Alliance of British Columbia Students
| Specific Topics of Lobbying Communications | Intended Outcomes | Associated Subject Matters |
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The Alliance of BC Students calls on the Province of British Columbia to commit to
fairness on our campuses and eliminate international student contributions to the
Medical Services Plan.
The Alliance of BC Students further recommends that the Province of British
Columbia extend the application of BC’s Tuition Limit Policy to include international
students.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students encourages legislation regulating on-campus housing similar to the Residential Tenancy Act; and the setting of a reasonable cap on increases to rent in student residences. We want to encourage programs which increase access to high quality, affordable student housing for all students who require it, which includes encouraging government support for public and not-for-profit affordable housing
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Housing
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The Alliance of BC Students encourages the Province to conduct an extensive review the Here2Talk program and mandate that post-secondary institutions recognize a 40% course load as full-time enrolment for students with disabilities.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Mental Health and Addictions
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The Alliance of BC Students encourages the Province to establish minimum standards for post-secondary sexualized violence policies and provide annual funding for the running of sexualized violence prevention offices, programs, and other initiatives at post-secondary spaces.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Health
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The Alliance of BC Students encourages the Province to include graduate students as an eligible group in the BC Access Grant and establish permanent funding for the BC Graduate Scholarship
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities
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The Alliance of BC Students encourages the Province to recommend Post-Secondary Institutions provide hybrid learning options for all students in light of the COVID-19 Omicron wave.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities
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The Alliance of BC Students encourages the Provincial Government to amend section 16 of the Royal Roads University Act to incorporate Section 27.1 of the University Act by Reference.
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Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students encourages the provision of an additional living allowance based on interprovincial geographic region, an increase in the maximum receivable amount for the BC Access Grant, and the removal of parental contributions from the formula of qualifications for the provincial portion of student loans.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students is in favour of supports being provided to students during the COVID-19 crisis. We are in favour of eligibility for the BC Emergency Benefit for Workers being opened up to those who are eligible for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, more funding for Open Educational Reseources, dedicated funding for students who require additional technology to access classes while in a remote learning situation, increased funding for institutional counselling services, supports for students whose classwork is being affected by their parent status, the BC Rental Subsidy being opened up to students living in on-campus housing, emergency funding for PSIs or allowing PSIs to budget a deficit to avoid layoffs and service cuts, and continued funding for transit to ensure service continuity to PSI campuses for students who still need access to their campuses physically.
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Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Finances and Budgets, Health, Housing, Mental Health and Addictions, Transportation
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The Alliance of BC Students is supportive of a needs-based grants program for students which is accessible to part-time and full-time undergraduate and graduate students, is not contingent on program completion, and which includes provisions for students with accessibility needs and/or dependents. We support widening the eligibility of the BC Access Grants program.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Finances and Budgets
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The Alliance of BC Students recommends that the Province of British Columbia
commit to annual funding for the running of sexual violence prevention offices,
programs, and/or initiatives at post-secondary spaces across British Columbia.
The Alliance of BC Students further recommends that the Province of British
Columbia adopt into regulation the 11 minimum standards identified by Students For
Consent Culture under the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act.
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Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students recommends that the Province of British Columbia
include graduate students as an eligible group in the BC Access Grant,
acknowledging the need for greater graduate student financial aid.
The Alliance of BC Students further recommends that the Province of British
Columbia establish permanent funding for the BC Graduate Scholarship and expand
the eligibility of the scholarship to include all disciplines equally.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students recommends that the Province of British Columbia
increase the maximum receivable amount for the BC Access Grant for all categories
of students. Increase the maximum receivable to $5,000 for students enrolled in
programs less than two years in length, $2,500 for students enrolled in programs two
years in length or longer, and $1,500 for students studying part-time.
The Alliance of BC Students further recommends that the Province of British
Columbia remove parental contributions from the formula of qualification for the
provincial portion of student loans.
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Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students recommends that the Province of British Columbia
mandate that post-secondary institutions recognize a 40% course load as full-time
enrolment for students with disabilities, and ensure that all student financial
programs recognize this full-time enrolment standard for students with disabilities.
The Alliance of BC Students further recommends that the Province of British
Columbia also require post-secondary institutions to review and revise existing
policies regarding students with disabilities to ensure that provincial standards are
being maintained.
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Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students seeks to obtain further government funding for counselling services on post-secondary campuses.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Mental Health and Addictions
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The Alliance of BC Students supports a change to Medical Services Plan regulations which would see MSP contributions by international students be reduced by 50%, or eliminated entirely.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Finances and Budgets, Health
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The Alliance of BC Students supports advancing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls as they relate to the post-secondary experiences of Indigenous learners.
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Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
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The Alliance of BC Students supports a multi-year extension of the BC Graduate Student Scholarship, and expanding its eligibility to graduate students in non-STEM disciplines
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities
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The Alliance of BC Students supports conducting a province-wide survey on the experiences of students with disabilities in post-secondary education.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Health, Poverty
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The Alliance of BC Students supports creating a provincial international student education strategy, in consultation with students, post-secondary institutions and other key stakeholders, which examines the business model, the cultural, academic and economic integration of international students, and intended goals and outcomes of post-secondary education.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, International Relations
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The Alliance of BC Students supports developing an International Student Education Strategy that ensures that international students’ cost of education is predictable, and reduces institutions’ reliance on international student tuition
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Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities
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The Alliance of BC Students supports exploring mechanisms, such as allowing the use of accumulated surpluses, to provide post-secondary institutions with short-term flexibility to navigate the financial impacts of the pandemic.
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Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, COVID-19, Colleges & Universities, Finances and Budgets
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The Alliance of BC Students supports facilitating access to education by addressing financial barriers related to the direct and indirect costs of education, including child care and transportation.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Children and Families, Colleges & Universities, Transportation
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The Alliance of BC Students supports increasing overall public investment into public post-secondary institutions, with the specific goal of making post-secondary education more accessible and affordable by increasing supports for students, and potentially mitigating the costs passed on to students via tuition and associated fees.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Decision by the Executive Council or a member of the Executive Council to have the private sector instead of the Crown provide goods or services to the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Mental Health and Addictions
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The Alliance of BC Students supports initiatives that encourage:
the complete eradication of illegal unpaid internships in British Columbia, including practicums and work experience;
providing only paid internship and practicum options to students completing work experience courses required for program completion;
oversight and investigation by university administration to ensure the actual amount of instructor contact time is proportionate to the tuition and fees charged;
reducing or eliminating tuition and fees for courses that require students to spend the majority of their class time working an unpaid internship or practicum.
The Alliance of BC Students opposes initiatives involving:
the continuation of unpaid internships and practicums for students completing work experience courses required for program completion;
charging disproportionate tuition fees for courses that require students to spend the majority of their class time working at an internship or practicum.
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Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly, Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students supports initiatives that encourage:
The reduction of wait times for students to access mental health care and counselling services;
Reducing financial barriers to students accessing mental health care;
Access to mental health care for members of equity-seeking groups by providing culturally safe and relevant care;
Improving the socio-economic conditions of students, including access to post-secondary education, creating culturally and physically safe educational environments, and access to housing and food security; and
The reduction of stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness.
The Alliance of BC Students opposes initiatives involving:
Imposing additional costs on students in order to access mental health care; and
Developing mental health care programs that do not properly consider the needs and safety of equity-seeking groups.
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Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly, Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Health, Mental Health and Addictions
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The Alliance of BC Students supports limiting international student tuition increases to the same percentage basis as domestic tuition increases. (To have the Tuition Limit Policy apply to international student tuition, in addition to domestic student tuition)
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students supports making the $300 monthly provincial disability income supplement that was implemented in 2020 permanent. Furthermore, the Alliance supports permanently raising income assistance rates to at least the poverty line, indexed to inflation (estimated at approximately $2,000 per month in Vancouver). The Alliance also supports ensuring that increases to income assistance and disability assistance include a clear, earmarked increase to the shelter portion.
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Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Human Rights, Mental Health and Addictions, Poverty
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The Alliance of BC Students supports renewing the $760 000 to address campus sexualized violence on an annual basis.
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Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities
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The Alliance of BC Students supports the government of British Columbia increasing investment in open educational resources (OERs) for the purpose of decreasing cost barriers to post-secondary education. The Alliance of BC Students further supports funding being provided to BC Campus for the purpose of creating and distributing OERs, and the development of OERs that are rooted in decolonization, and justice, equity and inclusion frameworks. The Alliance of BC Students also supports the collection of data by the province of British Columbia on textbook and required learning material costs, and to monitor the financial and academic impacts of the implementation and utilization of OERs.
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Awarding, amendment or termination of any contract, grant or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education
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The Alliance of BC Students supports the implementation of specific requirements for public post-secondary institutions in British Columbia on the collection and public distribution of data and information on the utilization and implementation of campus sexual violence and misconduct policies, as required under Act 23 through regulation. We further encourage that the annual reports to the public post-secondary institution's governing body required under Act 23 also be submitted to the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training. We encourage the Province of British Columbia to require public post-secondary institutions to provide students who have interacted with their respective campus sexual violence and misconduct policies with a standardized feedback survey and that the anonymized information collected by these surveys be included in an institution's annual public report. We encourage the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training to cause a rubric on data collection consistency to be developed that is consistent with recommendation 6 in the Courage to Act report from Possibility Seeds. We further encourage the Ministry of Advanced Education to collect reports from undergraduate and graduate student associations as each public post-secondary institution in the province on their respective institution's required 3-year sexual violence and misconduct policy review under Act 23, to ensure that students are being consulted in these processes as is required under Act 23.
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Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation
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Advanced Education, Colleges & Universities, Human Rights
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The Alliance of BC Students supports the introduction of minimum standards into the Sexualized Violence and Misconduct Policy Act, and the requirement that these minimum standards be included in the development of all Sexualized Violence and Misconduct Policies for every post-secondary institution currently bound by the Act. We support the creation of an independent, external monitoring agency to act as an oversight mechanism with regard to the handling of complaints, reports, or recorded disclosures of sexualized violence and misconduct on post-secondary campuses. We support a requirement in the Sexualized Violence and Misconduct Policy Act that mandates that institutions must publicly report data regarding how their Sexualized Violence and Misconduct Policies are being interacted with, in order to achieve increased institutional accountability. We support the provincial government creating a taskforce or committee to evaluate the Provincial Information and Privacy Act’s survivor-centrism, and clarify the ways in which the Provincial Information and Privacy Act interacts with the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act.
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Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation, Introduction, amendment, passage or defeat of any Bill or resolution in or before the Legislative Assembly, Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly, Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity
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Advanced Education, Privacy
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