King’s announces details of independent review

The University of King’s College has hired two lawyers from Toronto to conduct an independent review into an accusation of sexual assault against a former professor at the Halifax school.

Halifax Regional Police announced Feb. 1 that Wayne John Hankey, 76, has been charged with assaulting a young man in a student residence at King’s in March 1988. Police said the alleged victim contacted them last September.

On Thursday, King’s president Bill Lahey released details of the independent, third-party review he promised back on Feb. 1.

The review will be carried out by Janice Rubin, a leading authority on workplace harassment and investigations, and Elizabeth Bingham, one of her colleagues at Rubin Thomlinson LLP.

“They proceed with our full confidence and support,” Lahey said.

According to the terms of reference, the review will determine the facts of the 1988 incident, the impact of what happened, and whether any officials at King’s had knowledge of the event or took any actions. It will also make recommendations on how the university should respond.

Hankey, a former Anglican priest who lives in Halifax, was disciplined by King’s and the church in 1991 after a former student complained he had been sexually abused while attending the school.

In making its recommendations, the review will consider the facts and reasoning behind the sanction imposed by the school 30 years ago and whether there are other incidents involving Hankey that are relevant.

The review will also examine whether King’s acted to ensure the safety of students and other members of its community, whether the university is accountable for harm and how it should handle third-party complaints and incidents of sexualized violence that happened before a sexualized violence awareness, prevention and response policy was adopted.

The university said the review will be conducted in accordance with survivor-centred principles and values, with fairness, with confidentiality, and in a manner that won’t interfere with the criminal justice process.

Lahey said the terms of the review were developed in consultation with Rubin and representatives of the King’s community, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and board.

“We have also been cooperating with the Halifax police, who contacted King’s last month asking for employee records pertaining to Dr. Hankey, and who will be providing the necessary production order with the legal authority to require the provision of this otherwise confidential information,” he said in a news release.

“King’s has gathered the available information. One document that is no longer available is the report from the committee that looked into the charges that led to Dr. Hankey being disciplined by King’s in 1991.

"While there is institutional memory about the work of this committee and ancillary documents pertaining to the committee’s work, a comprehensive search led us to conclude that the university’s copy of the report has not existed for a number of years. The scope of the review is broad enough to include this matter.”

Lahey said the university “will not be saying anything that could interfere with the credibility and effectiveness of the review. From this day forward, Janice Rubin and her team will determine how they do their work, not the university.

“As the review moves forward, be assured that our silence is born of respect for the process and not any avoidance of it,” he said.

“When the review concludes, you will hear from King’s again. And at that time, King’s will be as transparent as the law allows. I am determined that future generations will not find us wanting."

Hankey retired from King’s in 2015. He also lectured at neighbouring Dalhousie University until he was charged by police.

“Dalhousie has been in contact with King’s, and given the close institutional relationship between the two universities, … is fully committed to co-operating with the review process announced today, while respecting the criminal justice process,” Dalhousie said in a statement Thursday.

“Dalhousie will ensure the reviewer has access to information and resources to the extent possible where matters raised may tie to Dalhousie’s jurisdiction.”

Hankey is scheduled to be arraigned in Halifax provincial court March 22.