Appeal planned in decision involving St. Lawrence teacher

Appeal planned in decision involving St. Lawrence teacher

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Champlain Regional College (CRC) plans to appeal a decision by the Quebec labour arbitration tribunal that found that CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence (SLC) failed to ensure a psychologically safe work environment for a longtime teacher, multiple sources connected to the case have told the QCT.

In a ruling issued on May 1, arbitrator Julie Blouin found that Lisa Birch, a longtime SLC professor and former faculty union president, had been subjected to a groundless harassment investigation after she and a colleague raised concerns about certain manage- ment decisions made by SLC director of studies Edward Berryman. “The tribunal is worried by the fact that in the absence of an official complaint – or at least of serious allegations – the process was initiated and was considered receivable on the basis of suppositions, even of feelings, without facts to support it. … [Birch] was targeted on the basis of suspicions and presumptions alone, essentially because she was a campus leader,” Blouin wrote in her ruling, finding that the investigation itself constituted psychological harassment against Birch.

Blouin found that the concerns Birch raised amounted to “differences of opinion” and the fact that Birch was subjected to a harassment investigation represented “grave and vexatious” conduct on the part of Berryman. “A difference of opinion does not give rise to an investigation [into] psychological harassment

in the absence of vexatious conduct. Simply not sharing another person’s opinion is not enough,” she wrote. She also found that Birch wasn’t informed of the allegations against her in a timely manner, and that the college subjected Birch to no-contact protocols that prevented her from communicating with certain col- leagues for weeks longer than necessary.

Blouin’s ruling did not address compensation for Birch. “If necessary, in a second step, the tribunal will decide on remedial measures … after hearing the parties on this issue if they are unable to agree,” she wrote.

Yves De Repentigny is vice- president responsible for CEGEPs at the Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec-CSN (FNEEQ-CSN), of which the St. Lawrence faculty union is a member, which brought Birch’s case before the tribunal. He confirmed that he knew of the planned appeal and the CSN legal department would take the case on Birch’s behalf.

According to a Quebec government website explaining the arbitration process, decisions made by an arbitrator can only be appealed in the event that “violations of the rules of application or of public order” have been committed.

Birch could not comment publicly due to ongoing legal proceedings. The QCT made repeated attempts to contact Champlain Regional College through its head office in Lennoxville, through its board and through Aucoin Stratégie et Communication, a Montreal- based communications firm that worked with the college until recently. No response had been received by press time.