b

t

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n
January 2, 1992

VCC appoints first
advisor on harassment issues
VCC has appointed lawyer Kathryn
Thomson to the new position of
Advisor on Harassment Issues,

effective February 1.
Thomson said she envisions three
parts to her duties in the position:
finalizing the investigation and
resolution procedures that the VCC
Harassment Committee has been
drafting, beginning an education
program and implementing
procedures to handle specific
complaints.

"The first stage will be to finalize a
policy that will work for all of us,"
said Thomson. "For instance, the

From left to right John Cruickshank, Kathryn Thomson, Joy Hargreaves and Martin Gerson VCC
Faculty Association member, Hargreaves, teaches Office Administration at City Centre and LFA
member Gerson is Division Chair, Math/Sciences at Langara Campus Both are members of the
College Committee on Harassment Policies and Procedures

resolution of a dispute might be
accomplished through mediation or

The Harassment Committee will

take a more formal route such as a

continue to function in co-operation

resolution by the college

with Thomson.

president."

"I want to help the college
community create an environment

that is both healthy and positive for
students and employees and I'd like
them to know they can speak with
me in confidence."

Thomson will likely work out of an
off-campus location, visiting people
on the job to discuss their concerns.
Her appointment to the position is
initially on a six-month contract.
Thomson earned a B.A. in 1983

VANCOUVER
COMMUNITY

COLLEGE

from the University of Victoria.
She moved on to UBC where she
was a recipient of the Edna Mary
Weatherall Law Scholarship,

graduating in 1986 with a Bachelor
of Laws degree.

A recipient of the Law Foundation
of B.C. Scholarship, she is currently
working on her Masters of Laws
Continued
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From cover page

through the University of Ottawa. She is studying in
the area of human rights in Canada.
Thomson has served as an editor of the Canadian
Journal of Family Law. She articled in the Vancouver
firm of Schrum, Liddle and Hebenton and worked as
an associate of that firm. Most recently Thomson has
worked as a researcher for Carswell/Richard DeBoo
Publishers.

She also is a member of the Board of Trustees of the
National Association of Women and the Law.
Thomson has appeared before the Supreme Court of
Canada in a case of pregnancy discrimination as well as
speaking at various conferences concerning
harassment.

VCC President John Cruickshank welcomed
Thomson's appointment. "I think Kathryn, as a lawyer,

is ideally suited for the position through training and
She is or has been a member of numerous
organizations and committees which are active in
human rights, including the Gender Bias Committee

of LEAF (Legal Education and Action Fund), for
which she recently helped draft that organization's
submissions to the Law Foundation of B.C.
concerning sexual harassment and hate literature.

experience and also because of her interest in human
rights issues."

"Because she is in the process of finishing her work
for a Masters of Laws at the university of Ottawa, her
time and our time fit nicely together. It's an ideal
match between the task and the person."

IF YOU WANT TO GET IN TOUCH
WITH

KATHRYN THOMSON
CALL 876-29325
MONDAY TO FRIDAY, 9AM TO 5PM