51ÎÛÂþ

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Motion to Condemn

Approved at the December 13th, 2022, meeting of Senate

Body: 

WHEREAS the Auditor General of Ontario released her Special Report on 51ÎÛÂþ on 17 November 2022; and

WHEREAS this report includes many shocking and scandalous revelations about our senior administration¡¯s reckless and ultimately disastrous mismanagement of 51ÎÛÂþ between 2010 and 2021; and

WHEREAS this report concludes that, while our senior administrators claimed that ¡°excessive faculty costs¡± were to blame for 51ÎÛÂþ¡¯s financial difficulties, ¡°the main cause of its financial decline was poorly planned and costly capital expansion,¡± exacerbated by the senior administration¡¯s ¡°questionable financial and operational decisions¡±; and

WHEREAS this report concludes that, while our senior administrators claimed they had no choice but to declare insolvency, ¡°Laurentian¡¯s senior management and Board strategically planned and pursued CCAA restructuring¡± for almost a year, and ¡°chose to file for CCAA protection in response to the University¡¯s financial decline, poor relations with faculty and staff associations, and the administration¡¯s desire to end agreements with the federated universities¡±; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that Senate accepts and endorses the findings and recommendations of the Auditor General of Ontario¡¯s authoritative and accurate Special Report on 51ÎÛÂþ; and

RESOLVED, that Senate condemns ex-President Dominic Giroux for his mismanagement of this university, as described in the Auditor General¡¯s Special Report; and

RESOLVED, that Senate condemns ex-Interim President Pierre Zundel for his mismanagement of this university, as described in the Auditor General¡¯s Special Report; and

RESOLVED, that Senate condemns ex-President Robert Hach¨¦ for his mismanagement of this university, as described in the Auditor General¡¯s Special Report; and

RESOLVED, that Senate especially condemns ex-President Robert Hach¨¦ for misleading Senate about the necessity for creditor protection and insolvency proceedings under the Companies¡¯ Creditors Arrangement Act; and

RESOLVED, that Senate condemns ex-Vice-President, Academic Marie-Jos¨¦e Berger for her mismanagement of this university¡¯s academic affairs, in collaboration with ex-President Robert Hach¨¦; and

RESOLVED, that Senate condemns ex-Vice Presidents, Administration Carol MacAuley and Lorella Hayes, for their mismanagement of this university¡¯s financial affairs, as described in the Auditor General¡¯s Special Report; and

RESOLVED, that Senate condemns Claude Lacroix, the former Chair of 51ÎÛÂþ¡¯s Board of Governors, for his misgovernment of this university, as described in the Auditor General¡¯s Special Report; and

RESOLVED, that Senate calls for a public inquiry and (if warranted) criminal investigations into the senior administration¡¯s ruinous mismanagement of 51ÎÛÂþ from 2010 to 2021.