A fired University of Saskatchewan president is suing the school and the province’s premier.
Ilene Busch-Vishniac filed a statement of claim Wednesday against the University of Saskatchewan, university board members, Premier Brad Wall and former provincial minister Rob Norris in Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench.
“The Defendants acted in bad faith and colluded to orchestrate the termination of Busch-Vishniac and to damage her reputation such that it will be difficult if not impossible for her to obtain employment of similar level at another institution,” the lawsuit reads.
Busch-Vishniac is asking for $8 million in damages, $250,000 for defamation, and $250,000 for aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages.
Her contract with the university was terminated last year after public protests over the firing of a tenured professor and a campus-wide cost-cutting measure known as TransformUS.
The board said in a media release shortly after her termination that a “reputational crisis” led to the firing.
According to Busch-Vishniac’s statement of claim, the firing was without cause, but statements made by the board to the media implied she was fired with cause. Potential future employers would assume Busch-Vishniac was at fault for the firing of the tenured professor, the lawsuit reads.
“This constitutes defamation of character and caused irreparable damage to her reputation,” claims the suit.
The lawsuit also alleges Wall and Norris — then the Minister of Advanced Education — interfered in university business following the tenured professor’s firing. The university is an autonomous corporation, according to the 1995 University of Saskatchewan Act.
“The Minister and the Premier were directly involved in the decision to terminate Dr. Busch-Vishniac and pressured the Board to terminate her,” the lawsuit alleges.
The university’s lawyer said in a statement Wednesday that the school will defend itself against the claim.
“The university has fully complied with its legal obligations towards the former president and has acted prudently in the governance of the institution,” board chair Greg Smith said in a media release.
“We have instructed our counsel to challenge the claim in the strongest possible way.”
A spokesperson for the provincial government said Wall doesn’t feel his actions were inappropriate.
“Premier Wall is confident that the actions taken by himself and by former Minister Norris during this series of events were completely appropriate and in the best interests of the university and the province,” the statement read.
