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The new Faculty of Medicine at Metropolitan Toronto University admission policy has taken racial discrimination to a new level: heterosexual white men will not be eligible for 75 percent of its seats. These will be reserved for Indigenous, Black, 2SLGBTQ+ and other deserving equity students for whom admission criteria will be relaxed.

The new medical school was greeted by University President Mohamed Lachemi as an initiative that will “disrupt and drive change within the healthcare system,” and by Faculty of Medicine Dean Teresa Chan as an initiative that “will provide a supportive and inclusive process » for groups deserving of equity.

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It will also result in discrimination – considerable – against white male students who would otherwise compete under high or relaxed admissions standards.

The story of our arrival here is not new. Canada constitutionalized affirmative action in section 15(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and it has been widely interpreted and put into practice to the extent that it restricts the scope of the fundamental principle of non-discrimination stated in section 15(1) of the Charter. : Everyone is equal before and before the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability.

But – the universities declared – the charter only applies to governments; it does not apply to them, leaving them free to do whatever they want in processes that would otherwise attract scrutiny under the Charter. The best argument is that, in addition to governments, the Charter applies to the activities of non-governmental institutions that are governmental in nature, a good example being post-secondary education. However, even if it applies to universities, the widespread practice of affirmative action considered permissible under Article 15(2) infringes the principle of non-discrimination set out in Article 15(1).

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This happens in the name of equity, diversity and inclusion, an innocuous-sounding phrase until we explore the inequality and exclusion it produces. Canadians are starting to pay attention to these impacts and many disapprove of them. That’s why they will be happy with the Ontario government’s decision repression on TMU Medical School Admissions Policy. Premier Doug Ford insists the new school must produce qualified people “regardless of their race or background.”

TMU would not be wise to ignore this warning. Governments can and should refuse funding to institutions that do not respect the principle of non-discrimination.

The Ontario government’s approach should be followed across the country. The first principle is non-discrimination, as set out in Article 15(1). The affirmative action permitted by Article 15(2) must be interpreted strictly so as not to unduly interfere with this principle.

In 2023, the United States Supreme Court revisited affirmative action and declared it unconstitutional because the universities failed to respect the limits of practice previously set by this court. Declaring positive action unconstitutional is not an option in Canada, but that does not prevent us from insisting on respect for the first principle set out in subsection 15(1) and demanding reasonable limits on positive action which are supervised by governments and courts.

National Post

Peter MacKinnon has served as president of three Canadian universities and is a senior researcher at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

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