The decision released today by Chief Justice Morawetz of the Superior Court of Justice provides welcome clarification regarding what information and documents the Auditor General is entitled to receive.
The Chief Justice confirmed that the Auditor General is not entitled to obtain privileged information.
Apart from the narrow issue of privileged information, which the Court has now determined Laurentian is not required to provide, the University has cooperated with the Auditor General’s inquiry. Laurentian has authorized and encouraged all staff to participate in interviews with the Auditor General of Ontario, provided no privileged information is relayed. We have also granted her office direct access to our entire financial database, enrollment system, as well as a substantial volume of other non-privileged documentation covering many decades. We will continue to provide the Auditor General with the documentation and non-privileged information she needs, and is entitled to receive, in order to perform her audit.
Laurentian University is on a difficult and necessary journey of transformational change. As we continue the hard work of restructuring, we are working through a complex process involving many stakeholders with the assistance of a court-appointed Monitor and under the direct supervision of the Court. Especially in light of the Province’s package of support announced last month, we remain confident that Laurentian will emerge as a fully restructured, financially viable, and renewed Laurentian University for the long-term.