SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
December 1, 2022 09:00AM
  • Dec/1/22 2:50:00 p.m.
  • Re: Bill 26 

My thanks to the member for Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry. It’s not just the glasses. The glasses are part of it, but I can’t wear a collared shirt. I find that with collared shirts, people will recognize me as well, so I have to wear T-shirts. A sweater is preferable, maybe a Mac one.

What I’m hearing from students—and it’s unfortunate—is a bit of a feeling that they are on their own and that governments historically haven’t had their back. I think that, again, is just why this type of legislation is so important. This type of legislation says, “No, we have your back.” It says to young people who I hear from in seminar—again, they don’t know I’m a member; they’re just talking about their experiences or their frustrations with the system. They see a piece of legislation like this, and I believe that they know then, “Okay, there’s a government that’s listening. There’s a government that’s taking action. They’re not using students as pawns. They’re not using them as bargaining chips in negotiations or in contract talks; they’re listening and they’re taking action.” I believe that’s what I’m hearing from my colleagues on campus.

It’s not just saying, “This is the end of all harassment on campus”—it’s not. Despite the fact that the majority of sexual harassment on campus might be from student to student, that doesn’t excuse or stop us from having to take action against that which is based in faculty. I think there’s always more that can be done. I know that our government is committed to always doing more, but this is a step in the right direction.

I would say that my understanding of the legislation specifically is that that’s not the process that this particular piece of legislation is intending to push for educational awareness around all these issues. This is specifically around that need to address sexual violence, specifically as it pertains to faculty members perpetrating acts against students.

But I also think that the member opposite does raise an important point, which is a call to all of us as individuals, whether we’re on campus or whether we are MPPs, to be able to raise awareness around these crucial issues. So I invite the member to promote the awareness of that, as well as myself and everyone else in this chamber.

420 words
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