[dlemire]

At least in my experience with Canadian institutions, an adjunct professorship is largely an honorary title. It is typically unpaid. You can supervise graduate students and apply for some grants, but that is about it. Also it is not meant to be permanent... You receive it for a fixed duration (say 3 years) and have to renew it. Renewal may be based on several factors but certainly may include how well you work with people from the school in question.

I don't know anything about the case being discussed here, but my expectation is that the non-renewal of an adjunct status cannot be compared with getting fired as a tenure or tenure-track professor.

Disclosure: I own her book.