Shoan dismissal part of ‘witch hunt,’ former commissioner says

Former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan is alleging that Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly and the governor-in-council (GIC) have effectively participated in a “witch hunt” against him by removing him from his appointment this summer, according to new court documents. In a memorandum of fact and law filed with the Federal Court Monday in his application to overturn his firing, Shoan said he wasn’t provided procedural fairness in the process that led to him being dismissed as the regional commissioner for Ontario in June, three years into a five-year term. By accepting at face value the complaints against Shoan, which the document alleges came from chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, and not accepting Shoan’s counterarguments, Minister Joly and the GIC “became de facto participants in a witch hunt against Shoan that this Court has already publicly condemned.” In the document, Shoan refers often to the Sept. 2 decision by Federal Court judge Russel Zinn that set aside a report and finding of workplace harassment initiated by a senior CRTC staff member. In his written decision, Zinn said that “the failure of procedural fairness by the Investigator and the Chairman make the entire Report and the corrective measures suspect and unreliable,” and referred to the process as a “witch hunt.” “The process undertaken by the Minister, and the GIC’s decision to terminate Shoan’s appointment as a Commissioner of the CRTC, violated the rules of procedural fairness that apply to protect the independence of appointees to quasi-judicial bodies,” Shoan's filing argued. Court documents highlight that Shoan didn’t receive any correspondence about his situation from the minister after the initial Feb. 26 letter telling him his termination was being considered between his March 14 response and his June dismissal. Further, Joly’s letter raised concerns that were “stale dated,” according to Shoan, in that they were related to “alleged events that pre-dated Minister Joly’s appointment and were deemed by the previous Minister (Ms. Glover) to be insufficient to warrant any action.” Among the issues raised by Joly in that letter “that called into question his capacity to continue” serving as a CRTC commissioner were public statements inciting criticism of the CRTC, referring to two of his tweets about legal proceedings he launched against the commission; releasing confidential information about the complainant in the harassment case, which was included in court documents and later released by Zinn; the harassment case itself and two meetings with CRTC stakeholders that appeared to be a conflict of interest. “Simply put, the GIC could have waited to make a meaningful inquiry into the allegations, but instead chose to proceed hastily, without regard to the procedural fairness owed to Shoan in the circumstances or the damage that could result to Shoan personally,” the document said. “As a result, the GIC’s hasty decision operated as a de facto extension of the ‘witch hunt’ conducted against Shoan.” There is also no prescribed standard for “cause” and “good behaviour,” it said. GIC appointments like Shoan’s have their tenure set “during good behaviour,” and according to the Privy Council, those appointees “may be removed by the Governor in Council for cause.” The document cited case law where the court previously said “an individual appointed during good behaviour deserves greater procedural protection than an individual appointed at pleasure,” and that the “Governor in Council has the responsibility to provide sufficient procedural safeguards owed to appointees.” Shoan’s request for those safeguards, namely that court proceedings related to his conduct be allowed to wrap up first, were ignored, it said. The process that led to Shoan’s termination fell “woefully short,” the document added. “In particular, the Minister/GIC failed to engage an individual assessment, to act fairly and transparently and to provide any clear reasons or analysis for its decision.” A Federal Court judge denied in September Shoan’s request that his termination be delayed until the appeal is complete. — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Shoan dismissal part of ‘witch hunt,’ former commissioner says

Broadcast | November 25, 2016

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Shoan dismissal part of ‘witch hunt,’ former commissioner says

Broadcast | November 25, 2016

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