The University of Lethbridge’s faculty association is speaking out against the suspension of a professor whose online comments about the Holocaust and Israel have angered Jewish groups.
Association president Andrea Amelinckx says the move violates provincial law and contravenes the contract between faculty and the university.
She says the contract sets out a process for investigating complaints in a fair, speedy and thorough fashion.
Jewish groups like B’nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs have commended the suspension of Anthony Hall, a tenured professor in liberal education and globalization studies.
The groups have cited online videos in which the professor suggests the events of the Holocaust should be open for debate and that there was a Zionist connection to the 9-11 attacks.
The university said in a statement last week that Hall has been suspended without pay pending an internal review into possible violations of the Alberta Human Rights Act.
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“The University of Lethbridge Faculty Association does not condone violations of the Alberta Human Rights Act in any form. We also protest the actions on the part of president (Michael) Mahon and the board in violation of the Post Secondary Learning Act,” Amelinckx said in an emailed statement Tuesday.
“We call on the board of governors of the University of Lethbridge to ensure that the allegations that have been made against professor Hall are investigated with the speed and thoroughness they deserve, using the legal and contractual procedures already in place in the Post Secondary Learning Act and the contract with the Faculty Association.”