AST Signs Can't Buy My Silence Pledge

Atlantic School of Theology (AST) is pleased to join other universities in signing the “Can’t Buy My Silence” university pledge, a campaign that calls for the elimination of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) that attempt to silence victims from speaking out in cases of sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination, and other forms of misconduct. The AST Board of Governors passed a motion to accept this policy at its most recent board meeting, making AST the third university in Nova Scotia to do so.

“AST has chosen to sign the 'Can’t Buy My Silence' pledge and not to use Non-Disclosure Agreements to silence anyone who might have been subjected to misconduct, harassment, or bullying because quite frankly, it is the right thing to do,” according to AST president, the Rev. Dr. Heather McCance. “Healing requires truth telling; as Jesus of Nazareth said, ‘the truth shall make you free.’ While of course we hope that no one associated with AST has been harmed by abuse or misconduct, we also believe that signing on to this pledge will mean that conversations and decisions arising from any situations of harm can be more transparent and valuable for all concerned.”

Co-founded by Zelda Perkins, the first woman to break an NDA as a former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, and Professor Julie Macfarlane, a Canadian law professor and Member of the Order of Canada, the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign has adopted this simple and important goal: Legislative and regulatory change that will make NDAs unenforceable for anything other than their original purpose (the prevention of sharing confidential business information, i.e., intellectual property, and trade secrets). Visit the Can’t Buy My Silence website for more information: https://www.cantbuymysilence.com/.