By: Chelsea Perry
The investigation into complaints of harassment issued by former VPSL Megan Rix against then president Hammad Ahmed has concluded, leaving councilors and the student body without closure.
At Sunday’s council meeting, the topic of the investigation results was raised by VP Finance John Ployer and echoed by Emma Drake, VP Academic and External. At the onset of the investigation, Drake and Ployer were appointed as mediators between HR, Rix, and Ahmed.
It was stated that the investigation into the allegations brought forward by Rix at the March 18th, 2018 council meeting had been completed over the summer by independent third-party, HR Atlantic.
A statement was released by the UPEISU on June 8th outlining the recommendations made by HR Atlantic to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future, and points to flaws in the initial investigation made in fall 2017. It was shared on the SU’s website and Twitter, and was circulated to external media contacts, including The Cadre Editor-in-Chief.
In the statement, section 7 reads as follows: “The Student Union consider providing messaging to the UPEI student body with respect to the independent third-party investigation considering the complaint was made in a public forum.â€
No redacted report regarding the nature of the allegations against Ahmed has been released. When asked for comment, President Will McGuigan asserted that, “the actual report that was presented to only the parties involved was marked ‘private and confidential’ which means it cannot legally be made public.†He added that this counsel came from the third party investigators and lawyers.
The total cost of the investigation came to a whopping $13,800. That number will be reflected in the amended 2018 budget, after student enrollment numbers are confirmed.
All seven of the recommendations made will be implemented throughout the 2018-2019 academic year, after being passed through policy committee.
For further reading, the full statement is available on the UPEISU website.