Thank you, Madam Chair, for this opportunity to meet with you and your committee. I apologize for not being there in person, but I am required to be in Toronto today.
Given the focus of your deliberations, my remarks will outline what the University of Toronto is doing to combat anti-Semitism. However, I realize there are other matters currently unfolding on the U of T campus that may be of interest to you, and I'm happy to discuss those in the question period.
It is painful but necessary to recognize that anti-Semitism has been a scourge in our society for generations, if not centuries. It's particularly painful for me, as president of the University of Toronto, to acknowledge our role in this sorry history.
Even more discouraging is the fact that anti-Semitic incidents and hate-based crimes are on the rise in Canada, and that anti-Semitism has been a growing presence recently in our university. In recognition of this, the University of Toronto has taken a comprehensive set of actions to combat anti-Semitism and ensure our campuses are places where Jewish members of our community feel safe, included and respected.
This work is rooted in our long-standing opposition to all forms of racism and discrimination, but we have intensified our efforts since October 7. Let me describe several actions we have taken.
In 2020, we convened an anti-Semitism working group consisting of colleagues with specialized expertise to examine the challenge of anti-Semitism. We accepted all recommendations from the working group's report.
The university's equity office has broadened its mandate explicitly to recognize anti-Semitism as a form of discrimination requiring concerted action. We require all equity staff at the university to undergo anti-Semitism training. We're working to improve the process of reporting hate-related incidents by enhancing clarity, accountability and timeliness of response, when such incidents are reported.
We've appointed our first ever assistant director for faith and anti-racism to strengthen our ability to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination. She has a mandate to improve our processes for responding to such incidents, to foster dialogue, mutual understanding and respect, and to advance other measures to combat anti-Semitism.
Our chief legal officer is helping leaders across the university to understand the ambit and limits to freedom of speech. The identification of hate speech is set forth in Canadian jurisprudence and our collective obligations under university and government statutes, regulations, codes and policies.
In addition, in 2022, the Temerty faculty of medicine and leaders of our affiliated hospitals apologized for their practice of imposing quotas for Jewish medical students and hospital trainees from the 1940s to the 1960s, sponsoring a research project that shed light on this shameful historical practice. The faculty of medicine introduced a new unit on anti-Semitism and anti-racism as part of its professional training and now consults regularly with Jewish learners to ensure they are properly supported.
Since October 7, my senior team has met multiple times with Jewish faculty, staff and students to hear their concerns, direct them to helpful resources and seek their advice on how we can better support them. We ensure that student organizations operate in an open, accessible and democratic manner. Our policy has been put to the test and has proven effective in holding student organizations to account.
In January, we announced a new lab for the study of global anti-Semitism at the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies. Its inaugural director is Ron Levi, a distinguished professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. We also announced a new university-wide initiative to promote civil discourse on our campuses. It's led by provostial adviser Randy Boyagoda.
Our efforts to combat anti-Semitism are comprehensive and multifaceted. Are they enough? Until there are no further instances of anti-Semitism, the answer for us and for society at large must be no.
However, I hope you will acknowledge the diligent efforts the University of Toronto has made to address this scourge and to atone for its role in the past, while acknowledging the work that remains to be done.
Ultimately, we believe the most effective way to respond to this challenge is to focus on our core mission of education and research.
Thank you.