Ousted forestry prof’s appeal dismissed
Lower court awarded Rod Cumberland severance for Maritime College of Forest Technology firing, but rejected his claim he was terminated for his views on glyphosate
A controversial forestry educator who was fired from his job at a Fredericton college lost his bid to be awarded additional damages, the province’s top court dismissing his case Thursday.
Rod Cumberland was fired in June 2019 from his job as an instructor with the Maritime College of Forest Technology in Fredericton, with the institution citing his disrespectful and abusive behaviour as just cause.
He filed a wrongful-dismissal lawsuit, alleging he was let go because he was outspoken when it came to his opposition to the forestry industry’s use of glyphosate, which has been cited by many as a carcinogen and toxic to nature.
But after trial, Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare ruled in 2023 that the college was justified in firing him, accepting evidence that he was disruptive to the management of the school and abusive toward students.
However, she also found the college should have warned him, and its failure to do so meant it had to give him severance in lieu of notice.