Markham employee on leave after using N-word in George Brown College guest lecture

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A downtown Toronto college says it is investigating after a guest speaker used the N-word during a case study presentation on Wednesday.

George Brown College says it condemns the use of the racial slur in the strongest terms and called the incident ``disturbing and troubling.''

The city of Markham, Ont., confirmed in a statement that the language was used by a member of its staff in a case study presentation on an arbitration decision presented to students.

City spokesman Bryan Frois says the staff member was placed on administrative leave and a third-party investigator has been brought in to review the situation and make recommendations.

George Brown president Gervan Fearon says the college also immediately launched a formal investigation.

Fearon says its Office of Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights is connecting with students from the class to provide supports and will take action to prevent the incident from happening in future.