Untenable Tenure: Discrimination Complaint From Indigenous Professor Dismissed

Overview

An Indigenous law professor filed a human rights complaint against the University of British Columbia claiming the university discriminated against her in failing to consider her less traditional scholarly work as akin to traditional peer-reviewed scholarly work. 

Ms. McCue argued that the concept of "peer review" had no application to her as an Indigenous female scholar and the university had an obligation to consider her work which was oral in nature and which included service to her Indigenous community, when considering whether to grant her tenure.

The Human Rights Tribunal ("Tribunal") ultimately dismissed the claim, holding that the work had to be capable of assessment by conventional peer review.