2 women who complained of harassment in UPEI permanently released from silencing deal

Two women who signed non-disclosure agreements with the University of Prince Edward Island a decade ago have been permanently freed from the threat of prosecution for speaking out about their experiences, following an apparent apology by the university’s board of governors. has been issued.

Wendy Carroll and Erin Casey, who have asked for their names to be made public, filed sexual harassment complaints against former university president Alaa Abd-El-Aziz in 2012. They eventually took those complaints to the PEI Human Rights Commission and in 2013 were offered a settlement and signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the university.

“After 11 years of silence, we feel heard,” Carroll and Casey said in a written statement Thursday following the news that UPEI had permanently released them from the terms of their NDA.

“We accept UPEI’s apology for the personal, professional and reputational damage caused to us over the past decade.”

In early 2022, the university hired Rubin Thomlinson LLP – the same Toronto-based law firm that conducted a workplace investigation into CBC News following the dismissal of radio host Gian Ghomeshi – to review harassment, discrimination and fair treatment procedures at UPEI. For.

This happened shortly after a new allegation of misconduct against the former president surfaced in late 2021. Abd-al-Aziz announced his retirement in December, and the university says it no longer has any ties to him.

Both women were offered a temporary release from their NDAs to participate in the Rubin Thomlinson review, but Abd-al-Aziz was also a signatory to those agreements. In June, UPEI told CBC News that Abd-al-Aziz did not agree to exempt women from the privacy requirement.

Casey and Carroll asked the university to offer damages to provide legal protection if Abd-al-Aziz chose to sue them. However, UPEI will not offer to compensate the women on a permanent basis, only long enough to allow them to participate in the Rubin Thomlinson review.

As a result, neither Casey nor Carroll participated in the review.

CBC News has tried repeatedly to reach Abd-El-Aziz for comment on the report and its outcome, but was unsuccessful.

Later Thursday morning, the UPEI Faculty Association reiterated its request for an unpublished copy of the report, and requested an independent third-party review of the revisions made prior to its release in June. The association suggested that the cost should be shared by the Board of Governors and the campus unions.

‘We have recovered our voice’

In Thursday’s statement, the women say that thanks to the permanent release, they have finally been able to regain their voices.

“Our goal has always been and will be to ensure that what happened to us does not happen to anyone else,” the statement said.

“We also want to reaffirm our leadership role on the issue of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and the harm they can cause in cases of harassment and discrimination.

“We have recovered our voices. We look forward to using them to continue this conversation.”

Casey was a graduate student in UPEI’s Faculty of Education and a full-time employee in the UPEI President’s Office at the time she and Carroll brought forward their complaints. Carol was a professor at UPEI’s School of Business. Both women left PEI after filing their complaints.

‘A process of reconciliation’

Earlier this summer, Shannon MacDonald was appointed as chair of the UPEI Board of Governors after previous chair Pat Sinnott resigned. In Thursday’s statement, he said the board is committed to following “every single recommendation” included in the Rubin Thomlinson report.

“One of the ways the university has accepted accountability since the release of the Rubin Thomlinson report is by making amends to those who have been harmed,” the statement said.

“The university will not stop them (Casey and Carol) from making their voices heard and sharing their stories, should they wish to.”

Macdonald thanked the women for agreeing to meet with him and share their experiences from the past decade.

“Together, we have begun a process of reconciliation. We hope this is a restorative path forward for him and for the university community as we work toward healing.”

earn back trust

Macdonald also apologized for the university’s handling of the complaints.

“We are truly sorry that the university and board failed to live up to our values ​​when it comes to harassment and equality,” the statement said.

“We apologize for our past failures to meet the expectations of the UPEI community. We must do better, and we will. We continue to work hard to create a safe, respectful and positive environment for all members of the UPEI community.” Will keep.”

Macdonald pointed to a change in leadership of the board as a first step, as well as the creation of a new vice president responsible for people and culture at the university.

We’ve got a lot of trust to earn, and we’re at the beginning of that process. We want to take our time and do it right.– Shannon MacDonald, Chair of the UPEI Board of Directors

He said an action plan is being developed based on the recommendations of the report.

“We’re very confident of earnings and we’re at the beginning of that process. We want to take our time and do this the right way,” McDonald said in the statement.

“We know we can learn and improve through this restorative process, and we believe they (Casey and Carroll), along with others, can provide guidance so that UPEI Something like this shouldn’t easily happen to anyone, if ever, again.”