September 2000
We had a very successful and lively meeting this year, with 36 people
attending, and 22 members at the business meeting.
We thank Nancy Innis, the UWO local co-ordinator, for making the arrangements
for morning coffee, lunch, and for looking after the reservations for the
very pleasant meeting rooms. Nancy also arranged accommodations for our
guest speaker, Karen Selik.
1) As president, in my opening remarks, I outlined briefly some highlights
of SAFS activities in the past year.
I noted especially that SAFS has become more visible, in that members
have written opinion pieces, letters, and have been the subject of news
items in major newspapers like the National Post, the Globe and
Mail, and the Ottawa Citizen. We have also taken part successfully
in several radio interviews, so that many more people know us and what
we are about. Nonetheless, we still have work to do in this area.
The University of Western Ontario chapter has as usual been very active,
having successfully challenged the local union’s preferential hiring clause.
We opposed the exclusionary advertisement by Wilfrid Laurier University’s
Psychology department calling for “women only,” and generated a very public
airing of opinions on such practices, probably more thoroughly than ever
before. Although WLU did ultimately hire a woman, the effects of SAFS vigorous
campaign were felt across the country. Recently, WLU Psychology announced
publicly that it would not be advertising for women only in future.
SAFS undertook a campaign against the NSERC junior faculty awards designated
for women only. I sent a letter to all NSERC grant selection committee
members, outlining our position. That letter was widely circulated and
as a consequence, I debated an NSERC representative on the CBC Morning
show. This process, as in the WLU incident, is ongoing, but one outcome
has been the extension of the awards to aboriginals, male and
female! The radio interview was heard by someone from the Donner Foundation
and resulted in the suggestion that SAFS might apply for some Donner funds
to carry on certain of our activities.
The Board took action in the case of a University of Manitoba professor
who as a private individual questioned the need, at a school board meeting,
for a homosexual awareness programme. The U of M student union complained to
its equity office that this constituted hate literature. We wrote the
president of U of M to the effect that such ideas should be discussable,
even in a university context, stressing of course that we took no position
on the content of the professor’s report. That complaint was dismissed.
Some pronouncements by Robert Birgeneau, the incoming president of the
University of Toronto, were quite emphatic about promoting equity hiring.
He also suggested that anyone in a leadership role who disagreed with him
would be in an uncomfortable position. The U of T local chapter took up
this issue and has had a lively discussion with Birgeneau on the topic.
It is probably fair to say that he has backtracked somewhat.
Most recently, another issue has arisen in the U of T Physics Department,
which has been charged by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) with
systemic discrimination. Again, local Toronto SAFS members have been in
consultation with Physics about this, and have written cogently on the nature
and definition of systemic discrimination. The decision of the OHRC not to
refer this case to a board of enquiry has recently been announced. (See
the U of T web page: www.newsandevents.utoronto.ca/ohrc/00072response.asp).
I want to thank the many members who wrote letters on these and other
issues, sometimes at the Board’s request, and sometimes on their own. I
know that it takes time and energy away from one’s regular work to do this,
but it is effective.
2) At last year’s AGM, we voted to establish an academic freedom award,
and to call it the Furedy award, in recognition of Chris and John’s generous
memorial donation to SAFS, and also in recognition of John’s long years
of service to the Society. The award this year went to Rory Leishman, a
freelance journalist from London. Because Rory was unable to be present
this year, John Palmer, his nominator, received the award for him. Fittingly,
John Furedy made the first presentation of this award. (See his remarks
while making the presentation on page 9).
3) The formal morning session, chaired by Jim Ryan, was entitled “Combatting
preferential hiring.” Clive Seligman gave a very useful outline of some
of the arguments used to support the Wilfrid Laurier exclusionary ad, as
well as the counter-arguments. Clive’s appeal of this ad to the Ontario
Human Rights Commission is still not resolved.
Steve Lupker then gave an account of his and others’ successful attempt
to modify the newly-formed UWO union’s clauses promoting group-identity
or “equity” hiring. The majority of the faculty at UWO were in fact opposed
to such practices, and the clauses were effectively defeated, thanks to
prompt and persistent action by SAFS members and those sympathetic to our
aims. Both talks generated a great deal of discussion.
4) Nancy Innis chaired the lunchtime speaker session. Our invited speaker
was Karen Selick, a libertarian lawyer and frequent contributor to law
magazines and to the National Post. She spoke on anti-hate legislation,
and outlined for us the differences between anti-hate laws under the criminal
code as compared to human rights commissions. For example, under the criminal
code, there is a presumption of innocence, and the effects of being found
guilty are punitive; whereas under human rights legislation, there is no
necessary presumption of innocence (in fact, it often seems the reverse),
and the effects are intended to be remedial, not punitive. The talk was
very clear and informative and was greeted with long applause from the
audience. There were also many questions and points of discussion afterward.
5) The Annual Business Meeting was held at the end of the day. The minutes
will be circulated to members with this newsletter.
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