An associate professor at York University is alleging a pattern of anti-Black behaviour at the school, prompting calls from the NDP for the province to address racism on campus through legislation.
Aimé Avolonto, an associate professor in French Studies at York's Glendon College, filed a 2017 complaint alleging that the principal and associate principal had engaged in anti-Black racism in 2016 and 2017. Since then he says he has experienced professional consequences for raising the issue, including what he says is a renewed attempt by York to dismiss him.
"At first, I didn’t fully realize what was happening to me. I just noticed there was a sudden and unexpected increase in the scrutiny of my work and interaction with colleagues and students, and a flurry of complaints about me by the associate principal," he stated in an extensive document posted online that describes the incidents over the past five years. He added that when he asked one student to email him in French rather than English, in keeping with encouraging upper-year students to work on their language skills, he was scolded by the administration and told his emails would be monitored.
In early 2017 Avolonto was the subject of a complaint that he was homophobic, Islamophobic and sexist in class, charges he denies. "Who was this monster they were describing? The associate principal then claimed that seven of my students were 'in tears' in his office, halfway through the semester, as they described my alleged treatment of them. He suggested they feared for their safety."
Avolonto said he wasn't able to review the complaints, and that they described incidents never occurred. "After the meeting, I was in a state of confusion, disorientation and panic. How could this be happening? Not a single thing the principal or associate principal claimed actually took place in my class."
Avolonto concluded that this perspective of his behaviour was motivated by anti-Black racism and filed his own complaint to that effect. That has since been escalated to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, where it is an ongoing matter that has not been proven or tested.
The York professor added that the experience over the past few years has taken a toll on his mental health, including the risk of self-harm.
In a statement following a CBC broadcast about the issue, York University acknowledge that systemic racism is an issue, and that the institution is trying to confront it. But they downplayed the concerns in Avolonto's specific case. "While it is a very complex issue involving multiple persons, the university has accepted the finding of an independent external reviewer who determined that the allegation of anti-Black racism was unfounded."
Through spokesperson Barbara Joy, York added in a statement to QP Briefing that the allegations against Avolonto, including workplace harassment and sexual harassment, were founded following a review. "It is unfortunate for all concerned that Professor Avolonto has repeatedly introduced misleading and factually incorrect information into an already challenging circumstance. The university’s actions are in response to the findings of the independent investigation reports, and any suggestion that the administration’s actions are a result of Professor Avolonto’s criticism of the university are completely false and without merit."
Scott Clark, a spokesperson for Universities and Colleges Minister Ross Romano, declined to weigh in on the specifics of the case, noting that post-secondary institutions manage their own day-to-day governance and policies. "The government believes that all students and staff in Ontario deserve to learn and work in a healthy, safe and respectful environment free from discrimination, harassment or hate."
Laura Mae Lindo of the NDP was willing to go further. She commented that this type of incident is one that has occurred too many times across the province, and it is part of a pattern of systemic racism. "We have a duty to take concrete steps to address this," she told QP Briefing.
She plans to take a legislative approach and is preparing to use her next private member's bill slot to introduce amendments targeted at procedures and support when it comes to racism on Ontario's campuses. She criticized the fact that it usually takes a campus outcry to confront these issues rather than the government taking the lead to develop systemic policies. Into that void, she called for "more teeth in employment equity legislation" and for an amendment that would make it a responsibility for post-secondary institutions to address racism.
Her bill is still in the development stage and may take a few more months before it gets proposed in the legislature. But she said more work has to be done on the issue.
"I don't think the ministry is doing much on the file," she said. But she tried to emphasize a positive note to indicate that there was an opportunity to ensure there's fewer cases like the one at York. "I'm going to remain an eternal optimist."
This story was updated to add a comment from York University spokesperson Barbara Joy.

Charges of racism at York University prompt NDP to develop legislation

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