In a highly irregular move, Dr. Robert Cooper of the U of T’s Governing Council (GC) bypassed the usual approval process and, mid-meeting, introduced a motion to add an item to the Council’s June agenda: whether to implement three policy recommendations on confronting antisemitism from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. The recommendations include banning encampments and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.

Cooper is a family physician, an alumnus of the University of Toronto Medical School, and an appointed Lieutenant Governor in Council Member, rather than an elected GC member. He was reappointed by the Executive Council of Ontario to a second term on the GC on January 16, 2025.

While presenting the motion, Cooper said, “If we do not pass this motion, or the actual motion in June, [we] will appear to be either anti-Semites or a university that willingly provides a platform for antisemitism to flourish.”

Many council members took offence at this statement. One speaker said, “I do not appreciate prior to a vote, a governor saying that we either will be, or will be perceived to be, antisemitic on the basis of how we are voting. That’s not appropriate.” The motion was defeated, with 17 opposed and two abstentions. 

 

The motion, the motion’s motion, and the debate

The GC’s agenda, including motions to be voted on, is decided by the GC Executive Committee prior to the session, according to By-law Number 2. Cooper circumvented this process by invoking Section 53 of the by-laws, which states that a matter not on the approved agenda can be introduced if two-thirds of members vote in its favour. 

The proposed motion for the June meeting resolved that, “The Governing Council of the University of Toronto advises the university administration to adopt [and] implement recommendations one, five, and seven from the December 2024 report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, entitled ‘Heightened antisemitism in Canada and how to confront it.’ ” 

Recommendation one suggests that the university ban encampments and reject the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, along with academic boycotts of Israel, to “prioritize a safe campus environment for Jewish students, faculty, and staff.” 

Recommendation five of the report calls for “recognition of Zionism as the self-determination of Jewish people in their ancestral homeland of Israel.” 

Recommendation seven endorses the adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, with the Standing Committee report notably calling anti-Zionism “the new antisemitism.” The report also acknowledges that the IHRA definition has been criticized for suppressing “legitimate criticism of Israel” and for “eras[ing] the identity of anti-Zionist Jews.” 

Before the May GC meeting, the Executive Committee addressed a GC member’s advocacy for the university to adopt the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism. U of T Vice-President & Provost Trevor Young noted that the proposal had previously been considered and recommended against due to its “potential to infringe on academic freedom.” 

While presenting the motion, Cooper said that “The Government of Canada has given us and other universities in this country [policy] recommendations after years of failing to protect our Jewish learners, faculty and staff. The administration has refused to adopt the recommendations because they still say they know better.”

While addressing the unnamed GC member’s concerns before the meeting, the Executive Committee stated that the university’s “policies aligned with Bill 166, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the University’s fundamental values.”

In a statement to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson wrote that the university “has consistently and repeatedly condemned antisemitism and has taken strong steps to combat this pernicious form of hate, including enhancing our policies, training and enforcement.”

After the motion was defeated, Cooper requested a roll-call vote — wherein each member is called to state their vote publicly — but was denied because council rules stipulate such requests must be made before the vote. 

In November 2024, Cooper previously motioned for the GC to condemn antisemitism on campus, and said that the university has “failed” Jewish students. His previous attempt to add a motion to the GC also cited Section 53 of the bylaws, but the GC chair ruled against it.