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July 5, 2017 9:19 am  #1


Lawsuit Alleges Toxic Nightmare Exists Behind The Scenes At CRTC

An extensive 159-page filing with the court alleges the atmosphere at the upper levels of the CRTC is downright toxic and that it’s a terrible place to work. The details are outlined in a fascinating column by David Farrell in an fyimusicnews.ca column that's definitely worth a read.
 
It all involves Raj Shoan, the controversial former CRTC commissioner for Ontario, who was fired, reinstated by a court and then promptly let go again the same week. He’s trying to get his job back using the legal system.
 
From the article:
 
“Shoan alleges that one former commissioner exhibited a pattern of wanton harassment of colleagues.
 
At various times he cites the former peer describing colleagues as ‘a scraggly hag,' and a ‘maggot.' He further suggests this person had complained after meeting with ethnic broadcasters that the office ‘smelled like curry,' sought new hotel accommodations because ‘there were 'too many black people’ in the one assigned and, allegedly, characterized Shoan as a ‘spoiled rich brown kid who probably grew up with servants.'
 
The document also argues that former Chairman JP Blais acted more like an overlord who grabbed more executive authority than was vested in the position "intended by Parliament.”
 
He also alleges that due process was bypassed to terminate his position as a dissenting commissioner, in what some might conclude had become an autocracy after reading the file.”

 
None of the allegations have been proven in court, although you have to wonder - if what he says is true, why in the world would he want to go back there?

Shoan Fights Back Over 2nd Dismissal From CRTC: Court Doc Alleges Outrageous Behaviour At Gatineau Tower

 

October 17, 2020 12:02 am  #2


Re: Lawsuit Alleges Toxic Nightmare Exists Behind The Scenes At CRTC

Yep Raj Shoan is back.  Again fighting in court with new evidence to appeal his first and second dismissal as CRTC Commissioner based on racism and harassment allegations.

Note this Globe article is behind a paywall...  maybe someone else can find an open link.
 

 

October 17, 2020 9:49 am  #3


Re: Lawsuit Alleges Toxic Nightmare Exists Behind The Scenes At CRTC

Raj Shoan, an outspoken former CRTC commissioner, heads back to court Monday to appeal his dismissal from the commission in 2017, and to demand a declaration that the federal cabinet should have investigated allegations of racism he put forward while he worked at the regulator.

Mr. Shoan’s appeal of his second termination from his post as Ontario regional commissioner for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is part of a long legal battle relating to his time working there. Included in Mr. Shoan’s court documents are allegations that a colleague referred to him as a “spoiled, rich brown kid” and made other racially insensitive comments.

The case will be heard virtually by the Federal Court of Appeal. A spokesperson for the Privy Council Office declined to comment on the matter, as it is before the courts.

The legal saga, which involves multiple court battles spanning several years, thrust internal conflict at the commission into public view and revealed long-simmering tensions between the regional commissioner and then CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais.

The feud between Mr. Shoan and Mr. Blais first came to light in 2015, when Mr. Shoan launched a legal action seeking judicial review of a finding that he had harassed a CRTC employee through a series of e-mails. A federal court later tossed out the workplace harassment complaint against Mr. Shoan, finding the investigators on the case had approached it with a “closed mind” and criticizing Mr. Blais for playing a dual role as a witness and a decision maker. Mr. Blais and a spokesperson for the CRTC both declined to comment for this story.

Mr. Shoan, a lawyer who previously served as director of regulatory affairs at the CBC, was dismissed from the CRTC in June, 2016, amid multiple legal actions that he had filed regarding the regulator. Mr. Shoan, who was appointed to the CRTC in 2013, has repeatedly objected to what he has characterized as Mr. Blais overstepping his powers as CRTC chairman.

Mr. Shoan sought a judicial review of his dismissal by the federal cabinet and won. In April, 2017, Federal Court Justice Cecily Strickland quashed the cabinet decision that dismissed Mr. Shoan, stating it lacked procedural fairness, but noted in her ruling that the relationship between Mr. Shoan and Mr. Blais was “fraught.”

Mr. Shoan’s reinstatement as a CRTC commissioner was short-lived. In May, 2017, just days after he had returned to his post, the federal cabinet again revoked his appointment.Mr. Shoan challenged the decision in court, but lost. On May 7, 2018, a Federal Court judge dismissed Mr. Shoan’s application for judicial review, stating that the cabinet decision had appropriate procedural fairness. Mr. Shoan is now appealing that ruling.

The Attorney General of Canada says in court filings that the appeal should be dismissed because the cabinet “clearly communicated” to Mr. Shoan the grounds for his firing: his inappropriate contact with stakeholders, his failure to follow internal CRTC processes with respect to access to information requests and his negative public statements about the regulator. Cabinet felt Mr. Shoan’s actions were “fundamentally incompatible with his position,” according to court documents.

On Monday, the court will hear Mr. Shoan’s appeal as well as a motion he filed on Oct. 9 to add new evidence to the record. Mr. Shoan claims in court filings that this new evidence challenges the assertions that he engaged in inappropriate stakeholder conduct and demonstrates that he received differential treatment. The Attorney General of Canada counters in its filings that the new evidence is not relevant and that Mr. Shoan did not bring it forward in a timely fashion.Mr. Shoan also says in his court filings that during his time as a CRTC commissioner, he repeatedly tried to raise concerns relating to alleged bigotry, discrimination and differential treatment.

In a June 14, 2016 letter to then Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, Mr. Shoan specifically requested that the minister investigate “racially-charged conduct” occurring at the commission, according to court documents. “I informed the Minister that CRTC employees had informed me of racially insensitive remarks made by a fellow Commissioner and that they feared reprisal from the CRTC Chairperson and other members of CRTC staff if they brought the matter to them,” Mr. Shoan said in an affidavit filed on Oct. 9.

“Specifically, the information brought to my attention alleged that my colleague had referred to me as a ‘spoiled, rich brown kid,' complained that her office ‘smelled of curry’ after certain Indo-Canadian stakeholders had visited and requested a change of hotels on one occasions because there were ‘too many black people’ there. The Chairperson, it appeared, had taken no action against that colleague," the court document reads. The Attorney General says the appeal is the first time Mr. Shoan has raised issues relating to racism, bigotry and differential treatment, according to court documents.

 

October 20, 2020 5:39 pm  #4


Re: Lawsuit Alleges Toxic Nightmare Exists Behind The Scenes At CRTC

I don't have any details on this, since I don't subscribe to the Globe, but I think the headline on the paywalled story tells it all:

"Federal court dismisses appeal case by former CRTC commissioner over termination"

     Thread Starter
 

October 20, 2020 7:07 pm  #5


Re: Lawsuit Alleges Toxic Nightmare Exists Behind The Scenes At CRTC

Federal court dismisses appeal case by former CRTC commissioner over termination

Alexandra Posadzki Telecom reporter

Published October 20, 2020 

The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed a case by former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan over his termination from the regulator, characterizing his allegations of racial bias as a “new issue” that was not raised during his earlier application for judicial review.

Mr. Shoan, whose legal battles brought internal conflict at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission into public view, was appealing his second termination from his post as Ontario regional commissioner, which occurred in 2017, less than a year after the federal cabinet dismissed him the first time. He was also seeking a declaration that cabinet should have investigated allegations of racism that he had raised while working at the commission.

Mr. Shoan had specifically requested, in a June 14, 2016, letter, that then-heritage minister Mélanie Joly investigate “racially charged conduct” at the CRTC, according to court documents. He alleges a colleague had referred to him as a “spoiled, rich brown kid" and made other racially insensitive comments.
Justice David Stratas dismissed the case on Monday, saying in reasons issued later that cabinet’s “alleged obligation to investigate racial bias” is a new issue that Mr. Shoan failed to raise during his initial application in the Federal Court.

“New issues should generally not be heard by a reviewing court,” Justice Stratas wrote. “We exercise our discretion against entertaining this new issue.”

Mr. Shoan said in an e-mail that he is “disappointed that the Court chose to characterize racial bias issues – which have been ever present in the tribunal record – as a ‘new’ issue.”

“I am exploring the options before me and will make a considered choice with respect to next steps in the coming days," Mr. Shoan added.

Mr. Shoan was appointed to the CRTC in 2013, and his appeal is part of a lengthy legal battle that revealed tensions between the regional commissioner and then-CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais. The feud between the two came to light in 2015, when Mr. Shoan sought judicial review of a finding that he had harassed a CRTC employee through e-mail. The workplace harassment complaint was later tossed out by a Federal Court, which found the investigators had approached the case with a “closed mind.”

Mr. Shoan, a lawyer and former director of regulatory affairs at the CBC, was first dismissed from the commission in June, 2016, amid multiple legal actions he had filed. He had repeatedly butted heads with Mr. Blais over what he characterized as the chairman overstepping his powers.

Mr. Shoan sought a judicial review of his dismissal and won, but his reinstatement as a commissioner was short-lived. In May, 2017, mere days after he had returned to his job, the federal cabinet again revoked Mr. Shoan’s appointment.

Mr. Shoan challenged the second firing in court, but this time he lost. A Federal Court judge dismissed his application for judicial review, saying that the cabinet decision had appropriate procedural fairness. That is the decision that Mr. Shoan was appealing.

The Attorney-General of Canada had argued in court filings that the case should be dismissed because the cabinet had communicated to Mr. Shoan the grounds for his dismissal: inappropriate contact with stakeholders, his failure to follow internal CRTC processes with respect to access to information requests and the negative public statements he had made about the regulator. Cabinet felt Mr. Shoan’s actions were “fundamentally incompatible with his position,” according to court documents.