discrimination.
Medical residents sued for damages. Their fundamental
rights were violated.
They charged conspiracy to injure, public office
malfeasance, defamation, intimidation, breach of
fiduciary duty, negligence, breach of contract, U of O
liability for negligence and breach of contract,
vicarious liability, and violations of the 1990 Human
Rights Code.
Rock and St. Lewis are equal opportunity offenders.
Hazel Gashoka is targeted. In 2012, she earned a U of
O honors BA. She's a Wilfrid Laurier University
graduate student.
She's Black. She's a social justice activist. At U of
O, she was a university senate representative. She
learned about campus racism firsthand. Student union
members reported it.
It drew public attention. Rock and other university
administrators were embarrassed. St. Lewis was
enlisted to help.
She's Black. She teaches civil liberties, social
justice, comparative South African and Canadian
constitutional law, critical race theory, history of
legal thought, and criminal justice administration.
She co-chaired the Canadian Bar Association Working
Group on Racial Equality.
She addressed accusations of campus racism. Whitewash
substituted for honest assessment. She called charges
exaggerated. Doing so ignored prima facie evidence.
She alleged "significant methodological errors." She
cited an "apparent lack of understanding of the
administrative processes of the university."
She claimed it showed a "complete failure to conduct a
systemic analysis in support of its conclusions of
systemic racism."
She said at most a miniscule percent of U of O's
population too small to matter is affected. Doing so
ignored systematic racist abuse.
Rancourt criticized her assessment. So did Gashoka.
She made a six-minute YouTube video. She said St.
Lewis ran cover for Rock.
A notice of libel followed. It threatens suing for
defamation. Attorney Richard Dearden sent it. He's
senior litigation partner in Gowlings' Ottawa office.
It's one of Canada's largest law firms.
It demanded Gashoka "immediately take down (her)
defamatory video from (her) website and any other
location it has been published."
It demanded she suppress truth. She was "advised to
preserve and maintain all records and
communication….regarding the production and
publication of (her) video."
Gashoka went public. On February 11, she addressed
Rock and U of O senate members. "Does the University
of Ottawa plan on funding a lawsuit against me," she
asked? She entitled to know.
In November 2012, she advised St. Lewis of her video.
She posted it on her blog. She requested comments or
corrections. No response followed.
Weeks later, a notice of libel arrived. Her open
letter responded. "Please confirm that the University
of Ottawa will not be funding a defamation lawsuit
against me," she requested.
She included links to her video and notice of libel.
Rancourt calls it "morally wrong for (U of O) and St.
Lewis to try to silence" her.
"Using public funds and student tuition money to fund
repressive litigation against her would be ironic, as
the university claims to promote discourse and debate
on matters of public interest."
Canadian law affirms free expression and opinion.
Gashoka is entitled to express her views freely. St.
Lewis has no right to expect immunity from justifiable
criticism.
Rancourt "call(ed) on (Rock) to state publicly,
without further delay, that the university will not
fund a lawsuit against (Gashoka) for her video, and to
clarify the university's criteria for funding lawsuits
against its critics."
Gashoka announced a February 27 press conference.
Media representatives and other interested parties are
invited to attend. It's scheduled for 11AM at U of O's
Rotunda of Tabaret Hall.
She'll address her video, litigation threat, St.
Lewis' U of O racism dismissiveness, and related
issues.
A Final Comment
Rancourt's new book addresses racism. It's titled
"Hierarchy and Free Expression in the Fight Against
Racism."
Cynthia McKinney praised the book. It "turn(s) the
entire notion of RACISM on its head," she said.
At the same time, it "exposes racist acts committed by
others to deflect that characterization from sticking
at the highest levels of The Academy."
"North American civil rights defenders need this
book," she added.
"Rancourt's deeply incisive Fight Against Racism
brings us back to the reality of the struggle, away
from the manoeuvering for class advantage and away
from the victim's desire to create illusions of
state-given justice."
Rancourt asks key questions. They need to be raised.
Billions of people are dehumanized. Censorship
conceals it.
America lost all earlier civil rights gains. Canada
appears no better. Things now are worse than ever.
Michelle Alexander's book "The New Jim Crow: Mass
Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" addressed
it.
She calls today's Jim Crow a modern-day racial caste
system. Elitists designed it. They embrace
colorblindness. They claim poor Blacks are dangerous
and economically superfluous.
America's gulag is an instrument of control. Lock-em-up
to do so. America's most vulnerable are grossly
mistreated.
They're victimized by get tough on crime policies,
guilt by accusation, three strikes and you're out,
racist drug laws, poverty, unemployment, and advocacy
for social justice challenging repressive state power.
Academia is no safe haven. U of O isn't alone. It's
one of the worst under Rock. Racism, censorship, abuse
of power, and institutionalized injustice define his
administration. He enforces what no one should
tolerate.
Principled activists suffer. Struggling for justice
isn't easy. Constitutional rights aren't negotiable.
Rancourt, Gashoka, and likeminded activists won't roll
over for injustice. Nor should anyone else.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached
at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is
titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit his
blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour.
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