The University of Ottawa is financially supporting a civil lawsuit filed against Denis Rancourt, a former physics professor at the university.
Rancourt, who was fired by in 2009, was sued by professor Joanne St. Lewis for defamation after he referred to her a “house negro” while commenting on her professional relationship with university president Allan Rock.
In an Oct. 25 letter addressed to Rancourt, David W. Scott of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP wrote: “The University of Ottawa is reimbursing professor St. Lewis for her legal fees incurred in her defamation proceeding in the [courts] against you. Your defamatory remarks about professor St. Lewis were occasioned by work which she undertook at the request of the university and in the course of her duties and responsibilities as an employee.”
The university has a “moral obligation” to support St. Lewis, Scott added.
Rancourt said the university funding St. Lewis is a violation of his charter rights as a citizen.
“It is established that a corporation or in this case a large institution that is publicly funded cannot sue an individual citizen that is criticizing the institution or corporation,” Rancourt said.
“An individual is always allowed to sue someone else individually to protect their reputation like in a defamation lawsuit, so professor St. Lewis had the right to litigation against me but the university does not.”
Rancourt told the Ottawa Citizen this shows the university is trying to silence him.
“This is outrageous, it’s a SLAPP suit,” Rancourt said.
A SLAPP suit, defined as a “strategic lawsuit against public participation,” tends to discourage critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense.
According to St. Lewis’ lawyer, Richard Dearden, this is not the case.
“I would think that the defamatory statements that [Rancourt] has made about professor St. Lewis show that it is a personal libel action and has nothing to do with it being a SLAPP suit at all,” Dearden told the Citizen.
The parties are scheduled to have a mediation session in December, according to the Citizen.
