Covert security operation sparks controversy
Jacquie Clancy
Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: News
Dr. Denis Rancourt, a former physics professor at the University of Ottawa, was fired in March 2009 following a controversy about his grading policies and his instruction of an activism course - the controversy involving Rancourt did not end there.
"Two union grievances (teacher assistants and professors) have been filed against the UofO for extensive covert surveillance practiced between 2006 and 2008," stated a press release on Jan. 12.
These grievances come as a response to academic and civil rights being violated by a covert surveillance campaign at UofO that involved an undergraduate student and student journalist, Maureen Robinson, as well as Rancourt and some of his students.
Robinson was allegedly fired by the university as an "agent of University Legal Counsel [and] took on a false Facebook identity to infiltrate student groups, especially ones supportive of Rancourt's activism course," stated the press release.
The covert surveillance included recordings of Rancourt's lectures on anarchism in pedagogical development that were taken from conferences in Quebec City and Kingston without his knowledge.
"I was shocked and appalled at learning through an access to information appeal that my 2007 talk at Queens University was covertly voice-recorded via a student who was hired by the UofO [...] and that the covert recording was used at the highest levels within the administration," said Rancourt.
Robinson took on the online alias of "Nathalie Page" and used this name to communicate with students involved in a campus group that Rancourt was a part of.
Former UofO student, Daniel Cayley-Daoust was the manager of an E-mail list for one campus group that Rancourt was involved with when Nathalie Page/Robinson, tried to join.
"She alleged that she was interested in joining our list because the subject interested her […] I followed up with her to find out a little bit more about her and after one or two emails she stopped responding," said Cayley-Daoust.
"Two union grievances (teacher assistants and professors) have been filed against the UofO for extensive covert surveillance practiced between 2006 and 2008," stated a press release on Jan. 12.
These grievances come as a response to academic and civil rights being violated by a covert surveillance campaign at UofO that involved an undergraduate student and student journalist, Maureen Robinson, as well as Rancourt and some of his students.
Robinson was allegedly fired by the university as an "agent of University Legal Counsel [and] took on a false Facebook identity to infiltrate student groups, especially ones supportive of Rancourt's activism course," stated the press release.
The covert surveillance included recordings of Rancourt's lectures on anarchism in pedagogical development that were taken from conferences in Quebec City and Kingston without his knowledge.
"I was shocked and appalled at learning through an access to information appeal that my 2007 talk at Queens University was covertly voice-recorded via a student who was hired by the UofO [...] and that the covert recording was used at the highest levels within the administration," said Rancourt.
Robinson took on the online alias of "Nathalie Page" and used this name to communicate with students involved in a campus group that Rancourt was a part of.
Former UofO student, Daniel Cayley-Daoust was the manager of an E-mail list for one campus group that Rancourt was involved with when Nathalie Page/Robinson, tried to join.
"She alleged that she was interested in joining our list because the subject interested her […] I followed up with her to find out a little bit more about her and after one or two emails she stopped responding," said Cayley-Daoust.
Be the first to comment on this story