Alleged sexual harassment victim Gwen Schwartz seeks $3 mil in damages from U of T, UHN, and 20 others; supporters protest at first court appearance

Court proceedings began Monday in a $3 million lawsuit that alleges U of T mishandled a sexual harassment charge against an employee and robbed the victim of her career, among other things.

Ph.D student Gwen Schwartz is suing the University of Toronto and the University Health Network for allegedly failing to properly address her claim that her academic and employment supervisor, Dr. Michael Fehlings, harassed her and appropriated her intellectual property. The Committee in Support of Justice for Gwen Schwartz picketed outside the courthouse, demanding that Schwartz’s intellectual property be returned and that the parties involved be held accountable. The Committee also demands that a formal complaints procedure be established for students both on and off campus.

Both Schwartz and the Committee allege that Fehlings, who has been promoted within the university, continues to appropriate Schwartz’s research.

-CAROLYN HARRIS

First Canadian PM’s Scottish birthplace may be bulldozed; the bulldozing may be done by company owned by Canadian heritage lobbyist

A team of Scottish heritage officials has recently rediscovered the birthplace of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald. The two hundred-year-old building, where the MacDonald family lived from 1815 to 1820, now houses a seedy pub and massage parlour.

Ironically, the site is slated for demolition by Selfridges, a British retail chain owned by Canadian business magnate Galen Weston. Weston’s wife, Hilary, is a former lieutenant governor of Ontario who promoted the protection of Canadian heritage sites.

A spokeswoman for Weston, who also owns the Loblaws and Holt Renfrew chains, stated that Selfridges is not connected to its owners’ Canadian operations.

The Scottish heritage experts hope that the site’s significance to Canada’s history will persuade Weston to preserve the building. In the U.S., George Washington’s birthplace is located in a national park.

The Scottish heritage experts suggest that the original structure could be incorporated into Selfridges’s proposed department store with a monument to inform the public that 20 Brunswick Street Glasgow is MacDonald’s birthplace.

-CAROLYN HARRIS