Frequently Asked Questions

The findings can be found in  (PDF file) Justice Bonotto’s report.

The university commissioned this external review because we wanted advice and recommendations to help to better manage events and demonstrations, while balancing freedom of expression, campus safety and the orderly functioning of our university. Many of these challenges are not unique to TMU but, in creating this review, we asked for solutions that will work for the TMU community.

The university appointed the Justice to undertake two independent reviews of two separate events. The Terms of Reference for the Justice can be found here.

Yes. All TMU community members were invited to participate in the review via confidential meetings or written submissions.

There were approximately 70 oral submissions and 40 written submissions.

TMU has a responsibility to respond to every recommendation in the report. The University has struck an Implementation Task Force to review the recommendations and deliver a complete implementation blueprint back to the university by March 2027. 

The university is committed to moving as quickly as possible to address the concerns identified in the report and to keeping our community updated. Some changes can begin immediately; other responses will require thoughtful policy development, university governance, legal review and/or cooperation with other bodies.

The Implementation Task Force is being chaired by Canadian politician and diplomat Bob Rae. The Vice-Chair is Patrizia Albanese, the Vice-Provost Faculty Affairs at TMU. The other members of the Task Force are: 

• Idil Abdillahi - Interim Co-Director, School of Disability Studies and Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty of Community Services, TMU
• Lisa Barnoff - Interim Dean, Faculty of Community Services and Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty of Community Services, TMU
• David Checkland - Emeritus Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, and Senator Emeritus, TMU
• Corinne Hart - Professor, School of Nursing, Faculty of Community Services, TMU and TFA Executive
• Raja Khouri - Co-author, The Wall Between: What Jews and Palestinians don't want to know about each other
• Sameh Al Natour - Professor, Director of Information Technology Management and Board of Governors, TMU
• James Turk - Director, Centre for Free Expression, TMU
• Jeffrey Wilkinson - Co-author, The Wall Between: What Jews and Palestinians don't want to know about each other
• Student representative(s) to be named later

Membership of the Task Force is primarily made up of faculty who have an expertise in academic freedom and freedom of expression, university governance, human rights and complaint resolution, with representation from the university’s two governing bodies: the Board of Governors and Senate. 

Additional external experts have also been selected who bring a unique combination of experience to the Implementation Task Force, especially when dealing with challenging and complex issues.

The Implementation Task Force’s work will begin in the coming weeks. The university will provide updates to the community as the work of the Implementation Task Force progresses.

The  (PDF file) Terms of Reference for the Task Force can be found here.

The Implementation Task Force will submit their recommendations to the university president for review and action. The terms of reference sets out that the Implementation Task Force is to include an implementation blueprint and recommendations including proposed policy language, operational protocols, responsible offices, approval routes, resources and deadlines in their report to the university by March 2027.

Community members who may need support in managing their well-being are encouraged to access the many supports available to them: 

• Students can access well-being services and support through the Centre for Student Development and Counselling.
• Student Care offers support to students navigating a variety of complex factors while they study, including financial and academic as well as physical and mental health challenges. Students are encouraged to connect with them at studentcare@torontomu.ca.
• For concerns about safety, we encourage you to reach out to the Community Safety and Security (CSS) team at security@torontomu.ca – personal safety planning is also available; should you wish to use these services, please contact  community.engagement@torontomu.ca.
• The Employee and Family Assistance Program provides employees with a variety of confidential resources to help support wellbeing. Workplace Wellbeing Services is available to discuss other supports and services. For more information on both, visit information about Workplace Wellbeing Services available online.

Additionally, Community members with concerns about discrimination, harassment, or other forms of misconduct can reach out to Human Rights Services, the Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion, and Student Care respectively.