Canada's University on Trial : Three medical doctors file multimillion-dollar joint civil action against the U of O and several officials

(OTTAWA, January 30, 2012) – Dr. Waleed AlGhaithy (Neurosurgery Residency Program, University of Ottawa), Dr. Khalid Aba-Alkhail (Cardiac Surgery Residency Program) and Dr. Manal Al-Saigh (same) have filed a joint action against the University of Ottawa and several of its officials.

Discrimination, conspiracy to injure, malfeasance in public office, breaches of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, defamation, breach of contract, and negligence are claimed against the University and several of its officials.

Among the individual defendants are Dr. Jacques Bradwejn – Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. James Worthington – Ottawa Hospital’s Vice-President of Medical Affairs and Patient Safety, Dr. Paul Bragg – Associate Dean Postgraduate Medical Education, Dr. Eric Poulin – Chair of the Department of Surgery, Dr. Therry Mesana – Chair of the Cardiac Surgery Division, Dr. Richard Moulton – Chair of the Neurosurgery Division, Dr. Fraser Rubens – Cardiac Surgery Program Director, and Dr. John Sinclair – former Neurosurgery Program Director.

The claim casts a spotlight on the state of medical training of foreign medical residents at both provincial and national levels in Canadian universities and illustrates some of the hurdles faced by foreign doctors at the U of O.

The plaintiffs’ case had garnered media attention in the Spring of 2011 when they held a press conference to announce that they had filed a Human Rights Complaint against the University of Ottawa.

They are represented by lawyers Douglas Christie and Barbara Kulaszka.


For more details please follow the link to the statement of claim: Aba-AlKhail et al. v. University of Ottawa et al. CV-11-440336

Press Release: Three medical doctors jointly file human rights complaints against the University of Ottawa and several officials

Dr. Waleed AlGhaithy (Neurosurgery Residency Program, University of Ottawa), Dr. Khalid Aba-Alkhail (Cardiac Surgery Residency Program) and Dr. Ms. Manal Al-Saigh (same) have filed Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario complaints against the University of Ottawa and several officials.

They are represented by freedom of expression and human rights lawyer Douglas Christie.

A joint press conference will be held at 10:30am on Wednesday March 9, 2011, in the entrance rotunda of Tabaret Hall (central administration building), 550 Cumberland Ave., University of Ottawa.

Discrimination, reprisal, and intimidation are alleged on the basis of evidence filed with the Tribunal.

Dr. Aba-Alkail affirms that Senator Dr. Wilbert Keon, Dr. Paul Bragg, Dr. James Worthington, Dr. Thierry Mesana, and others collectively intimidated him behind closed doors to drop a legal reparation case under threat of career obliteration.

The evidence for reprisal and targeting is unambiguous in the form of emails between hospital executives, including emails leaked by an inside source and sent to hundreds of faculty and residents.

For example, on July 11, 2009, Chairman of Neurosurgery Richard Moulton wrote to Dr. Paul Bragg (Associate Dean PGME) and Dr. James Worthington (VP Medical Affairs of TOH) about plaintiff Dr. AlGaithy:

“If the [discrimination] complaint against [Dr. Eve Tsai] is dismissed there are going to have to be some significant consequences for the involved parties (dismissal/suspension) or we are going to be facing this ad infinitum.”

AlGaithy was summarily dismissed despite his outstanding academic and professional standing.

The March 9^th press conference is organized by the Student Appeal Centre (SAC) of the Student Federation University of Ottawa (SFUO), following the SAC’s 2008 report about systemic racism at the University of Ottawa.

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For more information about the press conference please contact:

Mireille Gervais, LL.L

Director, Student Appeal Centre, SFUO

case.cresac@sfuo.ca

cell: 613-261-6647

Three Graduate Students File a Lawsuit against the University of Ottawa and Deliver Their Claim to President Allan Rock

On Tuesday February 24, 2009 physics graduate students Sean Kelly, Joseph Hickey and postdoctoral fellow Meizhen Dang filed a lawsuit against the University of Ottawa.

A press conference was held in Tabaret Hall to announce the lawsuit. Following the press conference students attempted to deliver the claim to President Allan Rock but the glass doors to the central administration offices had been locked. A few minutes later Allan Rock stepped out of his office, smiled and waved to the crowd of students as he made his way out of Tabaret Hall using another exit.

Students quickly caught up to Allan Rock and informed him that they had an important document to deliver. President Rock did not respond to the students and made his way down Laurier Street. Refusing to give up, students followed Allan Rock, explaining the nature of the lawsuit and the grounds of their complaint against the University of Ottawa. President Rock did not respond.

After approximately ten minutes, President Rock finally accepted to take the claim and walked away with yet another wave and a smile.


Press Release Announcing the Conference:

On December 10, 2008, the University of Ottawa summarily, without notice consultation or due process, closed the laboratory of Professor Denis Rancourt, locking out its researchers, seizing equipment and derailing years of award winning scholarship in nanoparticle physics. As a result of this ill-conceived plan, post Doctoral researcher Meizhen Dang's employment was terminated after twelve years of dedicated research assistance. Master's student Sean Kelly lost nearly six years of specialized research in the area of ferromagnetism and Master's student Joseph Hickey has been bullied by the administration to abandon his fully funded NSERC research project under Professor Rancourt.

"Academic excellence and freedom at the University of Ottawa are under a profound attack when the administration takes a personal dislike to a certain professor" according to Joseph Hickey. "I came to attend the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at this University on a fully funded scholarship to work with a leading world expert in physics, not to be coerced and treated with such disdain."

"Every day that we are locked out of our research jobs, the value of our scholarships diminish and the likelihood of regaining our research momentum decreases rendering the prospects for our scientific careers more doubtful," explained Sean Kelly.

For Meizhen Dang, she is concerned about the lack of consideration and disrespect shown to longstanding researchers at the University of Ottawa. "Had I known that after a decade of work I would end up by being unceremoniously locked out of my lab and having my research seized despite producing internationally recognized and award winning scientific results, I would have left this environment years ago. What have I done to deserve this?"

After their requests to return to their academic supervisor and laboratory research group fell on deaf ears, the postdoctoral researcher and graduate students have filed a joint claim against the University and the Dean of Graduate Studies, Gary Slater for monetary damages relating to breach of contract and misfeasance in public office.

(Press Release by Yavar Hameed)