PEIA Halifax woman is suing P.E.I.’s Holland College for more than a million dollars, accusing the college of negligence and breach of privacy over how she says it handled a harassment complaint she tried to file against former VP Doug Currie.College argues intimate relationship with ex-VP bore ‘no connection’ to the workplaceKerry Campbell · CBC News · Posted: Sep 08, 2025 4:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoFormer P.E.I. Liberal cabinet minister Doug Currie ran for the federal Conservatives in 2021. The party barred him from seeking its nomination in the Charlottetown riding in advance of the 2025 election. (CBC)A Halifax woman is suing P.E.I.’s Holland College for more than a million dollars, accusing the college of negligence and breach of privacy over how she says it handled a harassment complaint she attempted to file against former vice-president Doug Currie.In a statement of claim filed July 8 in P.E.I. Supreme Court, lawyers representing Jordan Simms say Currie “used his resources and power as vice-president of the college to bully and harass [her] and damage her career and reputation.”None of the allegations in the statement of claim have been tested in court. While Currie and college president Sandy MacDonald are named within the text of the claim, only Holland College itself is named as a defendant.In their statement of defence, lawyers for the college maintain Simms could not file a complaint under the college’s harassment policy because she was not a member of the college community.They also deny the college had any duty of confidentiality regarding information sent by Simms, stating her relationship with Currie “was a personal, intimate relationship that had no connection to Holland College.”Culinary connectionSimms was CEO of a local seafood company that was working with the college’s culinary school when, according to her statement of claim, she entered into a personal relationship with Currie in 2021.Holland College defending itself against suit from woman who had relationship with former VPA woman is suing Holland College for more than a million dollars, accusing the Charlottetown-based institution of negligence and breach of privacy. Jordan Simms says when she tried to file a harassment complaint against the college’s former vice president, Doug Currie, her complaint became part of what she called an ongoing “smear campaign” against her. CBC’s Kerry Campbell reports.After the relationship ended in early 2022, Simms claims Currie “began a smear campaign” against her, “making derogatory statements about Ms. Simms’ business and her integrity, [and] accusing her of faking her Indigenous heritage.”Simms alleges that in doing so, Currie used college resources, including asking his executive assistant to track down a person from Simms’ past so he could contact them.In her claim, Simms says she reached out to the college’s president, Sandy MacDonald, to ask how she could initiate a formal complaint to the college. Normally, complaints would have gone through Currie’s office and been adjudicated by him.In her statement of claim, Simms says that rather than launch an investigation, MacDonald showed the complaint to Currie, who took photos of it and shared it with others, “encourag[ing] these individuals to harass Ms. Simms, telling them that his goal was to cause Ms. Simms pain.”In her claim, Simms also alleges she was “choked and physically assaulted” by Currie when he confronted her after she tried to file her complaint, resulting in “significant injuries” which required her to be hospitalized.Lawyers for the college said they had no knowledge of the alleged assault.In terms of sharing the information Simms sent when she tried to file her complaint, the statement of defence claims that MacDonald made Currie “aware that his personal life was being made public to his employer.” The college also “denies any vicarious liability for the actions of an employee in their personal life.”CBC News reached out to Currie for comment in advance of this story being published but did not receive a response.Simms charged with libel, mischiefCourt records show that in March 2023, as a result of her emails to MacDonald and other emails to the manager of health and safety at UPEI, Simms was charged with multiple criminal counts of defamatory libel. She was also charged with public mischief for allegedly making a false report to police.All those charges were eventually stayed and the case was referred to alternative measures. It led to Simms signing an agreement to have no contact with six people, including Currie. Two months later, that agreement was amended to remove Currie from the no-contact list.Lawyers representing Holland College argue the college bore no duty of confidentiality regarding emails sent by Jordan Simms, and said the relationship between Simms and the college’s former VP was a personal matter with no connection to the institution. (Nicola MacLeod/CBC)”Ms. Simms is not only fighting for herself, but for women everywhere who have been silenced and shamed for speaking up against powerful bullies and their allies,” Kathryn Marshall, one of the lawyers representing Simms, said In a statement to CBC News. “She wants what is fair and just.”In their statement of defence, lawyers for Holland College called the allegations “unfounded and serious” and said they would seek remuneration for costs on a substantial indemnity basis. That means they would ask a judge to rule Simms should have to pay a higher than usual proportion of the college’s legal costs if she loses.CBC News reached out to MacDonald and to the lawyers representing Holland College in the case. All parties said they had nothing to add at this point beyond what’s in the college’s statement of defence.Matter tied to CPC ouster?Currie served as provincial education and then health minister under successive P.E.I. Liberal governments, then made an unsuccessful run for the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2021 federal election.He took a leave of absence from his job at the college to campaign that year, after winning the CPC nomination in the Charlottetown riding by acclamation.On Nov. 28, 2024, Currie announced his retirement from Holland College — to take effect within days — in order “to focus my full-time attention on seeking the nomination as the candidate of record for the Conservative Party of Canada in Charlottetown.”But then the party announced it would not allow him to seek the nomination. The federal party said it had found “troubling evidence of inappropriate behaviour” by Currie and referenced “offensive text messages and inappropriate interactions with people in the community,” without providing the messages or context about them.However, CBC News did obtain a number of screenshots of correspondence suggesting the party’s concerns stemmed at least in part from Currie’s messages relating to Simms.At the time, Currie said he would appeal the decision. The party says his appeal was rejected.Natalie Jameson ended up running for the Conservatives in the Charlottetown riding, placing second behind the successful incumbent, Liberal MP Sean Casey. ABOUT THE AUTHORKerry Campbell is the provincial affairs reporter for CBC P.E.I., covering politics and the provincial legislature. He can be reached at: kerry.campbell@cbc.ca.Kerry Campbell – recent articles
Woman suing Holland College over alleged privacy breach, harassment complaint against Doug Currie
