LOCAL NEWS After the investigation, TRU exec files lawsuit

CHRISTOPHER FOULDS KTW EDITOR editor@kamloopsthisweek.com

A senior administrator at Thompson Rivers University who was cleared following an investigation into allegations of harassment is suing a number of the complainants.

Matt Milovick, vice-president of finance and administration at TRU, is seeking general damages, aggravated damages, exemplary and punitive damages, special damages, interest pursuant to the Court Order Interest Act and special costs. He is also seeking a permanent injunction against those he is suing from further publication of what he alleges have been defamatory statements.

The defendants in the lawsuit are:

• Lucille Gnanasihamany, former associate vice-president of marketing and communications at TRU;

• Jim Gudjonson, former environment and sustainability director at TRU;

• Stacey Jykkanen, former community safety and emergency management manager at TRU;

• Amanda Ellison, former associate director of human resources at TRU;

• Charis Kamphuis, current associate law professor at TRU;

• Meaghan Hagerty, former sexualized violence prevention and response manager at TRU;

• Deanne Brkovich, former contracted talent acquisition consultant at TRU;

• Laura Cooke, former organizational engagement and learning manager at TRU;

In addition, the lawsuit cites unnamed defendants labelled a WB (whistleblowers) and unnamed defendants labelled as C.

Through his lawyer, David Sutherland, who filed the lawsuit on Feb. 8, Milovick said he takes no issue with any complaint or process undertaken by the complainants within the boundaries of the investigation.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants failed to maintain confidentiality by disclosing details of their complaints to the media, including KTW, CBC Kamloops, CFJC-TV, Castanet and Radio NL.

The lawsuit also notes the fallout of the allegations and their impact on Milovick, including petitions calling for his suspension and demonstrations on campus, along with disparagement on social media .

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What Milovick does take issue with is the disclosure by the complainant to the media of allegations as part of a “campaign of vilification” against himself outside the boundaries of the investigation.

The lawsuit alleges an email sent to the university board of governors by anonymous complainants on Feb. 8, 2021, contained “false and defamatory” allegations against Milovick, including that he had engaged in discriminatory conduct, had made discriminatory statements, had harassed others in the workplace, had treated current and former TRU employees in clear violation of the university’s values, vision, agreement with First Nations and the university’s equity and diversity and inclusion action plan and had systematically, or in the alternative, repeatedly exhibited racial intolerance inconsistent with his responsibilities at the university.

Those allegations, along with the email authors’ claim that Milovick’s “intolerance is a pattern and its persistence risks causing irreparable harm to the entire reputation of TRU and its entire work environment” are “false and misleading assertions, without factual foundation or substance,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states Milovick co-operated with the investigation and maintained confidentiality after being interviewed by investigators, as advised to do so by investigators.

The lawsuit adds that even after Thompson Rivers University administration confirmed he had been cleared in the investigation, it “did not stem the tide of denunciation, as complainants have disputed the outcome in print and on radio and on chats and social media.”

The lawsuit claims Milovick has suffered injury to pride and self-confidence, severe emotional distress, injury to professional relationships and anxiety arising from the threat to take complaints to the media.

No allegations in the lawsuit have been proven in court. The defendants named in the lawsuit have 21 days to file a response.

In January, TRU released a redacted 500-plus-page report that examined a total of 55 allegations against Milovick and Larry Phillips, the university’s former associate vice-president of people and culture.

Twenty-two allegations were brought against Milovick and 33 allegations were brought against Phillips. The investigation cleared Milovick because it could not substantiate any of the allegations.

But the investigation did substantiate 10 of the 33 harassment allegations from four complainants levelled against Phillips.

Phillips was fired in December of 2021 by TRU president Brett Fairbairn, who has said the dismissal was not connected to the investigation or the allegations. No reason has been given for Phillips’ firing.

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