Thank you to the member across for your question.

Our government is committed to ensuring students have access to a secure and safe learning environment. That’s why we have taken these steps to strengthen supports for students reporting sexual violence or harassment. Colleges and universities are each autonomous organizations and have their own policies and processes in place regarding sexual violence codes of conduct on campus. This legislation specifically addresses sexual misconduct of staff and faculty towards students.

Last March, our government imposed regulations designed around empowering students who are survivors or have knowledge of an instance of sexual violence. One of the most important changes we put in place was that if someone comes forward with information about an act of sexual violence, they are granted certain exceptions from campus policies; the biggest of these is the school’s drug and alcohol policies. While we don’t want to encourage any illegal or excessive use of drugs or alcohol, students should not be reluctant to come forward with information because they’re concerned for their academic success or standing out of fear of being punished for doing so. Another addition that we’re building on is the removal of unnecessary questions regarding themes such as the sexual history of the student. When it comes to matters of consent, all that matters is whether or not someone has provided it in the moment. But most importantly, these regulations require all schools to have a sexual violence policy.

The bill in front of us today talks about non-disclosure agreements, sexual misconduct, and the renaming of Toronto Metropolitan University.

With respect to your question around OSAP, I’ll share that supporting post-secondary education is one of the best investments this government has made for students in the future. That’s why we’re getting it done for students in their greatest time of need. We’ve expanded OSAP to be eligible for students enrolled in Indigenous institutes. We’ve expanded OSAP to cover microcredentials, so that learners have more options on how to expand their education. And in 2020-21, we invested $4.7 billion in direct student aid to 400,000 students.

Put simply, Bill 26, if passed, will put an end to the secrecy around faculty-student sexual violence on campus and off-campus. As we have seen in reports in recent years, use of non-disclosure agreements to prevent students from seeking legal recourse against the offender and the ability for faculty and staff to move from one school to another without facing any punishment or outright dismissal is far too common in post-secondary education. If passed, Bill 26 would give institutions greater power to discipline and dismiss offenders and empower students to come forward with evidence of sexual violence.