P.E.I. must appoint inclusion commissioner, Liberal MLA says
CBC
There are renewed calls for the P.E.I. government to appoint an independent inclusion and systemic racism commissioner.
It comes after the release of a report that found widespread harassment, discrimination and bullying at UPEI.
Gord McNeilly, Liberal MLA for Charlottetown-West Royalty, became emotional in the P.E.I. legislature Friday, as he called for the province to do better.
"I've been here. I've heard this before. We have things in place that I've worked on and pushed this government to do. It was slow. It was slow," said McNeilly, as he paused to gain his composure.
"You said if a racism and inclusion commissioner is what we need, we won't stop there. We'll do everything we can. Will you support and encourage your majority government to take as much action as we can so the province has a systemic or inclusion commissioner."
In its report, released in a redacted form Wednesday, the Toronto-based law firm of Rubin Thomlinson concluded the university "has failed to create a safe, respectful, and positive environment for working and learning for all members of its community."
Premier Dennis King said he'll commit to doing everything he can to address the issues outlined in the UPEI report. He said he will consider creating an independent commissioner of the P.E.I. legislature, similar to the Auditor General.
That new watch dog would oversee complaints.
King acknowledged it's a societal issue — not isolated to the university.
"The only way you can truly hold everyone to account in the end is to make sure there's a place where you can go without fear of reprisal to outline harassment or any issues that you see and for those to be held accountable," said King.
"I will commit to doing everything I can as fast as I can to implement a number of these initiatives."
King said the province's ombudsperson also reached out to him to discuss possibly including post-secondary institutions, like UPEI, under the office's watch.
It's something King says he's also willing to explore.
McNeilly called on the premier to work together with the opposition parties to ensure a new commissioner gets put in place as quickly as possible.
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