The CEO of a group advocating for Canada’s universities says the country’s post-secondary institutions will be re-evaluating both security and inclusivity initiatives in the wake of a triple stabbing at a Ontario university that police allege was motivated by hate.
Philip Landon of Universities Canada says universities are asking themselves in the wake of the attack how to best address the polarization seeping into institutions that have historically addressed difficult topics head on.
He says that while universities are diligent about campus security, they are also having discussions on what they can do to ensure openness and inclusion so ideas can be expressed and debated in a non-threatening environment.
A professor and two students were injured in a stabbing during a gender issues class at the University of Waterloo late last month – police allege it was a planned act motivated by hate related to gender expression and gender identity.
The University of Waterloo says it is reassessing its security systems in partnership with community groups to ensure non-discriminatory campus life in the wake of the attack, and the University of Toronto says it has been increasing awareness of its various security programs.
Waterloo Regional Police have charged a 24-year-old recently graduated student in the stabbing.