A whistleblower from the College of the North Atlantic has raised concerns regarding the conduct of President Elizabeth Kidd, contacting mattbarter.ca to highlight issues related to financial management, travel expenses, and hiring practices.
The whistleblower claims that Kidd has been residing in St. John’s while her official duty station is in Stephenville, raising questions about the appropriateness of certain financial benefits she has reportedly received. Allegedly, Kidd has been collecting a daily allowance and a stipend for years without approval from the Board of Governors and has been reimbursed for travel without proper authorization. It is alleged that the travel benefits Kidd received violated established protocols and resulted in unnecessary costs to taxpayers.
Additional claims suggest that Kidd frequently travelled business class for international trips and went on personal sightseeing trips under the guise of work-related travel. The whistleblower also alleges that Kidd cut several trips short, leading to extra costs.
There are also accusations of questionable hiring and promotion practices, with some executive members reportedly being appointed or promoted without competitive processes. These individuals are said to have close personal ties to Kidd.
Lastly, the whistleblower claims Kidd has had minimal involvement in student affairs and events at CONA and was absent from significant student functions.
CONA did not respond to mattbarter.ca for comment on the allegations.
Access-to-information requests have been filed.
Matt Barter is a graduate of the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, holding a degree in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, taking walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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