Sault College president David Orazietti is being investigated after an employee launched a complaint alleging his behaviour violated the school’s harassment and discrimination policy.
SooToday has learned the complaint, which is not sexual in nature, was filed to the board chair by a female administrative employee on Jan. 13.
That’s when an investigation was started by a third party, at the request of Don Mitchell, chair of the college’s board of directors.
However, the full board of directors was only briefed about the investigation at its most recent meeting in late-April — more than three months after the investigation began.
SooToday first asked the college about the investigation in mid-April. Mitchell and Orazietti agreed to answer our questions, but only after the board was informed about the investigation.
During that interview, Mitchell confirmed that Orazietti started working from home after the complaint was filed, but not because of the complaint.
“He was working from home with permission from myself and the college — but because of health issues — and then he was brought back,” Mitchell said.
“There is no time that David did not work and keep in communication with the college and his three VPs, including the one that acted for him.
“So, everything he did as much as he could was done from home through Rich Peters, Katia Longo and Sherri Smith. He wasn't suspended, he was working from home,” Mitchell said.
Orazietti returned to campus around the end of February.
Mitchell confirmed the complainant is still employed at the college, but she is currently on a leave of absence.
“She’s not working right now,” he said. “Neither one of them have been suspended.”
Mitchell said he believes Orazietti will be found to have not broken any of Sault College’s policies.
“I know where things are at,” Mitchell said. “I have had information from the third party that tells me where we think we're going to be. Otherwise I wouldn't sit down to this conversation because if it reverses, I'm the one that's going to wear this.”
“Has he done what a boss does? Has he pissed some people off?” Mitchell asked. “Absolutely.”
Mitchell also said there is a small group of people at the college who are not happy.
“There was a faction,” he said. “This isn't a faction that started just under David. This is known . . . and those people . . . I have to say to you, you can't throw stuff against the wall and not get splattered yourself, OK?
“There are people that are far from innocent that we know are complaining,” he continued.
“And hey, it'll come back. But we want to be able to say that Don Mitchell, the board of directors, did not do anything.
"We had an independent third party do it and get it. And if you're not cooperating at your end, that's your problem. It's not ours,” Mitchell said.
When asked why the board wasn’t told about the investigation sooner, Mitchell said it “should have been done before.”
“I’m going by what our lawyer tells us to do,” he said, adding that there are more than a dozen people serving on the board.
“The second you inform them you’ve got that much more of a leakage.”
Mitchell said the investigation should be completed in the next four to six weeks.
SooToday asked Mitchell why the investigation is taking so long if there is no merit to the complaint?
“The reason is the complainant hasn't given any real proof,” he said. “We’ve given every opportunity. This came to our attention on January the 13th. And we're now on April the 24th without any documented proof. It's an allegation.”
Orazietti said he could not discuss specifics related to the complaint due to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
However, he said some of the concerns he’s hearing may be due to a change in culture at Sault College.
“Since my appointment as president I have been privileged to carry out my mandate with the full support of the board to bring change to the college's culture and accountability to its operations,” he told SooToday.
“I'm on the job full-time. Changing culture in an organization the size of Sault College is challenging for all involved. While most individuals are successful, some will prefer the old way and some will resist change.”
Orazietti said he is “passionate about the work that I do,” and that can sometimes be misconstrued.
Mitchell said he has no concerns about Orazietti’s behaviour on the job.
“If I was being attacked the way he was, I wouldn't be as calm,” Mitchell said. “I get more excited about this than he does. I think it's . . . nonsense. I mean, it's just gone too far.”
Mitchell discussed some of the challenges Orazietti faced when he took over as college president in 2023.
“When there’s a cancer in an organization, you’ve got to cut it out,” he said. “David was hired to make some cultural changes.”
Said Orazietti: “Some we've had to let go due to issues which no organization could allow to continue. I have every confidence that in the long run our transformation will provide stability for the college and I will continue to hold myself and all college leadership to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”
The complaint filed against Orazietti comes at a difficult time for Sault College, as it tries to navigate economic challenges triggered by the federal government’s drastic cut to student visas for international students.
It also comes at a time when Orazietti’s leadership is under fire.
On April 14, Sault College’s faculty and support staff unions held a non-binding vote to determine if they have confidence in the school’s leadership. As SooToday reported, 54.84 per cent of participants signalled they do have confidence in Orazietti and the vice-presidents.
In an email to faculty and staff obtained by SooToday in April, Orazietti said the college’s economic challenges are “driven by the ongoing underfunding of post-secondary education and, more recently, dramatic shifts in federal policy affecting international students.”
The email points out that in 2023, the college was allocated 3,530 international student permits. In 2024, that number dropped to 1,293 — a 63 per cent reduction.
“This has created a considerable gap in our budget, as international tuition has been a critical part of our financial model, contributing roughly $40 million annually,” Orazietti wrote.
Over the past several months, the college has taken proactive steps to address the shortfall, including a hiring freeze, suspending certain programs, freezing administrative salaries, and offering retirement incentives, the email said.
As SooToday reported last month, four staff members are no longer at the college, the result of a “strategic response to financial pressures” facing the school.
The four were Peters, the vice-president of strategic enrolment, partnerships and employment, along with Matt Casola, Fang Wang and Carla Casarin.
Mitchell told SooToday the college’s board has done what it can to deal with cutbacks.
“This college has taken longer than most to attack its staffing before the others,” he said.
“You know what, we addressed many other areas other than this to find ways to save money before dealing with staffing, right?”