March Update
In the month of March the standing committee has met twice.
On March 8th, the meeting was spent reviewing the task force recommendations, discussing progress and setting some timelines for continuing to address the recommendations. The committee will post a chart with the recommendations and the progress on the website.
On March 15, the standing committee welcomed Manish Sharma, chair of the Department of English. He outlined the measures taken by the department before and after the release of the March 7 Climate Review of the Department of English. The department is taking numerous actions to address the recommendation of the review including:
- The creation of a committee responsible for implementing and responding to the recommendations
- A women’s caucus that will create a code of conduct for faculty, staff and students within the department
The Department of English will work with the standing committee as they take the next steps in addressing the recommendations.
The committee discussed the climate review report. We talked about the low numbers in the review, and discussed that the findings and recommendations were important base for meaningful change in the department. The recommendations are seen as very actionable. The standing committee will work with the Department of English to clearly set out a timeline for addressing and acting on the recommendations of the review. Updates will be communicated on the committee website
The second half of this meeting was dedicated to a review of the feedback of recent community conversations. Several of the concerns raised by participants are already being addressed by the committee’s progress with the task force recommendations. Examples include the expansion of SARC services with increased support, specialized training for specific members of the community as well as the creation of a liaison officer to assist during the complaint process. As mentioned at the March 8th conversation, the Committee will also consider concerns raised regarding the sexual violence policy itself which will be under review in 2020.
The discussion among members indicated that the current format of the conversations is not serving the interests and needs of the community.
We discussed changing the format and replacing conversations with formal updates of the standing committee including task force recommendations, climate review actions, training and education and policy and procedural revisions. The standing committee heard the suggestions shared at some of our conversations and will continue to collect feedback as we plan the committee’s continued work for 2019.
Community information sessions will take place:
- Monday, April 8 from 12 to 1:30 p.m., Room MB-9-CD, John Molson School of Business, 1450 Guy St.
- Monday, May 13 from 12 to 1:30 p.m., Loyola Jesuit Hall RF-100 (Stanford room)
Feedback can also be sent to the committee by email.
Departmental visits continue to be another great opportunity for shared updates and feedback. Committee chair Lisa Ostiguy was invited to give an update on our policy, guidelines and the work of the Standing Committee at the Human Resources, Financial Services, CUPFA, CUFA and, the department of History and the Arts and Sciences faculty council. To request a visit please email standing-cmt.smsv@concordia.ca
On March 28th, the standing committee hosted a meeting of universities and CEGEPS as part of the ongoing efforts to create a provincial network to share resources, discuss Bill 151 and create opportunities for shared professional development, training and education. More specifically, participants expressed their challenges of not sharing outcomes and how to communicate these concerns with the government as well as their training programs for this upcoming September.