Fired forestry prof sues college again
Rod Cumberland filed new lawsuit against Maritime College of Forest Technology, board of governors member over alleged defamation in quest for new industry job
Rod Cumberland has filed suit against his former employer again, this time alleging the Maritime College of Forest Technology (MCFT) is liable for a board member allegedly blocking him from a new job.
Cumberland made headlines throughout New Brunswick when he sued the college for wrongful dismissal, alleging school officials and forestry-industry players wanted him removed due to his views on glyphosate.
Glyphosate is an herbicide approved by Health Canada for use in forests to kill certain species, but Cumberland contends it’s toxic, harmful to wildlife and detrimental to the environment.
The former instructor at the forestry college claims he was removed to silence him.
But in a decision issued in that lawsuit May 2, Court of King’s Bench Justice Tracey DeWare ruled it was Cumberland’s insubordinate behaviour and mistreatment of students that led to his termination at the college.
However, she found MCFT management didn’t advise him of their concerns, denying him a chance to correct his behaviour. She ordered the college to pay him seven months’ pay as severance.
Cumberland filed a notice of appeal June 1, arguing DeWare didn’t order sufficient severance pay and that she erred in her findings as to the real reasons for his dismissal.
His legal counsel in the first lawsuit, Ottawa lawyer Paul Champ, filed a new notice of action and statement of claim with the Court of King’s Bench in Fredericton on Sept. 1, this time alleging the college, through a member of its board of governors, torpedoed Cumberland’s shot at a new job in the forestry industry.
None of the allegations in the new statement of claim has been proven in court.
“In August 2021, the plaintiff was approached by Gaetan Bolduc, a member of the board of directors of the York-Sunbury-Charlotte Forest Products Marketing Board {YSC Marketing Board), a not-for-profit organization that serves private woodlot owners in the area,” the new statement of claim says.
“Mr. Bolduc informed the plaintiff that the YSC Marketing Board’s manager had given his notice and would be leaving the organization. Mr. Bolduc expressed the view that he thought the plaintiff would be an excellent manager for YSC Marketing Board and asked whether he would be interested in the position.”
The outgoing YSC Marketing Board manager was Jeffrey Sode, the document notes.
Defamation allegation
“The defendant Sode was very upset to hear the plaintiff may become the new manager,” the statement of claim says.
“He said to Mr. Bolduc, ‘Do you know he is suing us?’ By ‘us,’ Sode was referring to the defendant MCFT, as Sode was still on the MCFT’s board of governors.”
Cumberland claims Sode falsely told YSC Marketing Board officials the plaintiff was banned from the premises of the Maritime Forestry Complex, in which both the marketing board and the college operate.
“The defendant Sode’s statement to Mr. Bolduc was defamatory … It implies he has done something illegal or threatening,” the statement of claim says.
“The defendant Sode’s statement to Mr. Bolduc was made maliciously. The defendant Sode knew the statement to be untrue or was reckless as to its truth.”
Cumberland contends Sode’s statement took him out of the running to be the YSC Marketing Board’s new manager.
“Mr. Bolduc informed the plaintiff about this on Sept. 4, 2021,” the court filing states.
It also alleges Sode was acting in his capacity as a member of the MCFT board of governors, and as such, the college is “vicariously liable” for Sode’s statement.
Cumberland is seeking unspecified damages from the college and Sode for loss of income and opportunity, and for defamation.
The college and Sode have yet to file statements of defence with the court, but that’s not unusual at such an early juncture in such a lawsuit.
MCFT officials didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The Fredericton Independent called the YSC Marketing Board in an attempt to reach Sode for comment, but was informed he was retired and no longer with the organization.
Sode didn’t respond to a voicemail left at his personal number, and as of publication, he hadn’t read a message sent to his Facebook profile.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.