Review of university response to protest encampment concludes

This summer, the University of Calgary began a review of decision making related to the removal of a protest encampment on May 9. Such reviews are standard after all major incidents or events, as is making the results available to the public.

Because of the importance of this matter to many members of our campus community, I wanted to update the University on the results of that review and the subsequent Board of Governors discussions.

The review

After an open RFP process, MNP was selected to conduct a review of the actions and decision-making processes of the University’s Crisis Management Team leading up to the events of May 9, during the day/evening of May 9 and the weeks that followed, (the “Review”).  The Review was provided directly to the Board of Governors. It found the university had strong structures in place and good decision-making processes. It also identified areas for improvement in tracking and engaging with constituency groups and stakeholders during incidents, and providing crisis management training and awareness to more members of the community. University management has begun implementing those recommendations.

“While opportunities for improvement have been identified, overall, this review found that Crisis Management Team actions and the response process were comprehensive, leveraged existing crisis management structures, and aligned with crisis management leading practices. In the face of a complex and challenging situation, the Crisis Management Team decision making process was found to be measured, deliberate and informed.” - University of Calgary CMT Response Review

The report, and management’s response agreeing with the recommendations, can be found here (review, management response).

The discussions

Presentations and discussion on this topic occurred at many Board and Committee meetings over the past months. Board discussions were informed by conversations and presentations, experiences on other campuses, and materials from other sources such as the University of Alberta third-party review (which addressed matters of law and found the removal of encampments “reasonable and lawful”), and the University of Toronto injunction decision (which found the same).

Most recently, the Review was discussed at our Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee on Nov. 18 and the full Board of Governors on Dec. 13. Discussion was robust. The University of Calgary is, and remains, a place of free expression and we have had many protests on many issues in the months since May 9.  Campus safety for students, staff, faculty and visitors, and continuity of University operations remain priorities.  It remains the position of the University of Calgary that, while you are free to protest, you are not free to camp or use space to the exclusion of others.

As a Board we are satisfied there are no more material facts that we need to gather, and we are satisfied that management exercised sound judgment in a difficult, no-win situation.

I want to thank MNP for the review they performed and all members of the campus community for their participation and engagement on this topic.

Mark Herman, Chair
Governors of the University of Calgary