Premier Kathleen Wynne commits $41 million to stop sexual assault, violence and harassment

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the release of the highly-anticipated action plan on sexual assault on March 6, which was released in 27 languages.

“I know that we have to act together for change,” Wynne states in the plan. “We want to challenge and change the deep-rooted attitudes and behaviours that contribute to sexual violence and harassment.”

The plan, entitled “It’s Never Okay”, aims to help stop sexual assault, violence and harassment with a broad strategy which includes:

• An awareness campaign #WhoWillYouHelp, which includes a video that calls on bystanders to intervene
• A new physical education curriculum that teaches children from grades 1 to 12 to understand healthy relationships and consent
• Legislation that will require employers to investigate and address workplace sexual harassment, would eliminate the two-year limitation period for civil claims of sexual assault, and claims of sexual assault before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
• An enhanced prosecution model to ensure that all sexual assault charges are prosecuted as fairly, effectively, and respectfully as possible

The government of Ontario will commit $41 million in funding over a three year span to support the plan’s implementation.

Dale Hall, human rights advisor to the president of George Brown College (GBC), applauded the action plan saying, “we see the provincial action plan working hand-in-hand with the stand-alone sexual assault and sexual violence policy we are currently developing. This policy will strengthen and reinforce our commitment to survivors of sexual violence and assist us in ensuring that we clearly outline, in one policy, how the college will support individuals who disclose incidents of sexual violence to college members.”

Gagan Deep, director of public relations for the Student Association at GBC, says, “I strongly support this action plan for the safety of everyone in our community. It is my responsibility to make more students aware of the sexual assault policy and this action plan so that everyone has a chance to live in a society free of sexual assault and violence.”

As the news of the plan was announced, both student organizations and representatives of colleges and universities in Ontario spoke out in support.

“We are happy to see that mandatory policies, education, training, and accountability measures were all included in the action plan,” said Anna Goldfinch, national executive representative for the Canadian Federation of Students—Ontario in a press release.

Linda Franklin, president and CEO of Colleges Ontario, also stated in a press release that, “throughout our consultations on a new stand-alone policy on sexual assault for Ontario’s colleges, it has been clear that emergency help-line services need to be improved. The government’s announcement today will help strengthen the support available to survivors.”

Bonnie M. Patterson, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities‚ which represents the province’s 20 publicly-funded universities, said in her statement that, “it is only by taking action together and recognizing that sexual violence is an issue for all of us to tackle that we have any hope of eradicating it.”

Students of GBC are invited to participate in a consultation meeting as part of the development of the college’s sexual assault and sexual violence policy. The consultation will take place on Wednesday, March 18 at 5 p.m. in the Career Centre at St. James campus, where the committee will gather student feedback on the draft policy and protocol.