A lawyer for the Maritime College of Forest Technology confronted Rod Cumberland with a detailed chronology of his frequent complaints about new approaches by new administrators in 2018 and 2019.

The college is denying Cumberland's claim he was fired for his views on the herbicide glyphosate and is arguing he was dismissed for being a difficult and disruptive employee.

The instructor complained about yoga courses, "oversensitive" colleagues and the possible renaming of the college's Woodsmen lumberjack competition team with a gender-neutral term, according to Cumberland's emails introduced as evidence in the Court of King's Bench trial.

College lawyer Clarence Bennett (left) and executive director Tim Marshall. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

In one email he referred to "these liberal politically correct leaders who are changing the fabric of what our college has been."

"You thought it should be the old forest ranger school, and others thought something different," asked the college's lawyer Clarence Bennett.

Cumberland agreed.     

Later, Bennett asked him, "You will agree with me that none of this had to do with glyphosate spraying, right?"

"Right," Cumberland answered.

Cumberland, a wildlife biologist, is a vocal critic of industrial spraying of glyphosate by the forest industry and contends that it has contributed to a decline in the province's deer population.

Rod Cumberland speaking at an anti-spraying rally in 2019. (Radio-Canada)

During Wednesday's cross-examination, Bennett grilled him about how he contacted a lawyer, insurance companies, and a Fundy National Park official looking to bolster his arguments against the relaxing of rules against student drinking.

The instructor says he was seeking clarity because he was concerned he would be personally liable if a student were injured after drinking during one of the college's regular camp activities at Fundy.

Bennett told Cumberland it was "not your business" because executive director Tim Marshall and academic chair Gareth Davies had already made the decision.

 "I think it's a lot of my business if I'm going to be the person put out there," Cumberland said.

"All of a sudden I'm disrespectful and insubordinate for trying to communicate this."

Lost out on promotion

The instructor was fired in June 2019. In 2017 he applied for the job of academic chair at the college but lost out to Davies.

Bennett suggested Cumberland's persistent complaints were motivated by his bitterness over that decision but the former instructor says he was expressing legitimate concerns, including about a heavy workload Davies assigned him.

"As a believer I'm expected to turn the other cheek. … I couldn't do that," he said.

"There's no question you were resisting Mr. Davies as your boss?" Bennett asked.

"I had concerns about the decisions that he was making that were going to affect me."

The trial also heard how Cumberland complained about a mediator brought in to resolve a dispute between him and a colleague. The mediation efforts always ended with the colleague and the mediator "pointing fingers at me," Cumberland said.

Bennett said he'll be presenting evidence that some of Cumberland's colleagues had warned him that he was at risk of being fired if he didn't stop complaining to Davies and Marshall.

The college's lawyer also challenged Cumberland's claim about the impact of the firing on his ability to get a job, accusing him of seeking out media coverage.

"The reason why your dismissal was so public is because you made it public," Bennett said.

It was Cumberland's decision to sue that forced the college to defend the decision with its account of his behaviour, he continued.

"You told everyone who would listen that you'd get to the truth, and that's what we're doing, isn't it?"

JDI involvement?

Later Wednesday, Atlantic Forestry Centre director-general Peter Fullarton confirmed during his testimony that an email complaining about Cumberland came from J.D. Irving Ltd.'s vice-president of woodlands Jason Limongelli.

Limongelli wrote in the email that college instructors "should not be undermining federal scientists."

CBC News reported on the email in April but at the time Limongelli's name and title were redacted. The unredacted version was entered into evidence at the trial.

In a later email Marshall responded that it was "very important to me that [the college] maintains a positive relationship with the organizations working in the sector we aim to serve."

Fullarton said he wasn't aware of anyone from JDI seeking Cumberland's firing.

Meanwhile, a federal research scientist with Natural Resources Canada testified that he wasn't bothered by Cumberland's comments at a seminar on glyphosate held at the University of New Brunswick in January 2019.

The college has cited his actions there "undermining" federal scientists as one of the grounds for his firing.

Cumberland spoke during a question-and-answer period.

                              Chris Edge, a federal scientist who participated in a panel discussion on glyphosate, testified that he was not bothered by remarks made by Cumberland at the event, but admitted Cumberland's tone was aggressive. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

"The question he asked was more of a statement," said Chris Edge, one of the panelists. "It was quite aggressive, the way he asked it. … It was more like a longer statement."

Edge said the following week Marshall invited him to a meeting where he apologized for Cumberland's behaviour.

"I told him that it didn't bother me in the least," Edge recounted.

Fullarton said during his testimony however that he found Cumberland aggressive and didn't think he was setting a good example for students in the way he acted.

Edge said he didn't like Cumberland's insinuation in an email about the seminar that he wasn't independent and was being manipulated by the industry on the issue.

Edge said he has published 14 peer-reviewed papers on glyphosate and added that while he has no personal view on using it, his scientific assessment is that it has "negligible" risks when used in forests.

The trial is now adjourned until Oct. 3.

In his second day of testimony in his lawsuit against the college, Rod Cumberland said he was concerned about changes at the college, including what he considered a softening of rules around student absenteeism and behaviour.

"I was trying to get some control back in my classroom, some kind of respect," he said, but new administrators were undermining him by undercutting and second-guessing his disciplining of students.

"I'd been thrown under a bus and run over."

Rod Cumberland, seen here appearing at hearings into the province's use of pesticides and herbicides in 2021, claims he was fired from his instructor position for his views on glyphosate spraying. (Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick)

Cumberland is suing the college for wrongful dismissal in Court of King's Bench, saying he was fired in June 2019 for publicly opposing the industrial spraying of glyphosate on public forests in New Brunswick.

He believes industry representatives on the college board pushed for his removal.

On Monday two former college directors testified that industry officials told them they could "get rid" of Cumberland or sanction him.

The college denies firing Cumberland over glyphosate and says it will show the firing was about bullying and disruptive behaviour.

The college's lawyer Clarence Bennett began laying out that case late Tuesday afternoon when he started cross-examining Cumberland.

He signaled he would aggressively challenge the instructor's version of events and paint a different picture of how he acted toward his students and colleagues.

"I'm going to suggest to you that Mr. Cumberland's reputation is a bit of a loaded issue," he told Chief Justice Tracey DeWare. "He has one -- and I'm going to suggest to you that he's earned it."

He challenged Cumberland's claim to being a scientific expert on glyphosate, noting he's had no peer-reviewed articles published on the topic in academic journals.

Bennett read one rejection letter that told Cumberland an article he submitted was "more like an advocacy piece and is not a scientifically rigorous review."

Cumberland's testimony began Tuesday morning with his account of how he became alarmed in the fall of 2018 when college director Tim Marshall and new academic chair Gareth Davies didn't seem willing to enforce long-standing rules about student behaviour.

That included a ban on drinking alcohol during a fall camp in Fundy National Park for students.

Cumberland said he wanted to punish students who had left the camp site to consume beer while watching a hockey game in the village of Alma.

Paul Champ, the lawyer for Rod Cumberland. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

The students had been told the rules at the start of the year and again just before the camp, but Davies felt Cumberland and another instructor were being too strict and the students had done nothing wrong because they were "off-duty."

The incident undermined his authority with students and made it harder for him to enforce other rules, including a ban on wearing hats in class.

"They now think we're a joke," he recalled thinking.

Students knew administrators had second-guessed him and took advantage of it, becoming increasingly defiant, Cumberland said.

He said with no human resources department or union to turn to at the college, his only way to raise his concerns was with the administration.

When he pushed Marshall and Davies to clarify the changing rules and sought meetings with them to make his case, he got no response, he said.

"The only way you have to resolve stuff is to meet, and that was taken away," he said.

When Cumberland kept pushing for a discussion to clarify the rules, Davies wrote in an email that he found the instructor "offensive, disrespectful and insubordinate."

Cumberland said he feared he was being set up for dismissal.

"I felt like I was put right in a corner. I'm trying to do the best I can as a professional to deliver this course and they're not listening. It was extremely difficult, it was extremely embarrassing. I was totally frustrated. … I felt abused."

Cumberland also testified about a seminar on herbicides in January 2019 that is key to the lawsuit.

The college says in its lawsuit defence that Cumberland was "disrespectful and was openly dismissive, rude and insolent" toward federal scientists on a panel discussion about glyphosate.

His lawyer Paul Champ played a video of Cumberland's comments at the seminar where he can be heard asking the panel a question and a panelist can be heard responding.

In testimony, he described his questions as "challenging" but disagreed with a suggestion they were "combative."

Champ also had Cumberland read an email from the University of New Brunswick forestry dean Van Lantz thanking him for his contributions to the discussion.

Behaviour questioned

Cumberland said no one from his own college, including Marshall or Davies, said they were concerned with his actions at the seminar until a June 2019 meeting five months later where Marshall fired him.

"I said 'Are you sure this is what you want to do?'" he said of the meeting. "And he said 'Absolutely.'"

In cross-examination, Bennett brought up several examples of what he suggested was disrespectful behaviour by Cumberland toward students, such as when he used the terms "fruity" and "faggy" in class.

Cumberland said he didn't use the word "faggy" and his use of "fruity" was meant to mean "nutty" or "crazy."

When Bennett said a student was offended, Cumberland said the words weren't aimed at any individual.

"I did not realize that they would take it in that way," he said, adding he apologized to the offended student.

The instructor admitted under questioning by Bennett that comments he made in class about female students doing laundry "could be construed" as sexist.

Champ objected to several of the questions, calling Bennett's approach "trial by ambush." But DeWare said because the lawsuit was making broader claims than simple wrongful dismissal, Bennett had some latitude with his questioning.

Bennett's cross-examination of Cumberland is expected to continue Wednesday morning. 

Rod Cumberland, who's now a People's Alliance Party candidate for the Saint-Croix byelection, was terminated from his teaching position at the college on June 20, 2019.

Cumberland filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the Maritime College of Forest Technology on Nov. 18, 2019, saying he was fired for expressing his views on the forest industry's use of the herbicide glyphosate. 

But a statement of defence from the college, filed Jan. 7, says Cumberland was fired for other reasons, including: 

• Making disparaging remarks about the college.

• Bullying, harassing and belittling his students.

• Setting the clock ahead and preventing students who arrived late to enter the classroom.

• Making inappropriate, offensive, sexist and discriminatory comments. The college's response to Cumberland's lawsuit says he used the terms "faggy" and "fruity" to describe students in the class. 

Cumberland denies those allegations in his lawsuit. He says the college did not properly investigate the workplace misconduct allegations against him. 

"If it did, the investigation did not meet the most basic standard of procedural fairness," Cumberland's lawsuit says.

Lawyer Response

Cumberland's lawyer said many of the school's allegations are new and were never listed as reasons for his dismissal.

"A lot of these allegations against Mr. Cumberland in our view are completely false and slanderous and have never been raised with Mr. Cumberland at all," said Paul Champ, representing Cumberland. "They're not even referred to in his letter of termination."

Champ argues that because it is the first time those allegations have been brought forward by the school they indicate to him that they were not the reason for Cumberland's firing.

Glyphosate not reason for firing

The forestry school's response to the lawsuit alleges Cumberland began to harass and undermine Gareth Davies, who was appointed to the academic chair position in October 2018, by "constantly questioning his policies, decisions and teaching abilities." 

The college alleges Cumberland harassed Davies because he was upset that Davies got the academic chair job over him. 

"The plaintiff began a campaign of undermining the authority of Davies by sending his 'concerns' and questioning decisions via email to the entire faculty."

The defence says the emails were "abusive, accusatory and unnecessarily judgmental."

It also alleges Cumberland confiscated his students' personal items, forcefully removed their hats and singled them out in front of the class. 

Some of the comments the employer claims Cumberland made in class include comparing abortion to killing animals for management, and saying road-kill meat that's unsafe for human consumption should be given to soup kitchens to "'solve the problem.'"

The college says Cumberland's views on glyphosate were not raised at his termination meeting in June.

Didn't leave immediately

"This is a narrative perpetuated by the plaintiff to avoid responsibility for his offensive and inappropriate behaviour while working for the defendant," say the court documents.

After being told to leave campus immediately once the meeting was over, the college says "the plaintiff did not comply and instead commenced driving around the forestry complex erratically." 

Neither the college's nor Cumberland's claims have been tested in court. 

Cumberland is seeking $115,442.73 in damages, which he says is equivalent to 14 months reasonable notice of his dismissal. He is also asking for punitive damages, a declaration that his charter rights were violated and to be reinstated as a professor at the college.

Cumberland's lawsuit was filed by Paul Champ of Champ Associates in Ottawa. David W. McMath of McMath law firm in Fredericton is signed on to the document as well. 

The college is represented by Stewart McKelvey law firm in Fredericton.

A court date has not been set.

Cumberland began working for the college as a forest operations supervisor in June 2012.

The Maritime College of Forest Technology is located in Fredericton and also has a campus in Bathurst.

Tim Marshall, the college's executive director, said Monday in a three-page statement to CBC News the firing of Rod Cumberland in June came as the result of the wildlife biologist's "abuse of authority" and "disparaging remarks" about the Fredericton-based school and its administration.

The statement from Marshall, who declined to be interviewed, was issued amid calls from provincial politicians for an independent inquiry into the dismissal of two of the publicly funded college's longest-serving instructors.

Cumberland was fired from his teaching role — a move that he said surprised and confused him  — on June 20. 

On July 3, Gerald Redmond, the former executive director of the college who retired in 2017, told CBC News he believed his former colleague's opposition to glyphosate is likely the "real reason."

Gerald Redmond, the former executive director of the Maritime College of Forest Technology, was told by the school his services were no longer needed the day after he criticized the firing of a well-known instructor. (CBC)

He said he felt pressure from the board of governors during his tenure as executive director to sanction Cumberland on several occasions for his outspokenness on the controversial herbicide used by the New Brunswick forest industry.

On July 4, Redmond, who had been teaching a few courses through the continuing education program as an independent contractor, was told his "services were no longer needed."

Last week, Green Party Leader David Coon and People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin both called for an inquiry into the matter as well as a broader look at the college's governance.

Austin also alleged a board member who voted to fire Cumberland later applied for and was interviewed for the position.

People’s Alliance Leader Kris Austin has called for an inquiry into the dismissal of the two instructors. (CBC)

On Monday, Marshall said board member Andrew Fedora applied for one of two "recently advertised vacancies," but he was not interviewed for Cumberland's open position. He has since withdrawn himself from consideration.

Marshall said the board did not vote on firing Cumberland.

"Those matters are dealt with by the Executive Director," he said.

Fedora confirmed Marshall's statement on Monday but would not comment further.

Reasons for dismissal

The statement does not directly address the calls for an inquiry. Instead, it outlined the college's reasons for cutting ties with the two instructors.

Marshall said the college normally doesn't comment on personnel issues, but felt compelled. 

"Because of the rhetoric that has been circulating in the public realm, which contain inaccurate and untruthful information, we have been left with no choice but to comment … to clarify the facts relating to this matter," reads the statement.

It listed several reasons for Cumberland's termination that included: 

• Preventing students from attending class because they were late and even adjusting the clock ahead by a few minutes;
• confiscating hats and requiring students to apologize to him in front of the class;
• making "inappropriate and offensive" comments in class;
• engaging in conduct that "constitutes harassment" which damaged the college's reputation;
• undermining the content of a vegetation management seminar approved by the college;
• making disparaging remarks, at the college and in the community, about the school and its administration;
• and failing to adhere to instructions given to him by the academic chair.

"The behaviour of Mr. Cumberland was unacceptable," Marshall said.

The statement went on to accuse Cumberland of abusing his authority — a form of harassment, it said, when the individual harms or interferes with a person's career or studies in a manner that serves "no legitimate work purpose" and ought to be understood as "inappropriate."

Cumberland said in early July he was surprised by the decision to fire him and is unclear on the college's reasons, which were outlined in the dismissal letter.

"It doesn't make sense when you look at it on the surface," he said.

Cumberland could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.

Glyphosate not a factor, college says

The deer biologist and competitive lumberjack has spent 29 years working for the provincial Department of Natural Resources and the Fredericton-based ranger school.

After leaving government, he began publicly discussing the effects of glyphosate on New Brunswick's forests and, in particular, the deer population.

Cumberland has been outspoken about the potential harms of glyphosate, a controversial herbicide used by the New Brunswick forest industry. (CBC)

The college said the reason for Cumberland's termination had nothing to do with his views on glyphosate.

It also accused Redmond of recently disclosing confidential information belonging to the college he obtained while executive director.

The college, originally called the Maritime Forest Ranger School, was established as a co-operative venture of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments and forest industries, according to the college's website.

Its Fredericton campus is on the grounds of the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre, also a co-operative venture of government agencies, educational institutions and industry associations.

The posts said Cumberland was a teacher who promoted a good work ethic, discipline and punctuality and that he was an ethical, thoughtful and caring instructor.

Calls for investigation

Redmond called on the provincial Department of Post-secondary Education, Training and Labour, which accounts for the majority of the school's funding, to launch a third-party investigation into Cumberland's dismissal. Green Party Leader David Coon made a similar call Wednesday.

The college declined to do an interview but sent a statement that said the reason for Cumberland's termination had nothing to do with his views on glyphosate.

Glyphosate is a controversial herbicide used by New Brunswick's forestry sector. (CBC)

It also accused Redmond of recently disclosing confidential information belonging to the college he obtained while executive director.

"This is a serious breach of his ongoing confidentiality obligations," the statement said. "The confidential information he disclosed was not contained in his comments to the media."

It didn't elaborate further on what the information might be or how Redmond breached his obligations.

Among the accusations against Cumberland listed in the letter are that he prevented students from attending his class because they were late, insisted that they remove their hats in class, and made disparaging remarks in the community about the college, its director and some fellow instructors.

The letter also said he engaged "in communication and a course of conduct, both at MCFT and in the community at large, that constitutes harassment and has caused embarrassment and damage to the reputation of MCFT."

Cumberland said he was surprised by the decision to fire him and is unclear on the college's reasoning.

"It doesn't make sense when you look at it on the surface," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Outspoken on glyphosate

The wildlife biologist and competitive lumberjack has spent 29 years working for the provincial Department of Natural Resources and the college.

After leaving government, he began publicly discussing the effects of glyphosate on New Brunswick's forests and, in particular, the deer population.

The dismissal letter said Cumberland undermined the content of a vegetation management seminar approved by the college. Cumberland said he was accused of deterring students from attending the seminar, adding that was never the case.

'Troublemaking'

Tom Beckley, a professor in the forestry and environmental management department at the University of New Brunswick, has known both Cumberland and Redmond for many years. He said Cumberland sought his advice on what he could and could not say in the classroom.

Beckley said Cumberland knew there could be repercussions with his choice to not self-censor. He said speaking against the status quo in the forestry industry is often seen as "troublemaking" or "advocacy."

But he said debating clashing opinions is part of a post-secondary institution's mandate.

Tom Beckley, a professor in the forestry and environmental management department at the University of New Brunswick, says debating clashing opinions is part of a post-secondary institution's mandate. (CBC)

"I think conversations like that are exactly what we should be doing with our students, not telling them what the right answer is but also not hiding our own opinions," Beckley said.

Cumberland said he encouraged his students "to look at all the science" and critique his views. 

"Look at what I'm saying, see if it's true or not," he said. "I think that's a wise thing to do [for] anything in life. Get all the facts before you make a decision."

The college, originally called the Maritime Forest Ranger School, was established as a co-operative venture of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments and forest industries, according to the college's website.

Its Fredericton campus is on the grounds of the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre, also a co-operative venture of government agencies, educational institutions and industry associations.

-  Gerald Redmond, college's former executive director

The college, originally called the Maritime Forest Ranger School, was established as a co-operative venture of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments and forest industries, according to the college's website.

Its Fredericton campus is on the grounds of the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre, also a co-operative venture of government agencies, educational institutions and industry associations. 

Deterring students

The dismissal letter said Cumberland undermined the content of a vegetation management seminar approved by the college.

Cumberland said he was accused of deterring students from attending the seminar, adding that was never the case.

Cumberland, pictured splitting wood at his home, has been outspoken about the impact of glyphosate on New Brunswick's forests and deer population. (CBC)

"I encouraged them to look at all the science," he said, "and encouraged them to even critique me. Look at what I'm saying, see if it's true or not. I think that's a wise thing to do [for] anything in life. Get all the facts before you make a decision."

Gerald Redmond, the college's former executive director who retired in 2017, said he was pressured during his tenure to reprimand Cumberland.

He said Cumberland's outspokenness against glyphosate is probably the "real reason" why he was fired.

"I knew that Rod was vulnerable," said Redmond, who hired Cumberland twice — once in government and again at the college. 

Gerald Redmond believes the 'real reason' for Cumberland's dismissal was his outspokenness on glyphosate. (CBC)

"Because even when I was the executive director, I felt pressure from the board of governors in several instances, to try to sanction Rod for his outspokenness on the glyphosate herbicide."

Redmond said the forest industry does not like what Cumberland says on the issue. He said he should be reinstated.

Statement from the board

The college's board of governors responded to an interview request with a statement Wednesday afternoon that said it will not comment on personnel issues, while reaffirming support for current executive director Tim Marshall.

The board also said it's aware of Redmond's views, saying he "was not involved in the decision in question nor was he privy to the information that led to the decision."

Green Party Leader David Coon said the Department of Post-secondary Education, Training and Labour should launch an internal inquiry into the matter and make the results public.

He said it's another instance in which an institution is not standing up to the "powers that be"— meaning government and the forestry sector, he said. It's not the first time that action has been taken against a scientist who has been outspoken about forestry industry practices, he said.

Green Party Leader David Coon said the province should investigate Cumberland's dismissal from the Maritime College of Forest Technology, which has a Fredericton campus at the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre. (CBC)

"It's clear to me that his dissent is the problem," Coon said.

Redmond also created a private Facebook Group — called Friends of "Rod Cumberland"— in support of his former colleague. Many graduates posted to the group, calling the firing "outrageous" and questioning the real reasons behind it.

The posts said Cumberland was a teacher who promoted a good work ethic, discipline and punctuality and that he was an ethical, thoughtful and caring instructor.

'Court cases being won'

Cumberland said modern, independent studies on glyphosate are producing more evidence that the product can be harmful to animals, including humans. In 2015, the World Health Organization classified the herbicide as "probably carcinogenic to humans."

"There are court cases being won all across North American right now based on a lot of evidence, and I think that evidence speaks for itself," he said.

Bayer, which purchased glyphosate-producer Monsanto, was ordered by a Californian jury in May to pay $2 billion in damages to a couple who alleged the herbicide gave them cancer. 

Plaintiffs in two other Californian cases were awarded tens of millions of dollars in damages. The company disputes the allegations that the product can be linked to cancer and is appealing the decisions.

The product is banned in several areas across the globe, including on Crown land in Quebec.

Some residents have complained about the use of glyphyosate on New Brunswick trees. (CBC)

In Canada, separate class-action lawsuits against Bayer and Monsanto have been launched in Saskatchewan and Quebec.

Health Canada says glyphosate is "not genotoxic and is unlikely to pose a human cancer risk."

The New Brunswick government announced a reduction in herbicide spraying earlier this year.