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Toronto Metropolitan University’s new medical school admission policy has taken racial discrimination to a new level: straight white men will be ineligible for 75 percent of their seats. These will be reserved for Indigenous, Black, 2SLGBTQ+ and other deserving students for whom admissions criteria will be relaxed.
The new medical education has been hailed by University President Mohamed Lachemi as an initiative that will “disrupt and drive change in the health care system” and by Faculty of Medicine Dean Teresa Chan as one that “will provide a supportive and inclusive process” for justly deserving groups.
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It will also discriminate—largely—against white male students who would otherwise compete according to admissions criteria—loudly or casually.
The story of how we got here is not new. Canada constitutionalized affirmative action in Section 15(2) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and it has been widely interpreted and practiced to the extent that it limits the scope of the fundamental principle of non-discrimination set out in Charter Section 15(1). : Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and in particular without discrimination because of race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability .
But — the universities have explained — the charter only applies to governments; it does not apply to them, giving them freedom to do what they want in processes that would otherwise attract charter scrutiny. The better argument is that the statute, apart from governments, applies to activities at non-governmental institutions that are governmental in nature, a prime example being post-secondary education. Although applicable to universities, the broad practice of affirmative action said to be permitted under Section 15(2) 15(1) undermines the principle of non-discrimination.
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This is done in the name of justice, diversity and inclusion, a benign phrase until we explore the inequalities and exclusion it brings. Canadians are beginning to notice these effects and many are disapproving. That’s why they will be happy with the Ontario government push back about TMU’s admissions policy for medical education. Prime Minister Doug Ford insists the new school must educate qualified people “regardless of their race or background.”
TMU would be unwise to ignore this admonition. Governments can and should withhold funding from institutions that do not adhere to the principle of non-discrimination.
The Ontario government’s approach should be followed across the country. The first principle is non-discrimination according to § 15 subsection 1. Affirmative action permitted under 15.2 should be strictly construed so as not to unduly impinge on this principle.
In 2023, the United States Supreme Court addressed affirmative action and clarified it unconstitutional because the universities did not respect limits on the practice previously established by that court. Declaring affirmative action unconstitutional is not an option in Canada, but that does not prevent an insistence on respecting the first principle set out in s 15(1) and requiring reasonable limits on affirmative action monitored by governments and courts.
National mail
Peter MacKinnon has served as president of three Canadian universities and is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
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