St. Lawrence administration harassed longtime teacher, arbitrator rules
Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
editor@qctonline.com
CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence failed in its duty to provide a psychologically safe work environment to a longtime professor, Quebec’s labour arbitration court has ruled.
Lisa Birch has taught at the CEGEP for more than 30 years. She is a teacher representative on the St. Lawrence governing board, known as the establishment board, and and a former president of the faculty union; she also supported the unsuccessful autonomy movement that sought to split St. Lawrence from the Champlain Regional College (CRC) network.
In a 35-page ruling, arbitrator Julie Blouin laid out the details of the dispute between Birch and the college, dating back to 2021, when the Quebec Ministry of Higher Education and an external labour relations consulting firm were investigating the college’s governance practices and “organizational climate.”
In May 2021, Birch, who met several times with investigators, raised concerns about à conflict of interest between the CRC network governing board and the external auditing firm, which led to the auditing firm being replaced. She also noted inconsistencies in the investigation’s mandate. In January 2022, Birch was told a complaint of psychological harassment had been made against her and was being investigated. In response, supported by the school’s faculty union, Birch filed three grievances alleging psychological harassment and failure to ensure a safe workplace. She alleged that her employer never made it clear what she was accused of, and subjected her to an unnecessarily long investigation, during which she had to respect no-contact protocols with certain colleagues that isolated her and dragged on for months after the initial investigation ended. She was also made to believe multiple people had filed complaints against her when only one person – director of studies Edward Berryman – had. “The investigation should never have happened,” Blouin ruled.
According to the ruling, St. Lawrence acknowledged that the investigation had been long, but that the delays were due in part to Birch’s grievances. It denied harassing Birch and argued she was “paranoid by nature” and “a reasonable person in the same situation would have reacted differently.” Berryman, whose mandate as director of studies was renewed last month, testified that he believed Birch was part of a group working to undermine his leadership and get him fired, and the complaint against Birch was part of an effort to “see who the leaders were and what the influences were.”
Blouin, who found Birch’s testimony clear and consistent, did not buy the arguments put forth by the college or Berryman. She found that Birch was the victim of psychological harassment and that the college “abused its rights in a way that undermined her dignity and psychological state and created a harmful work environment,” as the faculty union argued. She accepted Birch’s three grievances, finding that the school had “launched an unjustified investigation, re- fused to answer [Birch’s] questions during the process, not ensured that the investigation took place within a reasonable time frame [and] restricted [Birch] with unreasonable communications protocols.” She also found that the college failed to back up its allegations against Birch with appropriate documentation, and that Birch’s attempts to raise concerns about governance practices were within her right to free expression. She found no evidence for the college’s claim that Birch was paranoid. A difference of opinion on its own, she ruled, should not give rise to a harassment investigation.
Yves De Repentigny is vice president responsible for CEGEPs at the Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN), of which the St. Lawrence faculty union is a member. “The way we see it is, Ms. Birch was targeted for her role on the establishment board. She expressed a governance vision that was different from the others and that’s why she was targeted,” he said.
He said the union was afraid for the safety and freedom of expression of St. Lawrence faculty, staff and students. “It’s not normal that you can’t say what you think without it hav- ing an impact on your career.” While he couldn’t directly address ongoing complaints for legal reasons, he and others implied that more such grievances may be forthcoming.
Birch, contacted by the QCT, said she was unable to comment for the time being. “It’s a heavy burden, we’re relieved for her and we salute her courage,” De Repentigny said.
CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence referred a request for comment to CRC’s head office in Lennoxville. A CRC spokesperson said the college network acknowledged the decision. “We are currently evaluating our options and will not be commenting further,” they added.