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© MB OPINION wursday, November 17, 2022 | 2 BILL 26 A POSITIVE ; STEP TOWARD SAFETY, 4 WRITE j TRIANTAFILOPOULOS EFFIE TRIANTAFILOPOULOS Column Ontario has some of the finest universities and col- leges in the world. Our government wants are inclu- protection of stu against sexual violence on campuses, particularly in s of faculty and staff vi- lence toward students. This is why this month the Ontario government introduced Bill 26, the Strengthening _Post-sec- ondary Institutions and Students Act. The legisla- tion will help colleges and universities address sexu- al misconduct against stu- S. We know 30 per cent of women between 15 and 24 are physically or sexually assaulted by a non-inti- mate partner in Canada, and younger men can beas- saulted as well. So how will it work? Firstly, the bill gives insti- tutions stronger tools to address sexual miscon- duct, including making sexual abuse of a student by faculty a cause for dis- Secondly it would also PROTECTING OUR POST- SECONDARY STUDENTS Thirdly, it requires col- leges and wi universities to misconduct hie ain rules for be- haviour between employ- ees and students and disci- plinary measures for em- ployees who break these les. Bill 26 builds on other measures our government has taken. La: that fonts could “ately bring forward complaints with- out fear of disciplinary ac- tion. Since 2019, the govern- ment has also invested $6 million every year in the Campus Safety Grant, which helps colleges and programs with safety pro- grams, including against sexual violence. The bill is also part of ur government's commit- ment to fight violence inst women and girls ce Ontario. Our $307 million Anti-Human Traf- ficking Strategy is de- signed | hea protect women hildren, working ane local police and orga- nizations. We are investing $5.9 million over two years through the Victim Sup- port Grant program to sup- port survivors of intimate partner violence and hu- man trafficking, and $18 million in sitio! housing to help womenand girls fleeing from violence. Ov , are spend- ing $198 million for victims of violence and $11 million for violence prevention ini- tiatives. Every workplace, school and home should be asafe space for women and girls. Bill 26 offers vital tools for universities and colleges to help make this happen. pre’ € pereements. thi Sees an 8 employee being fired by one institution and hiding § the wrongdoing to getajob % in another institution. 2 Effie T is the MPP for Oakville North—Burlington. She can be reached at ef- fie.triantafilopou- los@pc.ola.org. TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM SNAPSHOT Steven Prowse photo A fox explores the forest along West Oaks Trails. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. CHALLENGING TIMES AHEAD AFTER ANOTHER INTEREST RATE INCREASE Many households will feel the pain of the most re- cent interest rate hike. And the cumulative effect of so The Bank of Canada's most recent increase is one half of one per cent. That increase was a combina- tion of good news and bad. On the itive side, most had predicted a high. er increase of three quar- ters of one per cent. The bad news is this is the sixth time this year the BOC has raised interest rates. Consider the impact on households. The trend to manage spending is based onan ability to pay the cost days that would save first then chase an item. PETER WATSON Column Now for the reality of 2022 — six interest rate hikes with another antici- pated in December, plus the amount of rate hikes is higher than would be ex- pected. If the BOC's hard policy mn raising interest rates goes too far, the economy could slip into recession. Business activity would decline, workers might decline or disappear while borrowing costs rise. These are challenging times. We hope you can suc- cessfully navigate them. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) provide investment advice Tnvestment products are provided by ACPI. ACPI is member of the Invest- ment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACPI. Only investment-related prot ind services are offered through Watson Securities of ACPI. Watson provides wealth manage- ment services through He have their ment reduced or suddenly find themselves unem. ployed. 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