Human Rights Complaints against the City of Saskatoon for Retaliation against Ashu M. G. Solo
By Ashu M. G. Solo
This human rights case is comprised of three human rights complaints against the City of Saskatoon for retaliating against me for my prayer recitation human rights complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint.
I filed a prayer recitation case against the City of Saskatoon (Mayor’s Office), Mayor Don Atchison, and Councillor Randy Donauer with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission decided to proceed against the City of Saskatoon and Donauer with this case. I filed a Christmas message case against the City of Saskatoon (Saskatoon Transit Services) with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission declined to proceed with this case.
As a result of filing these cases, the massive media coverage that I received for these cases, the negative attention on the City of Saskatoon, the negative attention on Atchison and Donauer, the negative attention on all other members of City Council, and the negative attention on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee and its members, there was major and widespread retaliation against me by the City of Saskatoon.
Retaliation for filing human rights complaints is considered a form of discrimination and strictly prohibited under Section 45 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code:
Discrimination for taking part in proceedings under this Act prohibited
45 No person shall:
(a) refuse to employ or to continue to employ any person;
(b) threaten to dismiss or to penalize in any other way any person with respect to that person’s employment or any term, condition or privilege thereof;
(c) discriminate against any person with respect to that person’s employment or any term, condition or privilege thereof; or
(d) intimidate, retaliate against, coerce or impose any pecuniary or other penalty, loss or other penalty, loss or disadvantage upon any person;
on the grounds that that person:
(e) has made or may make a complaint under this Act;
(f) has made or may make a disclosure concerning any matter complained of;
(g) has testified or may testify in a proceeding under this Act; or
(h) has participated or may participate in any other way in a proceeding under this Act.
1979, c.S-24.1, s.45; 2000, c.26, s.35.
This human rights case is composed of three human rights complaints that can be dealt with in one combined case with the City of Saskatoon being the respondent. All three human rights complaints involve retaliation against me by the City of Saskatoon for my human rights complaints.
The first human rights complaint is against the City of Saskatoon (Executive Committee) for retaliating against me by not reappointing me to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee or another civic committee or board. The second human rights complaint is against the City of Saskatoon (City Solicitor’s Office) for retaliating against me by depriving me of my right to directly petition my elected representatives on City Council on public policy issues and by telling employees of other City of Saskatoon departments to not talk to me. The third human rights complaint is against the City of Saskatoon (Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office) and City of Saskatoon (Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee of Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee) for retaliating against me by not considering my submissions to a literary contest. The three human rights complaints follow in this document.
Ashu M. G. Solo
1. Human Rights Complaint #1: Ashu M. G. Solo v. City of Saskatoon (Executive Committee)
When I filed the prayer recitation human rights complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint, I was a representative on the City of Saskatoon’s Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee. I was a representative on this committee from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. I had a one-year appointment.
Representatives on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee and other civic committees are easily reappointed unless they have exceeded the maximum number of years allowed on that committee or they do a really bad job on that committee. I was by far the most effective representative on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee. My membership on the committee while launching my prayer recitation case and Christmas message case brought massive public attention to the committee. Everybody who wanted to be reappointed to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee was reappointed. Even those committee representatives who were frequently absent, who never said anything at meetings, or who never did anything but attend meetings were reappointed.
For 2013, I applied to be reappointed to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee or to be appointed to the Police Services Board or Library Board. I was not reappointed to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee. I was not appointed to the Police Services Board or Library Board. The deadline for applying for civic committees and boards was originally October 31, 2012. In fact, they extended the call for applications for the Library Board until April 9, 2013 instead of appointing me because they didn’t get enough other applications and didn’t want to appoint me. I didn’t know until
May 2013 whether I had been appointed to a civic committee or board for 2013. Appointments are made by the Executive Committee, which is composed of the mayor and all city councillors.
Exhibit 1-1 is a letter from the City of Saskatoon dated May 8, 2013 stating that I was not appointed to a committee for 2013.
For 2014, I applied to be reappointed to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee or to be appointed to the Environmental Advisory Committee. I was not reappointed to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee. I was not appointed to the Environmental Advisory Committee. In fact, they extended the call for applications for the Environmental Advisory Committee instead of appointing me because they didn’t get enough other applications and didn’t want to appoint me. I didn’t know until February 2014 whether I had been appointed to a civic committee or board for 2014. Appointments are made by the Executive Committee, which is composed of the mayor and all city councillors.
Exhibit 1-2 is a letter from the City of Saskatoon dated February 12, 2014 stating that I was not appointed to a committee for 2014.
Everyone except me easily gets reappointed year after year to the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee if they want to be and they haven’t served the maximum permissible number of years on the committee. This was clearly retaliation by the Executive Committee for my prayer recitation human rights complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
Retaliation for filing human rights complaints is considered a form of discrimination and strictly prohibited under Section 45 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code:
Discrimination for taking part in proceedings under this Act prohibited
45 No person shall:
(a) refuse to employ or to continue to employ any person;
(b) threaten to dismiss or to penalize in any other way any person with respect to that person’s
employment or any term, condition or privilege thereof;
(c) discriminate against any person with respect to that person’s employment or any term,
condition or privilege thereof; or
(d) intimidate, retaliate against, coerce or impose any pecuniary or other penalty, loss or other
penalty, loss or disadvantage upon any person;
on the grounds that that person:
(e) has made or may make a complaint under this Act;
(f) has made or may make a disclosure concerning any matter complained of;
(g) has testified or may testify in a proceeding under this Act; or
(h) has participated or may participate in any other way in a proceeding under this Act.
1979, c.S-24.1, s.45; 2000, c.26, s.35.
Ashu M. G. Solo
Exhibit 1-1. Letter from City of Saskatoon dated May 8, 2013
Exhibit 1-2. Letter from City of Saskatoon dated Feb. 12, 2014
2. Human Rights Complaint #2: Ashu M. G. Solo v. City of Saskatoon (City Solicitor’s Office)
After I filed the Christmas message human rights complaint, the City Solicitor’s Office of the City of Saskatoon said that they were banning me from directly communicating with members of City Council.
This ban is still in effect. They claimed that I would be investigated if I emailed them. Who would I be investigated by? What’s the crime in communicating with members of City Council? I have the right to directly petition my elected representatives on public policy issues. Prior to this ban, I frequently emailed members of City Council about all kinds of issues from secularism to icy roads to snow removal to potholes to policing to government waste. The City Solicitor’s Office falsely claimed that I had only emailed City Council about my human rights complaints. This ban on communicating directly with members of City Council was clearly retaliation for my Christmas message human rights complaint and prayer recitation human rights complaint.
City solicitor Christine Bogad told people in other city departments to not talk to me. I know she told Russ Munro in the City of Saskatoon’s Water and Wastewater Treatment to not talk to me. I made a complaint about a city employee named Jason Lagacy who sent me an abusive message about my human rights complaints from a city computer during working hours. I talked to his manager, Russ Munro, about this. Then when I phoned back to find out what he had done, Russ Munro said that the City Solicitor’s Office had told him not talk to me. This was clearly retaliation for my prayer recitation human rights complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint.
City solicitor Christine Bogad also told employees in Saskatoon Transit Services to not talk to me. I phoned them to find out how many buses there are with programmable bus signs. I needed this information for my human rights complaint as well as an article I was writing on it. As a taxpayer who pays for Saskatoon Transit Services, I was entitled to ask them for this information. They told me that they had been instructed to not talk to me and referred me to the City Solicitor’s Office. This was clearly retaliation for my prayer recitation human rights complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint.
I didn’t know whether they also banned me from communicating with employees of other city services such as the Saskatoon Police Service, Parking Services, Saskatoon Transit Services, and Leisure Services Branch. This was left unclear and unanswered by the City Solicitor’s Office. When I asked city solicitor Patricia Warick whether they were banning me from communicating with other city departments, she said she doesn’t answer hypotheticals. This had the effect of discouraging me from being able to use city services because I didn’t know if I would get in trouble if I did. This was clearly retaliation for my prayer recitation human rights complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint.
Exhibit 2-1 is an email message from the City Solicitor’s Office dated January 3, 2014 in which they say that I shouldn’t engage in dialog with the City of Saskatoon about any matter except through the City Solicitor’s Office.
Just because someone has a complaint or claim against the city, it doesn’t mean he suddenly can’t talk to his elected representatives anymore about other unrelated public policy issues and doesn’t mean employees of other city departments can’t talk to him anymore about unrelated operational issues. This is clearly retaliation by the City Solicitor’s Office for my prayer recitation human rights complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
Retaliation for filing human rights complaints is considered a form of discrimination and strictly prohibited under Section 45 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code:
Discrimination for taking part in proceedings under this Act prohibited
45 No person shall:
(a) refuse to employ or to continue to employ any person;
(b) threaten to dismiss or to penalize in any other way any person with respect to that person’s
employment or any term, condition or privilege thereof;
(c) discriminate against any person with respect to that person’s employment or any term,
condition or privilege thereof; or
(d) intimidate, retaliate against, coerce or impose any pecuniary or other penalty, loss or other
penalty, loss or disadvantage upon any person;
on the grounds that that person:
(e) has made or may make a complaint under this Act;
(f) has made or may make a disclosure concerning any matter complained of;
(g) has testified or may testify in a proceeding under this Act; or
(h) has participated or may participate in any other way in a proceeding under this Act.
1979, c.S-24.1, s.45; 2000, c.26, s.35.
Ashu M. G. Solo
Exhibit 2-1. Email from City Solicitor’s Office dated Jan. 3, 2014
3. Human Rights Complaint #3: Ashu M. G. Solo v. City of Saskatoon (Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office) and City of Saskatoon (Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee of Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee)
The City of Saskatoon’s Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office holds an annual literary and art contest to promote respect for cultural diversity and improve race relations. This contest is called the Living in Harmony Contest. See
http://www.saskatoon.ca/DEPARTMENTS/Community%20Services/Communitydevelopment/Cultural%20Diversity%20and%20Race%20Relations/Pages/Cultural%20Diversity%20and%20Race%20Relations%20Month.aspx for information about the contest.
The City of Saskatoon’s Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee forms an ad hoc subcommittee to judge submissions to this contest. This ad hoc subcommittee is called the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee. I was a representative on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee and a judge on the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee in 2012, so I know how the contest judging works.
Becky Kuffner, the cultural diversity and race relations coordinator from the City of Saskatoon’s Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office, was supposed to give the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee the submissions and guided them through the judging process. I don’t know if she gave all of my submissions to the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee.
I submitted copies of each of my literary submissions with and without my name except for my literary submission about Christmas messages on buses. I didn’t provide a copy of my submission about Christmas messages on buses without my name because this literary submission was about one of my human rights complaints and everyone on the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee knows that I made this human rights complaint. The Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee is part of the Cultural
Diversity and Race Relations Committee, which deliberated my complaint. In an email to me, which is provided in exhibit 3-1, Becky Kuffner said that she provided the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee with my anonymous submission. This would mean that she didn’t provide them with all of my submissions or my literary submission about Christmas messages on buses. She had no grounds to not provide them with all of the submissions. This was obviously retaliation for my human rights complaints.
In the past, there have been six different categories in the Living in Harmony Contest: elementary school literary competition, high school literary competition, adult literary competition, elementary school art competition, high school art competition, and adult art competition. If there was only one entrant in a particular competition, that entrant would win by default as long as her work was not of really bad quality. The contest is barely advertised by the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office and not advertised by the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee so there are very few
submissions.
In 2013, they chose 10 winners and 1 honorable mention for the elementary school art competition, 2 winners for the elementary school literary competition, 1 winner for the high school art competition, 0 winners for the high school literary competition, 0 winners for the adult literary competition, and 0 winners for the adult art competition. See
http://www.saskatoon.ca/DEPARTMENTS/Community%20Services/Communitydevelopment/Documents/LIHAwards_2013.pdf for the list of winners. I am attaching the list of winners as exhibit 3-2. There were probably no entrants in the high school literary competition or adult art competition.
Becky Kuffner should have told the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee that they should pick a winner for the adult literary competition instead of picking so many winners for the elementary school art competition. Her explanation for this is in her email message in exhibit 3-1.
I entered the adult literary competition. If the judges on the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee of the City of Saskatoon’s Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee could find 10 winners and an honorable mention for the elementary school visual artwork competition, are we supposed to believe that they couldn’t find a single winner for the adult literary competition? This is totally ridiculous. I wasn’t born yesterday.
I know about the poor quality and quantity of submissions and how the contest and judging works because I was on the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee last year. I know that last year when there was a single entrant in a competition, that entrant won by default.
My work was of extremely high quality (I have over 500 publications). If I had the only submission in the adult literary competition, I should have won by default according to their past practices. They didn’t award honorable mentions in the past. Why did they award an honorable mention now in the elementary school visual artwork competition instead of picking a winner for the adult literary competition?
My essay about my complaint on Christmas messages on Saskatoon Transit buses should have won the adult literary contest. This essay was not anonymous because my name was on it, I referred to my actions with respect to the complaint, and everyone on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee knows that I made this complaint because they were asked by City Council to come up with a policy regarding Christmas messages on buses. The judges on the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee of the City of Saskatoon’s Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee clearly didn’t want me to win.
I strongly believe that they denied me a win and picked extra winners for the elementary school competitions as retaliation for my prayer recitation human rights complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint. In fact, one of my entries was about the Christmas message human rights complaint and I later got this published in a slightly different form. I believe that the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office may not have even given all of my submissions, particularly the submission about the Christmas message human rights complaint, to the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee to be judged.
I had three submissions to the adult literary category in 2012. The best of these was the one about the Christmas messaging on buses. I was a member of the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee in 2012 so I know how the judging works. In the past, there was one and only one winner in each category. In the past, if there was only one submission in a particular category, that submission won by default. But in 2013, there were no winners in the adult literary category. There should have been a winner in the adult literary category according to past practices. If I had the only submissions to the adult literary category, one of mine should have won by default according to past practices. But instead, they picked 10 winners and 1 honorable mention for the elementary school art category. Becky Kuffner cited this as the reason that there was no winner in the adult literary category as can be seen in her email message in exhibit 3-1. All I wanted is to be judged fairly. They obviously didn’t do so. Anyone can see that. The only reason they wouldn’t judge me fairly is as retaliation for my human rights complaints.
Once while I was on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee, we were discussing different human rights concerns related to cultural diversity and race relations in Saskatoon. I brought up the school prayers that they had in Saskatoon Public Schools and brought up the funding of Catholic schools. Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee member Cornelia Laliberte, who works in the administration of the Catholic schools, complained later to Lynne Lacroix, community development manager, about me bringing up these issues even though we were discussing different human rights concerns related to cultural diversity and race relations in Saskatoon. What was her problem? She must not be happy that I criticized this. Cornelia Laliberte shouldn’t have been judging my submissions because it’s a conflict of interest.
Other subcommittee members who know me shouldn’t have been judging my submissions too because it’s a conflict of interest.
There were 10 winners for the elementary visual artwork contest and not a single winner of the adult literary contest because the winner would have been me and the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee didn’t want that to happen. This is clearly retaliation by the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee of the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee. The Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee clearly retaliated against me because they don’t like my prayer recitation human rights
complaint and Christmas message human rights complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commisssion.
Retaliation for filing human rights complaints is considered a form of discrimination and strictly prohibited under Section 45 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code:
Discrimination for taking part in proceedings under this Act prohibited
45 No person shall:
(a) refuse to employ or to continue to employ any person;
(b) threaten to dismiss or to penalize in any other way any person with respect to that person’s
employment or any term, condition or privilege thereof;
(c) discriminate against any person with respect to that person’s employment or any term,
condition or privilege thereof; or
(d) intimidate, retaliate against, coerce or impose any pecuniary or other penalty, loss or other
penalty, loss or disadvantage upon any person;
on the grounds that that person:
(e) has made or may make a complaint under this Act;
(f) has made or may make a disclosure concerning any matter complained of;
(g) has testified or may testify in a proceeding under this Act; or
(h) has participated or may participate in any other way in a proceeding under this Act.
1979, c.S-24.1, s.45; 2000, c.26, s.35.
Ashu M. G. Solo
Exhibit 3-1. Email Message from Becky Kuffner dated Apr. 12, 2013
Ashu M. G. Solo
From: Kuffner, Becky (CY - Community Development) <Becky.Kuffner@Saskatoon.ca>
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2013 2:07 PM
To: 'amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us'
Subject: RE: Submission for the Living in Harmony literary contest
Hi Ashu,
There are no stringent rules or guidelines that the committee must follow in terms of picking a winner for each category other than the budget restrictions. I did add your ‘anonymous’ submission to the adjudication as you had asked but given the number of submissions we received from elementary and secondary students and the effort and commitment on the part of the teachers to submit their entries the committee chose to honour two full classes of students this year. Mrs. Irinici’s grade 2/3 class and Mr. Elliott’s grade 7/8 class.
Thanks for inquiring,
Becky
Becky Sasakamoose Kuffner M.Ed
Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Coordinator
Treaty Six Territory
City of Saskatoon-Cosmo Civic Centre
3130 Laurier Drive Saskatoon
S7L 5J7
306.975.7826
becky.kuffner@saskatoon.ca
From: Ashu M. G. Solo
Sent: April 12, 2013 11:46 AM
To: Kuffner, Becky (CY - Community Development)
Subject: RE: Submission for the Living in Harmony literary contest
Hi Becky,
Why wasn’t there a winner for the Living in Harmony adult literary contest?
Ashu M. G. Solo
From: Web E-mail - Cultural Diversity
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 12:49 PM
To: Ashu M. G. Solo
Subject: RE: Submission for the Living in Harmony literary contest
Hi Ashu,
Just letting you know I received your submission for the Living in Harmony awards and there is no problem with letting
the adjudicators review the work without your name attached to it, and you’re right you don’t need an adult advisor to
sign your entry form ?. Good luck!
Have a great day.
Becky
Becky Sasakamoose Kuffner M.Ed
Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Coordinator
Treaty Six Territory
City of Saskatoon-Cosmo Civic Centre
3130 Laurier Drive Saskatoon
S7L 5J7
306.975.7826
becky.kuffner@saskatoon.ca
From: Ashu M. G. Solo
Sent: February 27, 2013 12:35 AM
To: Web E-mail - Cultural Diversity
Subject: Submission for the Living in Harmony literary contest
Hi Becky,
I’m attaching an entry form and submission for the Living in Harmony literary contest in Adobe PDF format. I’m submitting two poems and an essay that I previously wrote for this contest. Because some members of the Living in Harmony Ad Hoc Subcommittee might know me, to avoid a conflict of interest, I’m submitting copies of the poems with and without my name on them. You can let the judges review the copies of the poems without my name on them. It’s obvious that I wrote the essay so I didn’t include a copy of that without my name on it. I assume I don’t need an adult advisor to sign the entry form. If anything is filled out incorrectly on the entry form, let me know. I would appreciate if you confirm receiving this submission.
Ashu M. G. Solo
Exhibit 3-2. Living in Harmony Contest Winners for 2013