I wish to express my deepest appreciation to the University of Toronto Faculty Association, and the Canadian Association of University Teachers, first for having voted me in as a full member of the association and second for making it possible for me to continue my work at the University of Toronto.

President Robert Prichard of the University of Toronto has received high praise in the media for his instrumentation of my recent re-instatement at the Hospital for Sick Children in the early hours of Jan. 26.

However, it has not been as widely appreciated that it was only through the exemplary wisdom and determination of you, and your colleagues, that President Prichard ever became informed of the true facts and circumstances of this unfortunate affair.

I view the UTFA and the CAUT as bodies of courageous academics committed to protecting scientific and academic integrity within Canadian universities. These bodies first determined the facts and circumstances of my situation -- and those of my redoubtable colleagues who have stood by me in the Apotex controversy -- in the fall of 1998.

This was long before I learned of my (most recent) dismissal by the present Hospital for Sick Children administration. By its vote to include us as full members, UTFA has protected my colleagues and me in our struggle to address issues of academic freedom and scientific integrity in clinical trials.

Drug and biotechnology companies continue to threaten the dissemination of scientific data by researchers and physicians all over the academic world. These stories are usually buried -- by power on one side and fear on the other. The alleged public "squabbling," to which the media has referred in the last days of January, in fact ensured that, in contrast to many of these cases, the Canadian public learned of the circumstances of the Apotex/Hospital for Sick Children affair. The grievance process launched by UTFA demonstrates its commitment to avoid any repetition of this history.

It is our further hope that recommendations arising from an open inquiry into this matter will have world-wide impact for academic freedom and the protection of rights of researchers, however they are funded, to disseminate scientific findings openly. Once achieved, this is an indelible legacy, thanks for which is owed to a dedicated, just and generous University of Toronto Faculty Association and CAUT, both committed to fairness, excellence, and protection of their faculty.

Thank you again for your efforts in this matter.

Nancy F. Olivieri
Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Toronto