Fair Treatment Policy Review
The UPEI Action Plan: Building A Culture of Trust, Safety and Inclusion (the “Action Plan”) commits to a new harassment and discrimination policy for the University. This commitment was made in response to the University of Prince Edward Island Review by Rubin Thomlinson, which recommends the replacement of the current Fair Treatment Policy (FTP), and following the motion passed by the UPEI Board of Governors on November 28, 2023, to this effect:
A Review Committee will be struck, in accordance with the current Fair Treatment Policy (12.7.1), to engage in a university-wide consultative process, with the aim of arriving at a recommendation for a new Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Sexual Violence Policy.
FTP 12.7.1 The President will constitute a committee composed of interested parties to review this policy every three years. The parties may include a broad cross section of the university community such as: The Board of Governors, administration, students, and employees. The Policy review committee may receive recommendations from the appropriate interest groups. The President may elect to involve health professionals, community representatives or other interested groups in the review process as resource persons. The Fair Treatment Advocate would also be a resource to the committee.
Expressions of interest to serve on the Review Committee were accepted until December 6, 2024, through an online form. The Committee was selected by the University among individuals who responded to this call for expressions of interest to participate, with a view to ensure a broad representation across constituency groups in the UPEI community (with diverse experiences and backgrounds). On January 21, the University announced that the Review Committee had been struck. Read the message
Committee members include Ann Braithwaite, Bobby Thomas Cameron (non-voting), Brian Thompson, Christian Lacroix, Geoff Tierney (non-voting), Hexi Wang, James R. Reddin, Jonathan Spears, Kathy Gottschall-Pass, Kelly Drummond, Lucky Fusca (Co-Chair), Margot Rejskind, MJ Wardle, Ayodhya Fonseka, Sushil Khatri, Travis Saunders, Vanessa Corless, and Wendy Rodgers (Co-Chair).
The Review Committee*, which will meet every 2–3 weeks between December 2024 through March 2025, is tasked with the important responsibility to develop a recommendation for the two policies, following a university-wide consultative process. The Committee held its initial meeting on December 18, 2024, and will continue to meet on a bi-weekly basis for the next three months, with a target completion date of March 31, 2025.
All members of the UPEI community are, and will be, encouraged to provide feedback regarding their experiences with the current suite of policies and to offer other comments or suggestions they want to bring forward for the Committee's attention.
If you wish to provide feedback, you may do so either through the online feedback form, found here, or by submitting comments by email to Bobby Cameron, Chief of Staff, Office of the President, at trcameron@upei.ca. Individuals are encouraged to provide feedback on or before February 7, 2025.
*Please note, the Review Committee is not in a position to receive actual disclosures of discrimination, harassment, or sexual violence for the purposes of initiating a complaint or investigative process. Any such disclosures should continue to be made through the usual mechanisms and policies; for instance, through the Fair Treatment Office, the Department of Equity, Diversity Inclusion, and Human Rights, one’s supervisor or union, or an Officer of the University.
