As you are most likely aware, on August 14th the Administration released the report from Justice Benotto, who was tasked with conducting an external review of two security incidents that took place in 2025. The report and its recommendations raise significant concerns for the TFA.
The TFA opposes antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of discrimination and racism. Our Association strongly believes that all members of the TMU community are entitled to work, teach, learn, and participate in university life free from discrimination and harassment. However, the report and its recommendations overstep the stated mandate of the external review and offer recommendations that would, if implemented, undermine academic freedom, union autonomy, and our collective agreement.
The report’s recommendation of institutional adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism is deeply concerning. While the Benotto report states that IHRA does not prohibit legitimate criticism of the state of Israel, it does severely redefine what legitimate criticism is in such a way that it would undermine academic freedom at TMU. In 2021, the TFA Executive passed a motion rejecting the IHRA definition of antisemitism stating it “poses a serious threat to academic freedom in our University. The IHRA definition of antisemitism misconstrues antisemitism to include a broad range of criticism of the State of Israel.” The TFA was joined in rejecting the IHRA definition of antisemitism by CAUT, OCUFA, and numerous other faculty associations and academic unions across the country.
Further, the report appears internally inconsistent in cautioning against adopting a definition of anti-Palestinian racism because it incorporates contested political and historical propositions, while recommending adoption of IHRA despite similar concerns. The TFA, at a Special General Membership meeting in May of 2025, adopted a motion Recognizing and Addressing Anti-Palestinian Racism at TMU, which called on the University to adopt a formal policy recognizing and addressing anti-Palestinian racism. It is disappointing to see this report reject this.
The report also fails to recognize that academic freedom at TMU is a collectively bargained right, not simply a University policy principle. Our collective agreement protects members’ freedom to teach, research, engage in public debate, criticize the University and wider society, and participate in lawful political activity. It is even more troubling to see the recommendation to review the “role of faculty in political activism”. This is a clear affront to our collectively bargained rights and could create a basis for expanding managerial authority over faculty expression and advocacy. Lawful political advocacy, scholarship, teaching, public commentary or extramural activity should not be reframed as a form of employee misconduct.
Throughout the report, there are multiple instances that fail to recognize the organizational autonomy of the TFA. The TFA is an independent trade union and not an academic or administrative unit of TMU. Like other unions, the TFA has the right to take positions on political, social, labour and human-rights issues through its own democratic structures. The report references internal TFA communications and positions, which are clearly outside the mandate of the review. Internal TFA communications are matters for TFA members and TFA governance, not for the employer – or an external reviewer hired by the employer – to regulate or comment upon.
The TFA also has a broader concern about the University’s apparent reluctance to exercise its own institutional judgment on difficult and contentious issues. There is a pattern of relying on external reviews and third-party reports to determine or legitimize decisions that ultimately belong to the University itself. This can create the impression of a lack of institutional courage and accountability in leadership decision-making. It also opens the door to external reviewers making recommendations that fail to account for collegial governance processes and collective bargaining issues at the institution.
The TFA can and will participate constructively in discussions about campus safety, discrimination, protest, free expression and respectful disagreement. But we will not accept recommendations that undermine academic freedom and our collectively bargained rights. Any implementation of the report that affects members’ rights or working conditions would remain subject to the Collective Agreement and the TFA’s grievance and arbitration rights.
On September 15, at the first TFA Executive meeting since the report’s release, the Executive discussed the report at length. There was broad concern about the report expressed by the Executive and the following TFA Executive motion was passed at the meeting:
Whereas the Benotto report was released on August 14, 2026;
BIRT The TFA executive condemns this report which comments on academic freedom, labour relations, organizational autonomy and equity, as well as other issues in a way that is uninformed and problematic and goes far beyond the original scope and mandate of the report.
The TFA will communicate its concerns about the report and its recommendations to the Administration. We will also be closely monitoring the Implementation Task Force and its blueprint and are ready to uphold our collective bargaining rights.