Statement to the Langara College Community

The College takes seriously its responsibility to create a safe and respectful environment, free from discrimination. This is why we were very concerned about the events which unfolded at a rally on Langara campus this week.

As has been widely reported, in October a Langara employee made remarks at an off-campus event that did not and do not reflect the values of the College. We condemned those comments.

An internal investigation was conducted. It was determined that the employee’s comments were not clearly outside the bounds of protected expression. The College made the determination that the employee would return to work with the expectation they would comply with the College’s policies and initiatives which support a safe, respectful, and inclusive learning and working environment. Further, they were expected to take care to ensure any future remarks could not reasonably be interpreted as celebrating violence against civilians.

The employee proceeded to engage in activities contrary to the expectations laid out by the College and as a result this employee is no longer an employee of Langara College.

The last few months have been a very difficult time. The violence in the Middle East has caused pain and division in many of our communities.

Our province has seen reprehensible acts of hate and discrimination in recent months. There is no place for this in our community and we condemn any act of anti-Semitism or Islamophobia. We are focused on supporting those in our community who are living with immense pain over the continuing violence and tragic loss of life in the Middle East.

Everyone deserves to feel safe in our campus community. Our aim is to provide an environment where differing views can be held and expressed in a way that promotes human dignity for all and protects the safety of our students and staff.

Given this current context, our Provost and VP Academic will immediately reach out to our college community and work with those who have been impacted. We are committed to creating, through programming and supports, and by working alongside our community partners, an environment that will allow us to learn, grow, and begin to heal.

Langara is dedicated to the work needed to help better understand each other and our differences and most importantly to better appreciate our similarities.