Surprise! Trent University's DNA cluster building is $1.6 million over budget. Actually, nobody's surprised at all. Poor planning seems endemic to the current administration, particularly its building projects. The DNA cluster building is no exception. Plagued from the onset by a veil of secrecy and dubious pronouncements the cluster will bring innovation, prosperity and thousands of jobs, administrators have consistently been unable, or unwilling, to provide information to allow independent verification of those claims and have admitted the project was lacking a business plan. Taxpayers have forked over in excess of $10.7 million for the DNA building and now the project is in the hole an additional $1.6 million. Will administrative heads roll for that? Continue reading

Under pressure from the greater Peterborough community and the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, Trent University has agreed not to demolish the historic building known locally as "The Commoner", at least for the time being. Vice President Don O’Leary is on record saying "the demolition is postponed indefinitely," and for this is lauded by the Conservancy. O'Leary casts doubt on Trent's commitment to the building's future adding "the university will take its time to make a final decision." So the reprieve, though welcome, is temporary. Apparently O'Leary questions the historic value of the building, in spite of the Conservancy's evaluation, and relies on an architect's report alleged to say the building should be torn down. O'Leary denied the Conservancy access to that report. A 2004 report commissioned by Trent from Basterfield & Associates cites as an option "the renovation and retrofit of the old Commoner pub…into a state of the art office, retreat, and conference centre to support the goals and priorities of the New Commoner.", but no mention is made of demolition as an option. The demolition had been scheduled to proceed yesterday. Continue reading

A strengthened and more encompassing version of the Transparency in Public Matters Act of 2005 (Bill 123) will be introduced in the Ontario Legislative Assembly by Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor next Tuesday. The intent of the Act is to let the public know what's going on behind closed doors by requiring meetings to be open unless dealing with narrow and specific exclusions, and to publish clear and detailed minutes. The previous version of the Act had been watered down and, under pressure from the Council of Ontario Universities (COU), excluded universities. That version was subsequently withdrawn when its proponent, Caroline Di Cocco, became Minister of Culture last April. Craitor’s revamped Bill will subject universities to the full scope of the Act and include other publicly funded bodies that had been excluded by amendment or omission. Continue reading

Provincial legislation requiring meetings of public bodies to be open to the public and other transparency measures, is officially dead. After being watered down under pressure from the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) the Transparency In Public Matters Act (Bill 123) was withdrawn when Ontario Liberal MPP Caroline Di Cocco was jettisoned into cabinet last April. Liberal MPP Kim Craitor promised to champion an improved and strengthened version of Bill 123 but Craitor has failed to do so or even mention it in a recent statement of his priorities. It is unlikely the bill will resurface as a private members' bill or in government sponsored legislation. Premier Dalton McGuinty has effectively confirmed Bill 123 is dead. Di Cocco has become an apologist for the Liberal government's lack of action on transparency and the killing of Bill 123 through her appointment to cabinet. "Politicians that become ministers become easily seduced by the attractions of secrecy," according to John Reid, the Federal Information Commissioner. Continue reading

The Ontario government has withdrawn proposed legislation that would have required designated public bodies to give reasonable notice of their meetings to the public and ensure that the meetings are open to the public. Trent President Bonnie Patterson inadvertently spilled the beans that the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) was lobbying MPP Caroline Di Cocco to exclude universities from the scope of the her private members' Bill 123, 2004 (Transparency In Public Matters Act). Despite the analysis of the Ontario Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) that the scope of institutions subject to the bill was too narrow, Di Cocco acquiesced to pressure from the powerful COU and put forward amendments to exempt universities. The order for the bill's third reading was discharged and the Bill 123, 2004 was withdrawn by Order of the House dated April 18, 2006, some 13 days after Di Cocco was appointed Minister of Culture. Continue reading

Should a publicly funded university be able to squirrel away financial records, funding agreements or various other bits of information in a corporate entity under its direct control? Should such a corporation be a shield against Freedom of Information legislation? That is exactly the matter before B.C.'s Privacy Commissioner. The provinces three largest universities have argued the public should not have access to the financial dealings of Simon Fraser University's spinoff companies. CAUT and the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association have argued for release of the information. The issue is particularly poignant just months before Freedom of Information legislation is to be extended to cover Ontario's universities and as Trent University actively contemplates creating a corporation to manage its endowment lands. Continue reading

Ontario's Liberal government is keeping secret key accountability agreements it requires universities to sign in order to secure funding, according to a press release from the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA). McGuinty's liberals have received praise for agreeing to extend the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) to cover universities (commencing June 10, 2006). But they have also earned public scorn based on their record of a long list of broken promises commencing from the moment they took office. The government's refusal to release agreements with the universities to the public flies in the face of their supposed commitment to transparency and accountability strategies. When it comes to dealing with universities we are not surprised that the government continues to keep the public in the dark. We suspect university administrators are chortling with glee - behind closed doors. Continue reading

Queen's principal Dr. Karen Hitchcock has confirmed the Council of Ontario Universities lobbied to exempt universities from transparency legislation. The Transparency in Public Matters Act (Bill 123) would impose a regime of openness and accountability upon the decision making processes (including meetings) of publicly funded bodies, such as our Ontario universities. Hitchcock justified universities evading transparency measures with unimpressive and misleading reasoning. Queen's AMS President Ethan Rabidoux remarked "universities who say they are against the bill because they are trying to protect student information are simply using student privacy concerns as an excuse." Hitchcock offered other comments remarkably similar to that of Trent president Bonnie Patterson. We are left with the same old questions: Why are university administrators so resistant to creating a culture of openness? Why do they consistently fight measures which would require them to operate transparently? Continue reading

Ontario's publicly funded universities have managed to lobby themselves an exemption from legislation designed to ensure that deliberations and meetings become more open and accessible to the public. The Transparency in Public Matters Act would have included universities but amendments to Bill 123, which proposes the act, specifically drops universities. This was explored in an earlier OurTrent article. In today's article we update various press clippings involving Bill 123, following its second reading on October 28, 2005. Continue reading

It appears that Ontario Universities will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to remain unaccountable to the public. What is it exactly that universities have to hide? Why are they afraid of operating transparently and being subject to public scrutiny? After all, Ontario Universities are funded by the taxpayer and they receive federal taxpayer money as well. According to the Trent student newspaper Arthur, in the September 30, 2005 Trent board meeting Bonnie "Patterson expressed her hopefulness that a private members’ bill currently being discussed in the province would ultimately exempt universities from the FOIPPA." (the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act). Notwithstanding that Ontario universities are in fact exempt from FOIPPA, this report is worthy of further investigation. Continue reading

The board of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is coming under public criticism for operating in secrecy. Hospital officials are putting together their next balanced-budget plan behind closed doors. An editorial in the local paper concisely identifies the problem: "PRHC is a public body supplying a publicly-funded service. The board has an obligation to debate its spending plans and the effect those plans have on health care in public, not huddle with the ministry behind closed doors and then announce a prescription." Another publicly-funded organization, Peterborough’s Trent University, has been repeatedly criticized for operating in secrecy without transparency or accountability. Bonnie Patterson, Trent's president, is the chair of the PRHC board. Do we see a trend? Continue reading

Trent's Office of Student Affairs (OSA) is proposing to establish a legal agreement with student groups that could see student groups tightly controlled by the administration. This latest proposal by the OSA comes after students successfully thwarted the implementation of a Student Code of Conduct that would have given the Director of Student Affairs the power to unilaterally interpret student misconduct and to discipline accordingly. Is this current proposal an attempt on the part of the Trent administration to revive the student code of conduct under another name? OurTrent has received and posted a draft copy of the Trent Central Student Association Support Agreement. In the spirit of transparency and accountability read it and judge for yourself.

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Trent has a unique leadership opportunity to be the first Ontario university to implement transparent and accountable management practices and policies, and to create what Ontario Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian describes as A Culture of Openness. Trent could have the honour of becoming a showcase to demonstrate that a culture of secrecy, cronyism and mediocrity have no place in the management of our publicly funded Ontario Universities. Will Trent University rise to the challenge? Can Trent rise to the challenge? Continue reading

Transparency and accountability in university governance is lacking and its absence systemic. This is particularly so where universities have been exempt from Freedom of Information legislation as is the case in Ontario, Canada. To curb management malfeasance and waste of public funds there is a need for people of integrity within these organization so speak out in the public interest. These people are often known as whistleblowers and more often than not pay a severe price. To help foster integrity in the governance of publicly funded bodies, like Trent University, OurTrent is introducing the Whistleblowing department where we will endeavor to collect resources in support of whistleblowers, and those considering blowing the whistle. Continue reading

In the fall of 2004 Bonnie Patterson told the board of governors that millions of dollars in public grant money would be lost if the DNA cluster buildings were not up and running by December 2005. Just yesterday Trent announced the beginning of construction, with opening scheduled for May or June of 2006. Was there a public statement by Trent of deadline extensions from CFI and other granting bodies? Was the public informed of the reasons for delays and what was being done to rectify these? Was any grant money lost? Is this another example of secrecy and lack of transparency that has, according to some, come to characterize governance and management of Trent? Continue reading

UPDATED - July 7, 2005: Reid Morden, the chair of Trent's board of governors, has been appointed to assist the Arar commission by shifting through evidence the government wants to kept secret to advise on how much can be released in the inquiry's interim report. Ironically, under Morden's chairmanship Trent's board has been widely criticized for excessive secrecy - and Trent is publicly funded and a registered charity. Given his ongoing responsibilities including those to the Volcker Inquiry and his company Reid Morden & Associates, we wonder again if Morden's effectiveness as the chair of Trent's BoG might be diminished somewhat further? Continue reading

Trent students are concerned over the secrecy of Trent's administration, rising costs, private companies benefiting from public dollars, the erosion of student space and Trent's rising debt. Tired of the veil of secrecy surrounding the DNA cluster project they want it stopped until their concerns are addressed and the cluster's financial stability verified through the release of the project's business plan. Continue reading

Students wonder what's going on with the DNA cluster project and why there is so much secrecy. "It is time to stop the aura of secrecy with which the DNA cluster project has been covered... The question is, when exactly is the administration planning on releasing the business plan? And why are they holding it back so vehemently?" Continue reading

Allegations of financial mismanagement by senior administrators at York and Queens (read those stories here too)... university presidents still pushing the government for loopholes and exemptions to any potential Freedom of Information legislation that would apply to universities... Trent's own financial, legal, accountability and transparency problems, not to mention the controversial DNA cluster project. The CFS calls on the province to bring accountability to universities and have them be subject to Freedom of Information legislation. Continue reading

To announce the CFI award of $3.6 million a copy (available here) of the CFI proposal was distributed electronically to select individuals at Trent. According to a letter sent to Peterborough’s Mayor and councillors this is not the same proposal as was sent to CFI and it is missing key details like 8 pages that contain references to rabies and 15 pages of financial information. The missing details are alleged to be demonstrative of the project's reliance upon rabies-related funding together with the continued participation of the MNR, and the notable absence of private sector partners. Continue reading

Trent alumnus Don Tapscott's book “The Naked Corporation” makes the case that there are benefits for organizations to operate accountably in today’s “age of transparency”. Speaking at Western Tapscott said transparency should apply to post-secondary institutions. Trent Board of Governors member Anna Lopes is credited with contributing to Tapscott’s book. One can only hope that Lopes will begin to actively direct Trent management to operate in harmony with the book's themes of corporate transparency and accountability, themes she apparently endorses. Anna Lopes is Don Tapscott's wife. Continue reading

The City of Peterborough is touted as a partner in Trent's DNA cluster yet Trent won't show City councilors the business plan, if indeed a plan exists. Not much of a partnership, is it? Trent is exempt from Ontario's Freedom of Information legislation. The Canadian Foundation for Innovation is exempt from federal Access to Information legislation (the Auditor-general just blasted the feds for this) and they gave Trent $3.6-million for the DNA cluster. So far $10.7-million of public money given to the DNA cluster is neatly hidden behind a wall of secrecy built upon "accountability exemptions". Could it be, as the Peterborough Examiner suggests, Trent is afraid that if they release the DNA cluster business plan and other cluster details to the City that the public just might get their hands on it because the City is subject to Freedom of Information legislation? Continue reading

Continued secrecy appears to be the name of the game. The City of Peterborough is poised to fork over $2 million to Trent's DNA Cluster project. But last night Trent refused to disclose the business plan to City councillors during the Planning Committee meeting (Feb 14), adding to the speculation that the project still does not have a business plan. “I see no reason why we can’t have that,” one councillor said. Another councillor said he’s "not against the DNA concept, but council has to ask the questions that need answering in order to see how this project will be viable". The City is touted as a "partner" by the DNA Cluster promoters. Would you want to be a partner in a venture where you are not allowed to see the business plan? Should our City do so with our tax dollars? Continue reading

Press Release: "Wildlife organizations across Ontario have teamed up with Trent University students and concerned residents to demand an immediate halt to the proposed new DNA research building at Trent University. The organizations are calling on Ontario government’s Auditor General to review the project, as well as the role of its primary partner and tenant, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR)." Continue reading

Have current events at Trent University been predicted in the literature for some time? In the USA there are a number of studies showing that there is an attack on democracy in higher education that is having a chilling effect. "Administrators in progressive colleges succeeded in usurping control from self-governed communities of students and faculty. Presidents accomplished this by 1) ensuring that decision-making power was legally concentrated in Boards that were unaccountable to the college's students, faculty, and staff, and by 2) recruiting only new board members who would support the administration's efforts to 3) initiate autocratic practices and governance structures, often with the help of highly paid public relations firms." Does this remind you of Trent? Continue reading

In giving its approval, if only in principle, Trent's board of governors has continued to ignore the documentation that demonstrating that President Patterson has acted outside normal university policy and practices in relentless pursuit of this project. This article is the first to mention that the board has "discussed" a business plan for the project when the absence of one until now has not, apparently, been of concern. If there is a business plan, then it should be disclosed to the public. Continue reading

Trent President Bonnie Patterson has a number of responsibilities that necessarily take away the time she has available to be a full-time president. Patterson sits board of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC). The PRHC is a public institution that receives, and relies upon, taxpayer funding and yet it is exempt from Freedom of Information legislation (FOI), just like the Ontario universities. Patterson sits on the board of at least two publicly funded institutions that are exempt from FOI. Do we see a pattern here? Continue reading

The President of Trent University has taken on another set of obligations that mean she will now have even less time available for Trent. How much time can one spend working for Trent if one is also a trustee of Lakefiled College School and on the board of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre? (another public institution free to act in secrecy because, like Trent, it too is exempt from Freedom of Information legislation). Least we forget, Patterson's salary topped $240,350 in 2003. Continue reading

In the Ottawa town hall meeting Rae was asked: "We note that you are presently the chancellor of a university that is an active member of the COU. Given that, and your own government’s reluctance to bring universities under freedom of information in the early 90’s, can you tell us where you * now * stand on the issue and what scope you feel the panel has to make recommendations on the matter?" Continue reading

Guest editorial in the Peterborough Examiner in response to Trent University again embroiled in financial and legal troubles (Legal Battle Shapes up at University, Peterborough Examiner July 9). That there are persistent problems at Trent is not, unfortunately, unexpected. Continue reading

Prompted by articles in the local media about the mysterious and secretive removal of prominent Peterborough businessman Daryl Bennett’s from Trent’s board of governors several prominent Trent University professors speak out. The professors say the school is being run like a private business and are calling for more transparency and better rapport with the top levels. “The absence of information is unparalleled at any university,.. It’s a tragedy to see the silencing of Trent.” Continue reading

A veil of secrecy has surrounded Trent University’s board of governors’ decision not to reappoint Daryl Bennett to the board for a second term. Bennett suspects it might have something to do with the pointed questions he has asked about the DNA Cluster Project, the closing of the downtown colleges and land use matters. Continue reading

Did you know that our Ontario universities are not subject to the Ontario Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation? If this concerns you then please take a few moments to review this site. Let's make certain that our Ontario universities become accountable and transparent and subject to public scrutiny! This will help all of us to keep costs down - and to assure that post-secondary education remains accessible and student debt is kept in check. Continue reading

Because Trent University is our university.
 
We are a group of Trent alumni, past and present employees, students and concerned citizens of the City of Peterborough, the Province of Ontario and Canada. We share one thing in common - an overwhelming love and concern for the continued health and well being of Trent University. To assure the future of Trent, we believe there must be accountability and transparency in university governance. We believe that the first step towards accomplishing this is to bring universities under provincial FOI legislation without special exemptions. Continue reading