Federal court denies Shoan temporary return to CRTC post

Former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan won’t be reinstated while awaiting appeal of the order-in-council that removed him from his position, a Federal Court judge ruled Friday. According to Justice Anne Mactavish’s reasons for decision, Shoan, who asked the court for a stay of his termination until the appeal is decided, didn’t satisfy all three elements required for the temporary reinstatement. Those three elements were that there was a serious issue to be tried in the appeal, he would suffer irreparable harm in the interim, and that the balance of convenience favours granting the injunction. While Mactavish ultimately agreed that Shoan had satisfied the serious issue component, she agreed with an argument raised by the attorney general representative during a hearing in Ottawa on Tuesday that irreparable harm means something that can’t be addressed through monetary compensation. “Should Mr. Shoan’s application for judicial review ultimately succeed, it would be open to him to commence an action for damages, both in relation to his lost income, and with respect to the harm that he says he has sustained to his reputation and career prospects,” the decision said, also disagreeing with the argument from Shoan’s lawyer that that the damage to Shoan’s reputation and career prospects, since already done, would be further compounded the longer he was out of his role. Mactavish also sided with the attorney general’s office that reinstating Shoan would not be in the public interest. “Without making any finding as to who is at fault, it is clear that the relationship between Mr. Shoan and the CRTC Chairperson and certain other staff members has become very difficult,” she wrote. “Reinstating Mr. Shoan to his position on an interim basis would undoubtedly have a negative impact on the collegiality required for the effective operation of the CRTC.” Shoan was removed from his post in June, following an investigation that found he had committed workplace harassment. On Sept. 2, a Federal Court judge overturned the findings of that investigation, ruling Shoan had been denied procedural fairness. Earlier this week, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) and the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC) called for his reinstatement. — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadegljia at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Federal court denies Shoan temporary return to CRTC post

Broadcast | September 9, 2016

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Federal court denies Shoan temporary return to CRTC post

Broadcast | September 9, 2016

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