The correspondence below shows that the FA Executive initially refused to get involved, arguing that Administration's concerns with my actions and scholarly activities were not within the purview of the FA. My attorney asks what the FA is doing on my behalf, and all of a sudden things happen: Sean Hillman resigns, questions were asked of Administration, grievances were filed, etc. However, it is the 8th inning. Most grievances are beyond the filing deadline and Administration refuses to consider them. The FA Executive continues to refuse to get involved because they were not involved initially — because they refused to get involved initially! I feel that the FA wants this entire thing to disappear.

——————————————————————
From: Jerry Zdril
To: ΑΩ
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2011, 13:46
Subject: Re: Role of the FA

——————————————————————
From: ΑΩ
To: Jerry Zdril
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:44
Subject: Re: Role of the FA

There have been occasional attacks of me and my scholarly activity for the past few years. In October 2010, the attacks rocketed out of sight, spear-headed by Rob Hilts and David Higgins. Sean has attended over a dozen meetings with the Dean, taking notes at each one. I am left to defend myself. To no avail since Higgins is judge, jury, and executioner. All of my arguments are summarily dismissed. There are upwards of eight letters on my file since October 2010. I have continually tried to dispute and/or draw connections between the events, but Higgins adamantly looks at each incident in isolation. Recently, he collected all of them and pretty much said, "look at all the problems we have with you." And Sean still takes notes. 

Most recently, I asked Higgins to provide me with details on what he was planning to bring up at a meeting. He responded, "I'm pleased to assure you that there is nothing to prepare.  The point of the meeting, simply, is to get your response to some student comments about an e-mail which they have received." At the meeting, I am accused of breaching FOIP and of plagiarism. And Sean still takes notes.

HOW IS THIS FAIR?

It is glaringly apparent to several people in my department that administration has and is building a case for dismissal. And Sean still takes notes.

These activities are affecting my ability to teach, to engage in scholarly activity, my physical health, my mental health, my relationship with my colleagues, and my personal life. Higgins, Sean, and HR are fully aware of this. And Sean still takes notes.

ΑΩ

——————————————————————
Note: the FOIP and plagiarism allegations that play critical roles in the decision to terminate me. At that 01 February meeting, Higgins laid out the allegations and aggressively demanded that I (1) explain myself and (2) admit guilt. When I asked about the nature of the meeting, Higgins portrayed it as a friendly inquiry: "I'm pleased to assure you that there is nothing to prepare. The point of the meeting, simply, is to get your response to some student comments about an e-mail which they have received." In reality, the meeting was hostile and abusive, and I was completely unprepared. In hindsight, that was Higgins intent. Higgins actions violate MacEwan policy D1100 (Respectful Workplace). And Sean still took notes. 

——————————————————————
In a discussion with Sean Hillman, I ask what the FA is doing on my behalf. He informs me that the FA is doing nothing. That my issues are not within the purview of the Faculty Association. He informs me that he was attending at my request, not on behalf of the Faculty Association. At a subsequent meeting with the FA Executive on 04 March, Zdril confirmed and clarified that the FA could do nothing unless there was direct contravention of the Collective Agreement. The Faculty Association Executive repeated and expanded on their earlier position:

• despite scholarly activity being a requirement of employment and being listed in the Collective Agreement, the FA does not have a duty to represent a faculty member regarding their scholarly activity
• the individual employment issues between myself and administration are not direct contraventions of the Collective Agreement. Therefore, the FA does not have a duty to represent me.
• since the FA does not have a duty to represent me on the individual issues pertaining to scholarly activity and employment issues, the FA does not have a duty to get involved in the broader harassment issue
• if I am disciplined or terminated for issues that are not direct contraventions of the Collective Agreement, the FA has no authority or obligation to grieve

In the follow-up email from President Zdril, he agrees to inquire with Administration, but not support me in any formal capacity. Indeed, the Faculty Association Executive recommend I bring another person with me for my meetings with the FA Executive! 

——————————————————————
To: ΑΩ
From: Jerry Zdril
Cc: Shahidul Islam, Sean Hillman, Bob Graves
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 11:31
Subject: FA response

Hello ΑΩ,

The MacEwan Faculty Association, as represented by the members that met with you on Friday March 4th, is committed to support you in dealing with the concerns that you expressed at that meeting. We are prepared to proceed as follows:

1. We are sending a letter to Human Resources requesting that they clarify whether the Memo dated January 25, 2011 is, as we read it, a Letter of Advice and Suggestion, rather than a Letter of Reprimand. In the event, they consider this letter as reprimand and like to use in potential future disciplinary action, we’ll file a grievance.
2. We can not act directly on your behalf in the Academic Freedom issue since the policy asks for a faculty member to contact the Provost and Executive VPA directly. “3.6.1 In cases where University policies or practices appear to infringe upon the academic freedoms in the Policy, any affected person may apply to the Provost and Executive Vice President Academic who shall call for an ad hoc committee to resolve the issue.” However, we can support you by providing advice and by contacting CAUT for their suggestions on this issue.
3. On the FOIP investigation and Plagiarism accusation, we will work on resolving this issue as quickly as possible. We will contact David Higgins in an attempt to obtain information on the result of their investigation.
4. With regards to the harassment complaint, we will formally request that the matter is expedited as quickly as possible and also explore other avenues that might expedite the process.

We plan on scheduling another meeting involving Bob, Shahid, Jerry, Sean, ΑΩ during the week of March 14th. We would invite you to include another person to assist you at this meeting if you so desire.

Regards,
Jerry Zdril

I am not sure if the FA Executive did any of these. It should be noted that Zdril was in Paterson-Weir's pocket. Indeed, he resigned as FA President because his close relationship with Administration was affecting the functioning of the Faculty Association. The next President (Skye) isn't any better.

——————————————————————
Shahidul Islam (Faculty Association VP Faculty Welfare) attended a few meeting between Higgins and I. He commented that he has had heated conversations with Higgins and they can ultimately agree to disagree. He observed that Dr. Higgins refuses to accept that I can have a different opinion and that Dr. Higgins aggressively demands that I accept his position. If I do not, I am labeled ‘uncooperative’.

——————————————————————
Starting in March 2011, I was consulting with an attorney regarding the ongoing issues. During April and May, my attorney left several messages for both Zdril and Hillman, but neither contacted him. In June 2011, he sent a strongly worded letter to the FA Executive. Later in June, my attorney and I met with the FA Executive. The meeting was brief, with the FA informing us that they were getting a legal opinion and that we should put our questions in writing to the FA. We sent a letter shortly thereafter.

Days after the meeting, Sean Hillman resigned as the Faculty Association Professional Resource Officer. The interim Professional Resource Officer was tasked with investigating the allegations. He found no evidence to support them, numerous substantial breeches of policy and process by administration, and absolutely nothing in my personnel file. Grievances were filed on my behalf. Most were dismissed by Administration because they were filed too late. And unfortunately, the FA Executive's exuberant defense was short-lived.

——————————————————————
In a letter dated 29 November 2011, Jerry Zdril and Aimee Skye state,