New report flags widespread failures in Canadian universities’ antisemitism response
The initial launch features a pilot assessment covering four universities where students have reported particularly hostile social climates.
B'nai Brith Canada has unveiled its inaugural Canadian Campus Climate Report Card, an initiative aimed at assessing the well-being of Jewish students and the overall atmosphere on university campuses as the new school year begins. This project is part of B'nai Brith's larger Project Accountability, which emphasizes the need for academic institutions to be accountable for their environments and their responses to antisemitism, harassment, and discrimination faced by students.
For the initial release, the report card includes a focused evaluation of four universities - York University, the University of Toronto, Queen's University, and McGill University - where students have reported particularly challenging social climates. Unlike typical incident trackers that simply record instances of antisemitism, this report card evaluates 28 criteria spread across three main areas: administrative policies and actions, campus conduct and climate, and Jewish life on campus.
The evaluation process combines student surveys with a thorough examination of university policies, anti-hate measures, course offerings, and access to kosher dining and Jewish services. Each criterion is given equal weight in all three categories. The initial findings from the pilot program indicate that while all four institutions have robust traditional Jewish life elements, such as active student groups, chaplaincy support, and religious services, their overall campus climate and administrative response to antisemitic incidents received the lowest scores.
Specifically, administrators at McGill University, York University, and the University of Toronto received failing or critical grades for their handling of harassment, interference with events, and transparency in reporting incidents of antisemitism. Simon Wolle, CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, emphasized that the purpose of these Report Cards is not merely to grade institutions but to provide students, parents, and the community with a clearer understanding of the current situation on campus.
He stated that the Report Cards aim to identify areas where universities are excelling and where they are falling short, thus encouraging institutions to improve their policies and programming to better meet the needs of Jewish students.
B'nai Brith intends for these report cards to become an ongoing benchmark, pushing Canadian tertiary institutions to strengthen their policies and enforce anti-hate codes to create safer environments for Jewish students.
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