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CAUT Bulletin Archives
1996-2016

August 2002

Donations Still Needed for Retirees' Legal Fees

In April 2002 retired professors Ursula Franklin, Phyllis Grosskurth, Blanche van Ginkel and Cicely Watson achieved a landmark settlement with the University of Toronto in their claim for lost wages and retirement income resulting from systemic gender discrimination in pay. In a release issued April 19, the university's vice-provost, Vivek Goel, said the university "had failed to achieve fairness in ensuring that all faculty members of similar accomplishment and seniority within the same discipline received similar compensation." While the plaintiffs achieved an immense victory, not only for themselves, but also for dozens of retired female faculty members, the settlement did not compensate them fully for legal costs of more than $50,000. CAUT is asking local faculty associations to make a donation to assist in deferring these necessary legal costs. Donations should be sent to legal counsel Mary Eberts of the law firm Eberts, Symes Street & Corbett, 133 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 1E4. Cheques should be made payable to "Law Office of Mary Eberts, in trust."