(Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: By necessity, TRU misconduct probe leaves unanswered questions

Jan 18, 2023 | 4:27 AM

THE THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY report on allegations of misconduct against two of its senior administrators can be summed up like this: some allegations against one of them were substantiated, none of them against the other was.

Thus ends many months of speculation about who did or said what that resulted in 55 complaints against the two. The accusations included inappropriate comments about women in the workplace, personal harassment, and a derogatory comment about indigenous people.

Ten of 23 claims against one of the men were substantiated. All 22 against the other were not. While the university has posted the 527-page, $1 million report on its website, most of it is redacted; page after page detailing the allegations is blacked out.

There’s good reason for this — privacy laws severely restrict what can be publicized about personnel matters. While the public might think it has a right to know everything, it does not.

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What’s different about this case is that the two administrators have been named in the media since the story broke, with their photos being published dozens of times over the months.

Yet, under privacy laws, the parts of the report connecting each one to specific allegations, and the details of the allegations themselves, can’t be released. So we don’t know which of the two was cleared, and which wasn’t.

Can you imagine having allegations of misconduct made against you, and having to endure stories about it for almost two years, and for those allegations to be dismissed, but for that crucial fact not to be revealed?

What a terrible burden. The entire situation has been an ordeal — for the complainants as well as for the university community, but arguably most of all for the administrator who was cleared yet must now continue to live with suspicion hanging over his head.

The university handled things as well as it could but the whole sad exercise demonstrates the double-edged sword of protection of privacy.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, former TNRD director and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.