RRC Polytech settles student’s human rights complaint

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This article was published 13/05/2022 (1231 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Red River College Polytechnic has settled a 2016 human rights complaint filed by a former student who raised concerns about transphobia and widespread “behavioural problems” during studies at the skilled trades school.

On Thursday, RRC Polytech and the Manitoba Human Rights Commission published a joint news release touting the Winnipeg-based post-secondary institute’s commitment to ensuring its campuses are safe and inclusive spaces for individuals of all gender identities.

The polytechnic has revised its respectful school policy and related procedures to improve its ability to respond to concerns in a timely manner and introduced a new mandatory “respectful college” course for employees.

Students enrolled in trade certificate programs will also soon be required to complete the training, with a goal of ensuring they “recognize and avoid engaging in harassment, discrimination, and bullying” — both generally and on the basis of an individual’s gender identity — in class and on the job.

Talon Knight called the updates, “a small step in the right direction.”

“Training is one thing. Change is like building a garden; it requires a lot more effort than just a piece of paper and a promise,” said Knight, who said they graduated from the welding program in 2016 “against all odds.”

Knight, who identifies as non-binary and transgender, filed a complaint against their alma mater after facing months of hostility from peers.

A decade ago, after graduating high school, Knight successfully completed a manufacturing technician diploma at RRC Polytech. They re-enrolled in 2015 to upskill.

Upon their return, Knight said they proactively reached out to the office that handles inclusion matters because they had recently come out as a member of the LGBTTQ+ community and were familiar with problematic trade environments.

The 30-year-old said they hoped the school would be empathetic, but not long after studies began, they started reporting concerns about subtle and blatant harassment and little was done.

“You have 19- and 20-year-old students behaving inhumanely, deplorably and you have instructors who don’t care,” Knight said. “Discrimination, harassment and just vulgar and rude disrespectful jokes in the hallway, by both faculty and students, was considered the norm.”

On one occasion, Knight said a teacher made a joke about rape that sparked laughter from roughly 20 students.

The school suspended individuals involved in unacceptable behaviour, but RRC Polytech has acknowledged additional steps should have been taken to address concerns in a timely fashion.

Knight wants their alma mater to ensure students and staff know they will be held responsible for their actions. At the same time, they said the deep-rooted issue of transphobia in the trades go far beyond the school.

The parties came to a mutual resolution, so no public hearing was held in the case.

RRC Polytech plans to mandate its new training, which addresses bias recognition and acceptable behaviour, for trades students in September 2023, and then review the pilot before making it a campus-wide requirement within two years.

In a Thursday release, a senior administrator said the new initiative is the “right thing to do” and while the circumstances that brought it to fruition were unacceptable, it is an opportunity to demonstrate campus values.

“Our students and staff have the right to learn and work in an environment that is free from harassment and discrimination, and we have a responsibility to address it immediately and consistently,” Christine Watson, RRC Polytech vice-president, academic, said in the release.

The school has appointed a new adviser to be the dedicated point of contact for all human rights complaints, among other investments in training and resources that have been made over the last six years.

“We know there is such a need to ensure that the trades are inclusive of women and individuals of all genders. The work that’s been done here is really exciting,” said Karen Sharma, executive director of the human rights commission.

Sharma said this case shows all institutions the importance of taking steps to ensure learning environments and workplaces are inclusive of all genders and delivering services in a non-discriminatory manner.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie