BC to enforce post-secondary sexual assault policies > Legislation goes into effect May 18 Mercedes Deutscher News Editor Il BC post-secondary institutions will be required to implement a sexual assault policy as of May 18. The bill was introduced in BC legislature in April 2016 by Green Party leader Andrew Weaver, and was built on by the BC Liberals. After Ontario implemented mandatory sexual assault policies in January, BC will be the second province to enforce such policies. “The idea is to make sure that every young person on campus, in particular young women who may be the victims of sexual assault, knows that they can report it, that they will be safe if they report it, and that they will get the assistance that they’re requesting when they report it,” said BC Premier Christy Clark when the bill was introduced, according to the Globe and Mail. “T think the development of policy feel like they're not only safe to come forward, but that going forward and disclosing is something that’s going to result in them being supported by the institution,” former UVIC Director of External Relations, Kenya Rogers, had said to the Globe and Mail while the bill was in legislature. Douglas College has several policies in place for sexual offences. The Sexual Harassment or Personal Discrimination policy has been in place since December 2002, which covers allegations of a non- violent nature. Violent allegations fall into either Douglas College’s Violence Prevention Involving College Employees or the Violence Prevention Involving Students/Users policy, both of which have been in place since April 2006. It remains unclear if BC’s enforcement of sexual assault policies will require Douglas College to create a more specific policy for allegations of sexual violence. UBC recently finished creating C¢ The idea is to make sure that every young person on campus... knows that they can report it.” — Christy Clark like this is going to help students a new policy that has been in development for over a year. The policy will create centralized offices at UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, and will hire specialized directors to investigate allegations. The legal enforcement of sexual assault policies in BC and Ontario could lead to similar legislation in other provinces, and perhaps even at a federal level. The Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Federation of Students has petitioned their education minister to introduce similar legislation. Manitoba passed the Sexual Violence Awareness and Prevention Act in November 2016, but it is not as strictly enforced, since there is no timeframe as to when post-secondary institutions are required to enforce a policy. However, there has been some doubt whether the enforcement of sexual assault policies will do much to alleviate the underlying problem. A concern is that the policies will focus on handling the cases of victims that come forward, but do not contribute much to the prevention of sexual assault. “The kind of hope that we all had when the legislation came in was that it would shift all the university cultures and college cultures toward a more prevention- based, survivor-focused orientation, where they would acknowledge sexual violence was a social fact on campus,” Carleton University associate law professor Dawn Moore said to CBC. BC Liberal stance on natural gas gets heated. > Incumbent government attempts to override municipal policy Mercedes Deutscher News Editor Wie the BC provincial election days away, the BC Liberals have taken a strong opposition to a policy passed by the City of Vancouver in 2016. The City of Vancouver created a policy last year—as part of the city’s Renewable Energy Strategy—that aims to reduce the use of natural gas in the city, ideally eliminating the use of non-renewable energy by 2050. According to CBC, natural gas in Vancouver is the cause of 26 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the city. The policy aims to discourage people from using natural gas in any new buildings and buildings that are applying for a rezoning by creating stricter requirements to be met by building owners before they are allowed to use natural gas in the building. The policy came into effect on May 1. “How a developer meets those targets is up to them; it can involve a mix of better insulation, thicker windows, and better design, as well as opting for renewable energy. Developers can choose to build new buildings with natural gas, provided they can meet the energy efficiency and emissions targets (50 per cent decrease in GHGs),” the City of Vancouver stated in an April 2g press release. It is a move that many have dubbed an outright ban, although the policy does not punish anyone for using natural gas. BC Liberal candidate for Vancouver-Quilchena, Andrew Wilkinson, made the party’s stance on the issue clear on April 29. Should the BC Liberals be re- elected on May g, he said that they will require Vancouver to adjust its policy and make it easier for buildings to access natural gas. “While we all agree that climate change must be addressed, banning natural gas from the City of Vancouver at a huge cost to residents is not the way to go,” Wilkinson said, according to CBC. When the policy was announced back in July 2016, FortisBC stated that the decision could cost families $1,500 extra in energy expenses per year. The new energy policy may also be costly to restaurants, who often rely more on natural gas than other establishments. “Over the last year we've had a lot of small-business owners absolutely concerned around the uncertainty of this issue,” Ian Tostenson, president of the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association, said to the Vancouver Sun. “I really appreciate [that] the provincial government stood-up and did something [for our sector].” Yet BC NDP leader John Horgan criticized Wilkinson’s sudden stance on the issue. “This is a Vancouver issue that has been discussed for almost the last eight months. Why it became important to Mr. Wilkinson is, we've got nine days until the next election,” Horgan said to the Vancouver Sun.