Comparing Sexual Harassment Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms at Universities in Canada and the United States: Getting Policy Right

Abstract

The United States and Canada have markedly different legislation dealing with sexual harrassment policies on university campuses. In the States, there is a federal standard which publicly funded universities must meet, or they risk losing federal funding. Conversly, in Canada eduation is a provincial jurisdiction and the result is a patchwork of standards. This essay examines the American standard, Title IX, and then employs it to show theoretical problems with the sexual harassment policy in place at Memorial University. It further purports that the inefficacy of title IX is due to the courts interpretation of the act, and not its contents.