Former N.W.T. teacher absent from human rights hearing, complaint dismissed
A human rights adjudicator has dismissed a complaint against the territory's Beaufort Delta Education Council after the former teacher bringing the complaint forward didn't show for the hearing.
Moses Suzuki brought forward the complaint in 2018, alleging he was the victim of harassment and discrimination based on his gender identity while working as a teacher in the N.W.T.'s north.
According to the complaint form filed with the human rights commission, Suzuki worked as a teacher in Aklavik from the start of the 2018 school year and resigned in November 2018.
Suzuki was not present at Monday's hearing and did not send a representative in his place.
In his absence, N.W.T. representative Thomas Wallwork applied to have the complaint dismissed and adjudicator Sheldon Toner accepted his application.
Wallwork told the commission that Suzuki appears to have abandoned his complaint and setting a new date for the hearing would waste resources, money and inconvenience witnesses.
Wallwork said that Suzuki also missed the preliminary hearing, had been "expressly warned" that the complaint could be dismissed if he failed to appear and made no indication about whether he was going to attend the hearing.
Not dismissing the complaint would support Suzuki's decision to ignore correspondence and waste time, Wallwork said.
Monday's hearing is not the first time Suzuki has been the subject of a public hearing.
In 2017, while working as a teacher in Coral Harbour, Nunavut, Suzuki was suspended after posting an edited photo depicting an ex-girlfriend as an ISIS terrorist carrying out a beheading where he pasted an image of his own head.
Two years later the Ontario College of Teachers revoked his right to teach in the province.
The 46-page decision alleges that Suzuki made "offensive" and "obscene" comments to a female student and her mother. The document also alleges Suzuki had students over at his home to consume alcohol late at night.
Suzuki also did not appear at the 2019 Ontario hearing, according to the document.
Wallwork said Suzuki's absence appears to be "part of a deliberate strategy."
He cited an email Suzuki sent on March 3, 2021, which Wallwork said seemed to be a spontaneous rebuttal to the Ontario board's decision.
Suzuki said at the time that he "felt way off track," and "did not have the mental capacity to win a debate" so the only thing left to do was to set up the hearing, make it seem like he would attend and then "burn them" by not showing up.
In his submissions on dismissal, Wallwork also pointed to an email Suzuki sent in November 2021.
He sent the email to Wallwork, the Human Rights Adjudication Panel, CBC and two news outlets in Winnipeg. In it, Suzuki said he is "busy working on an important project in another country." He said he doesn't have access to internet or phone reception on a regular basis and doesn't know where he'll be from week to week.
Suzuki wrote that the hearing should be postponed to September 2024.
"That way it will not interfere with my current schedule."
Since the hearing was held virtually, Wallwork said it shouldn't matter where he is in the world.
A Facebook post on Monday morning from Suzuki's account shows a TikTok video of Suzuki hitting a heavy bag.
His social media pages describe him as an actor, musician, comedian and martial artist.
The Monday morning hearing did not provide details on Suzuki's complaint.
Wallwork did not respond to a request for more information on the initial complaint and the human rights commission was not able to provide further information.
