Earlier this year, we co-commissioned a formal Review of the University’s Statement on Prohibited Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment (Statement). The Review’s Co-Chairs, Professor Brenda Cossman and Caroline Rabbat, met with community members and subject matter experts to assess the Statement’s strengths, identify areas for improvement, and explore ways to enhance the University’s pathways for handling concerns and complaints of discrimination. The Co-Chairs have now submitted their findings along with 13 recommendations. We invite the U of T community to read the full Report.

We are pleased to announce that we will begin working towards the implementation of the recommendations based on further consultation with the U of T community and discussion with partners across our three campuses. In the coming months, we will present the Report and our approach to implementation across the University to ensure collective consideration of the impact of potential changes on our current operations, processes, and policy and legal frameworks. In the meantime, the community is advised to continue to refer to University’s web resource on Complaints & Concerns about Discrimination & Harassment.

Our sincere thanks to Professor Brenda Cossman and Caroline Rabbat for their dedicated leadership, reflection, and sensitive engagement with our community during many hours of consultation; and to staff in the Institutional Equity Office and larger Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture and Office of the Vice-Provost, Students for providing ongoing project support and expertise.

We are deeply grateful to all students, staff, faculty members, and librarians on all three campuses who shared their insights and experiences during the consultation process. The University of Toronto relies on such collaboration to create impactful change.