I rise today with the honour to speak on behalf and in support of Bill 26, the Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, 2022. The Minister of Colleges and Universities continues her great work on behalf of Ontario students, and I’m pleased to contribute to her work today.

Our government is committed to ensuring students have access to a secure and safe learning environment. We’ve taken recent steps to strengthen supports for post-secondary students reporting sexual violence or harassment. We must also specifically address sexual misconduct by faculty and staff toward students. That is why we’re proposing legislative amendments that would require publicly assisted post-secondary institutions and private career colleges to have specific processes in place that address, and increase transparency of, faculty and staff sexual misconduct.

If passed, these changes would better protect students who experience faculty and staff sexual violence by:

—strengthening tools available to institutions in order to address instances of faculty or staff sexual misconduct against students; deeming sexual abuse of a student to be just cause for dismissal is one example;

—preventing the use of non-disclosure agreements to address instances where an employee leaves an institution to be employed at another institution and their prior wrongdoing remains a secret; and

—requiring institutions to have codes of conduct regarding faculty and staff sexual misconduct.

As a parent, I am sure I’m not alone in this. We raise our children knowing that at some point they will leave the safety and security of the family home. We do our very best to prepare them and provide them with the skills and the tools for success and their safety, but we still must let them go.

We have recently seen a series of stories regarding sexual misconduct in publicly trusted institutions. Clearly, more must be done to protect the children of this province, and that’s why I’m speaking today in support of Bill 26.

Speaker, if you’ll indulge me this opportunity, I’d like to quote the minister on introduction of this important bill. The minister stated, “Our government believes that no one should have to worry about sexual violence or misconduct on or off campus. And from day one, we have been clear: this government has zero tolerance for sexual assault, harassment, or any other forms of violence or misconduct. All post-secondary institutions have a responsibility to provide a safe and supportive learning environment and are expected to do everything possible to address issues of sexual violence and misconduct on campuses. While our government has taken action to strengthen the policies that protect post-secondary students who report incidents of sexual violence or harassment on campus, we must also address acts committed by faculty and staff towards students.”

I know that the Minister of Colleges and Universities is passionate about this issue, as she too is a parent. As I said earlier, we as parents do our best to prepare our children for the rigours and risks of the real world. That’s why we are here today, to enhance the safety of our children and students in the post-secondary world.

That’s why last summer the minister held consultations with more than 100 stakeholders, including representatives from post-secondary institutions, labour and student groups, private career colleges, faculty associations and community organizations. Today, I am pleased to support the minister on the legislative amendments contained in Bill 26 that, if passed, would require publicly assisted colleges and universities and private career colleges to have specific processes in place that address and increase transparency of faculty and staff sexual misconduct on post-secondary campuses.

Again, the strengthened policies would allow institutions to:

—deem the sexual abuse of a student as just cause for dismissal;

—prevent the use of non-disclosure agreements to address cases where an employee leaves an institution to be employed at another institution and their prior wrongdoing remains a secret and unknown; and

—require institutions to have sexual misconduct policies in place that provide rules for behaviour between faculty, staff and students, as well as disciplinary measures for faculty and staff who break these rules.

These changes would not only help protect students in cases of faculty and staff sexual misconduct, but also allow the institutions to better address complaints when they arise. The changes also build on the new regulatory amendments that our government introduced last fall to protect students from inappropriate questioning or disciplinary action when they report acts of sexual violence. All of us have a role to play in creating learning environments where students feel safe and supported, and with these legislative amendments we will ensure that all post-secondary students in Ontario can feel safe on campus.

The Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, 2022, if passed, would further protect students by providing measures for post-secondary institutions to address faculty and staff sexual misconduct towards students on campus. I can’t say it better than the minister, so I’ll once again share her powerful words upon her introduction of Bill 26, words I feel all of us in this great House can get behind and support.

The minister stated, “All students deserve to learn in a safe and supportive learning environment. From day one, we have been clear: This government has zero tolerance for sexual assault, harassment or any other forms of violence or misconduct. That’s why we’re taking action to better protect students from sexual violence and misconduct on and off campus.”

Additionally, I would like to point out that through Bill 26, if passed, our government is introducing legislative amendments so Ryerson University can legally change its name to Toronto Metropolitan University. The proposed change in name supports our government’s efforts to ensure Ontario has a post-secondary system that embraces diversity, inclusivity and promotes success for all learners, including Indigenous learners, so they can find rewarding careers. These legislative amendments contained within Bill 26, if passed, will help Toronto Metropolitan University begin a new chapter in its history and better reflects the current values and aspirations of the institution.

Bill 26, the Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, is about combining student safety and student protection as they go about their learning experience at Ontario’s 23 public universities, 24 colleges or 400-plus registered private career colleges.

Heading off to post-secondary school is a new-found freedom for many of our children. It’s an exciting time of their lives in a new environment, maybe a new community far from their home. This exciting time in our students’ and our children’s lives should serve as a safe and secure experience for learning. That’s why I’m speaking today on behalf of my colleague’s important bill. Any effort we can take to protect our children, our students, is something I can proudly stand in the House and support.

This government invests $6 million annually in the campus safety program. These funds assist and support publicly assisted colleges and universities with campus safety, and initiatives include safety training for staff, student leaders and volunteers; consent and healthy relationship workshops or programs; security cameras, lighting, safety apps and emergency notification systems; safe walk programs; sexual violence prevention websites and programs; safety and sexual violence prevention workshops, conferences and speaker series; assault prevention programs and bystander/upstander training.