Court finds MUN of wrong doing for punishing silent protester

Abby Cole · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 16, 2025 1:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Years aft being sanctioned, a pupil who was punished implicit protesting astatine Memorial University has won his accidental successful the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Matt Barter, who was accused by the assemblage of bullying and intimidation aft silently protesting the university's tuition hikes successful precocious 2021, says helium is relieved.

"For the ultimate tribunal to intervene, the determination has to beryllium really, truly bad," Barter told CBC Radio's On The Go. 

His protestation progressive holding a motion that work "Stop Vianne" while silently lasting adjacent to now-former assemblage president Vianne Timmons astatine a media briefing connected Dec. 2, 2021.

The assemblage aboriginal claimed Barter violated the student's codification of conduct, and its lawyer said his protestation was a signifier of bullying. As a result, Barter was banned from campus, but to be classes, for 3 months portion an probe was launched into his actions.

The pursuing probe imposed sanctions connected Barter for 2 offences: bullying and causing a disturbance. He was fixed a missive of reprimand, ordered to be a bullying seminar and was placed connected non-academic probation for 1 year.

Barter appealed the investigation's findings, but lost. He past decided to instrumentality ineligible enactment against the assemblage to reappraisal the administration's decision.

His lawsuit was heard successful tribunal in March 2023 and the determination was released connected Sunday.

Justice Rosalie McGrath recovered that the university's sanctions against Barter were unreasonable, and sent it backmost to the assemblage for reconsideration. 

She besides awarded ineligible costs to Barter.

In a statement, MUN spokesperson Chad Pelley says the assemblage volition reconsider its determination to punish Barter.

Pelley says McGrath recovered that MUN followed owed process, adding she besides agreed with MUN's claim that Barter conducted bullying and harassment.

"While I whitethorn not person needfully person travel to the aforesaid uncovering based connected the grounds I person referred to above, I cannot accidental that the decision reached was not wrong a scope of tenable outcomes," wrote McGarth successful her decision.

"It's not my relation connected judicial reappraisal to interfere with factual findings oregon re-evaluate the evidence."

Barter's lawyer, Kyle Rees, says he's blessed with the outcome.

It's not emblematic for the tribunal to marque a judicial reappraisal of an administrative decision, says Rees, arsenic the process to use for 1 is not easy.

Rees says the university's determination to punish Barter didn't see provisions that code the close to peaceful protest. 

"Something needs to beryllium genuinely disruptive to make a disturbance beyond what should beryllium expected of benignant of escaped code and escaped protestation astatine the assemblage successful bid for it to beryllium sanctionable nether the code," said Rees. 

As a result, helium says the justice sent the determination backmost to the assemblage with instructions of what to see next.

Barter says helium has been progressive successful protestation against the university's tuition summation and spending decisions since helium began arsenic a pupil successful 2015. 

Barter has continued protesting and looking into accusation astir the university. He has issued much than 400 access-to-information requests from the university, and publishes them connected his idiosyncratic blog.

He says MUN is trying to halt him from doing his investigative work.

"They've beauteous overmuch conducted a targeted run against me," said Barter. 

As for what happens next, Pelley said that volition beryllium communicated with Barter's lawyer.

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