University of Toronto Mental Health Crisis Timeline and News Archive, 2016-2025
Contents
Intro
Overview
Timeline
Intro
"These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates." - Zech. 8:16 (JPS)
"The idea according to which life in a democracy is fundamentally peaceful, policed, and violence-free (...) does not stand up to the slightest scrutiny. [....] [T]hey have integrated forms of brutality into their culture, forms borne by a range of private institutions acting on top of the state[.]" - Achille Mbembe, "Necropolitics"
This timeline was begun in 2019, and published with an online petition concerning the death of my partner, publicly identified as Lisa (not her real name, but a name by which she was known), on Nov 14, 2017, of causes in dispute, while a PhD student at the University of Toronto's Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies.
In June 2022, the timeline was significantly expanded and annotated, and due to length is now hosted solely on this blog.
It is vital that students, prospective students, and their families - particularly those abroad with less access to information - be able to make informed decisions, and that students and others campaigning for reform and accountability have access to clear information.
I maintain this list, in large part, because I do not want another couple to walk into the nightmare that we walked into with no warning, and which Lisa did not survive.
Throughout this crisis, and despite nearly all deaths from 2016 through 2020 having been reported in second and third tier news sources at the time they occurred, or shortly after, journalists and top news organizations, for reasons about which we can only speculate, have persisted in under-counting the number of known victims by a factor of 3-4, or simply refrained from reporting numbers.
After years of dealing with this personally, I will say to any journalist who may be reading: journalism is not guesswork, and censorship is not journalism.
The assertion that news services will not report suicides out of concern for contributing to further incidents is simply not credible.
As of 2025, we know that, by the university's own official numbers, suicides and attempted suicides have worsened, coincident with an ongoing news blackout since at least 2020, and consequent lack of scrutiny (see highlighted timeline overview below, and entry for June 25, 2024).
The same newspapers and broadcasters who exclude deaths of University of Toronto students from their reporting have no problem reporting on gun violence or drug overdoses as lead stories.
Students closest to these events know what's happening. The victims are friends, classmates, dorm mates. Word travels. Suppression of these deaths serves only to keep them out of public scrutiny. The question remains as to what ends this is done, and the extent to which it is a coordinated effort.
To those (including sympathetic bloggers) who have chosen to ignore the reality and scope of this crisis, and substituted numbers that don't begin to tell the full story - I will point out to you that the University of Toronto, the Toronto Police, and the Trudeau regime and its successor have had years since this timeline first appeared to either dispute the numbers, or to offer their own. They've done neither. The actual numbers are almost certainly worse.
Each of the victims deserves to be known and counted. Efforts to erase the victims from the official narratives and historical records of this crisis must be confronted. This list stands as testament to the truth.
Likewise, to speak only of a "mental health crisis" is to overlook equally significant crises of justice, public health, journalistic integrity, and of university leadership.
I assert that the tragedies recounted in this list individually and collectively stand as an indictment of an entire failed system of public and professional oversight and accountability.
These ongoing failures have been amply documented in my exchanges and correspondences since 2017 with law enforcement, Ontario professional colleges with jurisdiction, provincial and federal offices, journalists, and others.
I caution students and their families seeking information on these events to keep in mind that the news articles linked to below, rather than serving as a record of what we know, ultimately speak more to what hasn't been told.
Your best source of information will be talking with other students. While students who campaigned for reforms in 2019 have moved on, and online records have disappeared, both with huge loss to the cultural memory of these events, they can still be found, and some are willing discuss their experiences.
Without input from those who have been reluctant to talk or share their own experiences, this timeline will remain less than adequate for understanding this crisis, and who has been affected by it.
Many of us are living with painful losses, but I believe openness is the only path to understanding, reform, justice, and preventing further tragedy.
This timeline is an ongoing effort, and one which, for personal reasons, is emotionally draining. As recently as summer 2022, I continued to learn about unreported and censored incidents from 2016-17.
Following the timeline are links to articles on related topics, including problems in the Canadian healthcare system, and the very different manner in which a similar crisis at University of Southern California in 2019 was handled by administrators and law enforcement.
Having left Toronto in Dec, 2017, my efforts with this timeline have been dependent on search engines which can take years to show relevant information, and more importantly, the more timely contributions of friends, known and unknown. Out of respect for their safety and sometimes ongoing academic pursuits they will not be identified, but I acknowledge them when possible.
And finally, it should not be necessary to state that so long as Canadian universities bankroll themselves on the aspirations, disproportionate tuition, labor, and incalculable intangible contributions of international students and minorities, there is a moral and legal obligation to their safety and well being. The events in this timeline are testament to the extent to which one university has failed, and the extent to which these failures have been accommodated.
Please proceed with caution. What follows is a frank account of events since 2015, and contains frequent reference to suicide.
If anyone reading this requires assistance, I encourage you to seek help from off-campus resources, or from a trusted friend, relative, or spiritual advisor.
If you've been pressured to end contact with people important to you - as some students have reported - get in touch with those people, let them know they're important to you, let them know what's happening, and who specifically is involved in it.
You are not alone.
The culture of exploitation and neglect that too many have struggled with is not worth your life. There are better options.
If you end your life, you will be denying yourself a remarkable future.
Your family and friends will be left with life-long trauma.
Students I've spoken with who have survived and moved on from these events invariably view their time at UofT as an unfortunate mistake, and have gone on to find better opportunities.
The only standards that matter are your own. Don't let others judge or define your choices or your life.
You have better options.
Peace be with you.
In Canada:
CAMH has a 24hr center at 250 College St at Spadina, 416-535-8501
suicide prevention helpline: 1-833-456-4566
Based on Lisa's experiences, CAMH should be considered an option of last resort. You may or may not receive assistance needed in an emergency. This also applies to other hospitals near campus.
In the USA:
national suicide prevention lifeline: dial 988 from July 16, 2022
Neither the timeline, nor the blog hosting it, nor the compiler, is affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with the University of Toronto, or with any linked news source. This is a strictly personal project for the public benefit.
Each one of these deaths was entirely preventable.
Overview
Annual St. George campus safety reports give the following "on campus" numbers for student deaths.
As of May 2025, these reports date from 2011 (including numbers for 09-10), through 2023.
https://www.campussafety.utoronto.ca/annual-reports
Please note that these official numbers must be taken as the most conservative possible estimate, given the source, and do not include related off campus deaths.
2009 - 2023
2009: 0 suicides 10 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
2010: 1 suicide 19 mental health acts
2011: 3 suicides 21 mental health acts
2012: 0 suicides 22 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
2013: 0 suicides 15 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
2014: 2 suicides 46 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
2015: 4 suicides 42 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
(2015 suicides reported as 1 in 2016 report)
2016: 1 suicide 26 mental health acts "sudden deaths" not reported
2017: 3 suicides 40 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
(2017 1 confirmed off campus death)
2018: 3 suicides 39 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
2019: 3 suicides 55 mental health acts 2 "sudden deaths"
2020: 1 suicide 49 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
note: reduced numbers from 2020 likely reflect covid restrictions
2021: 5 suicides 45 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
2022: 5 suicides 49 mental health acts 1 "sudden death"
2023: 6 suicides 56 mental health acts 3 "sudden deaths"
2024: numbers not available.
total: 37 suicides, 14 "sudden deaths", 1 confirmed off campus = 52 total, St George campus
A CBC interview of Oct 1, 2019, carefully paraphrases a top university administrator as claiming "...three student suicides have happened at the University of Toronto since June 2018."
The same administrator was also cited as claiming two deaths in 2019 in a Star article of March 20, 2019, revised to three to include one of three known from 2018, supposedly based on comments from students, and also drastically under-counting the actual totals.
All articles are linked to in the timeline following.
The classification of "sudden deaths" is not elaborated upon, but I believe is worth including, as these may be mental health related from causes other than suicide.
Alcohol offenses noted in the reports may also represent misclassified and un-diagnosed mental health issues. Law enforcement and health workers typically have an extremely poor understanding of the relationship between mental health crises and substance use, to say nothing of how these situations are typically handled in the healthcare system.
In five instances in which the identity of the victim is known from 2016 through 2020, they are each an international student and/or ethnic minority whose nationality could not be determined. Until more complete information emerges, I believe it's reasonable to assume this is representative for many of the victims.
While each of these deaths and the 15+ year trend they define are significant and deserving of the scrutiny that has been denied them, I believe several are outstanding in this respect due to the known circumstances surrounding their passing, and / or outstanding personal details of the victim. These are each discussed in further detail in the timeline following, with links.
In chronological order:
Nov, 2016 passing of Charlie Zhi Hui Yang, fourth year Pharmacology and Toxicology student with a 3.9 gpa, ethnic minority, nationality uncertain.
Nov 14, 2017 passing of 'Lisa' K., Centre for Criminiology and Sociolegal Studies PhD student, Connaught scholarship recipient, international student, and partner of this timeline's author.
Sept 4, 2018 passing of Anand Baiju, second year civil engineering student, ethnic minority, nationality uncertain.
Jan 27, 2019 passing of Ms. Carey Davis, second year Munk School, Pearson scholarship recipient, international student, USA.
June 24, 2018, first Bahen Centre victim, not publicly known.
March 17, 2019, second Bahen Centre victim, not publicly known.
Sept 27, 2019, third Bahen Centre victim, not publicly known.
There are several known incidents that did not result in death, but do involve concerning issues of student safety and human rights, at a minimum. These are noted in the timeline.
The present timeline accounts for 11 deaths from all causes (8 suicides, including 2 possible but unconfirmed, and 3 from other causes).
We have no info for deaths prior to 2015, one from 2017, one from 2018, or for any since 2020.
It's unclear whether any overlap exists between incidents identified for 2016-18, and those that have been acknowledged.
There has been no officially acknowledged or individually reported student deaths since Nov, 2020, despite records of 16 suicides and 5 "sudden deaths" from 2021-2023.
As of May 11, 2025, numbers have not been released for 2024.
As these appalling numbers cited attest, the University of Toronto mental health crisis (along with the leadership crisis, and accountability crisis) did not end with the disgraceful "final report and recommendations" of Jan 2020 (noted below), it did not end with the morally reprehensible "facetime statement" of March 18, 2019 (noted below), nor did it end with covid. Indeed, the situation has consistently worsened.
We note that the worsening situation since 2021 coincides exactly with the total absence of reporting on student deaths in any first or second tier news source since 2019, and in any news source since 2020.
And not least, confirming the scope of these events, and the extent to which international and minority students are disproportionately affected, a Feb 2, 2025 article in Deutsche Welle (German state media) by India based Mr. Murali Krishnan notes 172 deaths of Indian nationals from all causes at Canadian universities over a five year period to 2025, the single highest number of any country hosting Indian students - and compared with 108 in the USA, where one would expect a higher population prior to 2025.
These numbers are based on information from the Ministry of External Affairs of India, almost certainly originating with official Canadian sources, and put the lie to the claims of Canadian journalists, in articles appearing in this timeline, falsely asserting that records on student deaths do not exist.
https://www.dw.com/en/with-more-indians-studying-abroad-safety-concerns-rise/a-71473791
The Timeline
September, 2014 - An
ethnic minority LGBTQ student is asked to leave campus housing and
withdraw from studies following a mental health incident. This
story shows that there was a de-facto standing policy of removing
students believed to pose a danger to themselves - years before it
was openly discussed in 2018, in connection with the questionable
legality of the practice. See also Nov, 2016 (2), June 27, 2018, and March 21, 2021 below.
I believe several following examples show, however, that this practice has been routinely ignored with fatal consequences. The record arguably demonstrates that the university, and its responsible offices, have neither the leadership, resources, competency, nor concern to assist these
students, or their families.
(article published May 27, 2015):
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wd75ew/this-u-of-t-student-says-he-was-kicked-out-of-residence-after-a-suicide-attempt
2015, not dated - A Star article from Sept 30, 2019 (2) notes one campus suicide in 2015 in campus police records.
March 18, 2016 - An undergrad
student is compelled to take an exam during a mental health
crisis, despite having a written excuse from his university
doctor. Please note his comment,
"I
know two people who committed suicide because of school
stress, and several others who have tried
… I’ve tried to access services, and they gave me a bunch of
pamphlets about how yoga and meditation can help,” [....] When
it comes to dealing with mental illness, they pass you off
from one person to the next."
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2016/04/22/you-dont-look-sick-student-claims-he-was-made-to-write-u-of-t-exam/
See Additional Reading at the end of this timeline, note 9: "Meeting Students Where They Are: [...] mental health conversation on Reddit".
Nov, 2016 - Ethnic Chinese student, nationality unclear, identified as Charlie Zhi Hui Yang, 4th year UT Pharmacology and Toxicology with gpa of 3.9. Discussed on a Chinese language website as suicide. Total news blackout / censored in Canadian news sources. Thank you to the person who brought this to my attention.
Note in Chinese (may appear translated in browser):
華裔學生，國籍不明，查明為Charlie Zhi Hui Yang，多倫多大學藥理學和毒理學四年級，gpa 3.9。 在中文網站上被討論為自殺。 加拿大新聞來源中的總新聞中斷/審查。 感謝讓我注意到這一點的人。
https://www.zhihu.com/question/53021684
(note: Star article from Sept 30, 2019 (2) noted one campus suicide for 2016, not dated, in campus police records - 1/23)
Nov, 2016 (2) - Lisa (Nov 14, 2017) [my partner - BH], an international PhD student in the UT Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, had her enrollment cancelled and left Canada to return home under what was described by university contacts as a "medical evacuation", following an entirely avoidable medical emergency - while assigned to a university crisis office staffer - that left her in hospital and in treatment for more than a week.
Lisa was living in off-campus 'affiliated' housing at the time of this incident, having been asked or compelled to leave campus housing at the beginning of Oct, 2016. The word "eviction" was used in a face to face talk in Nov. At the time of her "evacuation", she was in fact recovering, continuing to fulfill her department commitments as a teaching assistant (with twice the workload she was supposed to have), and the "evacuation" - which amounted to driving to NYC for a flight home, occurred without incident in my company - contrary to certain agendas known to have been asserted, with no basis, by Lisa's crisis office contacts. At the time we left, Lisa was under threat of suspension of coverage by her student health insurance if she remained in Canada.
Lisa was allowed to return to the "Centre" in Sept, 2017, with no qualified assessment of her condition, which immediately worsened again upon her return, with the full knowledge of all involved. There was at least one meeting, of considerable concern, with a different crisis office affiliated individual, which I've said more about in the petition.
Lisa was required to live off campus in 2017 after several applications for campus housing were refused, at least one of which is known to have been refused under unusual circumstances.
This is noted in connection with Sept, 2014 , June 27, 2018, March 20, 2019 (2), and March 21, 2021 as further evidence of (1) a student denied campus housing due to medical needs, (2) a student asked or compelled, with questionable legality, to leave enrollment due to medical issues, before it was announced as official policy, and (3) failure and refusal of staff and faculty - including the crisis office contact - to provide treatment or assistance on a number of occasions over two months, ridiculing and repeatedly ignoring warnings about her condition, and resulting in the emergency that led to hospitalization, cancelled enrollment, and "evacuation", a pattern that was to repeat in 2017 until her death.
[This post contains information not included in the petition (see Nov 14, 2017), and not previously disclosed publicly. It has been added to this timeline in 2022 after noticing a pattern of related incidents involving other students. - BH]
April,
2017 - Student files complaint with Human Rights
Tribunal of Ontario over university handling of an alleged
sexual assault in 2015. Student was reportedly discouraged from
going to police during a two year investigation.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/university-of-toronto-sexual-assault-human-rights-applicatio
A poignant article from the student in this episode was published on 9/25/17.
"...myself and many other survivors understand that U of T prioritizes reputation and money over taking care of marginalized students. Silencing survivors is just one of the ways U of T makes this clear."
https://thevarsity.ca/2017/09/25/why-i-filed-my-human-rights-complaint-against-u-of-t/
As noted in the buzzfeed article,
the student,
"...suffered
panic attacks and nightmares, for which a counselor told her
to download a meditation app on her phone."
In connection with this, please note the "facetime" statement reportedly made by a top administrator during a CBC appearance - see "boundrynews" link in third entry for March 18, 2019, below. These reports of "meditation apps" - in place of mental health services - appear to be routine procedure during the period of this timeline, and are too numerous to itemize. The appalling irony of this can not be missed, coming at the same time as administrators with responsibility for overseeing this crisis were alleging victims themselves were to blame for spending too much time online and for being socially disconnected.
See Additional Reading at the end of this timeline, note 9: "Meeting Students Where They Are: [...] mental health conversation on Reddit".
May 11, 2017 - Student suffers serious injuries during an arrest under very questionable circumstances, after she filed a complaint against another student. The student has posted extensively about this incident online, including medical records supporting her claims. Her lawsuit is summarized in an article from Aug 5, 2021. See also April, 2017 and April 4, 2021.
https://thevarsity.ca/2021/08/05/lawsuit-for-over-4-million-filed-against-u-of-t-toronto-police-services-for-assault-battery/
Aug 12, 2017 - article, "How many Ontario post-secondary students die by suicide each year? No one knows for sure."
Touches on several important points pertaining to record keeping, data, and media concerns. However, the underlying assumption of the headline, that, "no one knows for sure", is demonstrably false, and arguably a justification for guesswork as journalism.*
Following my partner's passing, which occurred off campus following denial of campus housing, I learned there were specific University of Toronto administrators who were assigned to communicate with the Toronto Police, including transfer of student records. Even in Nov-Dec 2017, my sense was that both parties were following a well-rehearsed procedure - and I will only say publicly that the interests of victims, and victims' survivors, was absolutely not their primary concern.
These facts, together with the vice-provost's statements published on Sept 30, 2019 (1), demonstrate that whether or not official "records" are acknowledged by a university, there are clearly university officials who are well informed about student deaths during their tenure, both on-campus and, importantly, off-campus. One can also, I believe, fairly surmise that this information has been suppressed from public scrutiny, under what I refer to in a number of instances in this timeline as "strategy of denial".
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/08/12/how-many-ontario-post-secondary-students-die-by-suicide-each-year-no-one-knows-for-sure.html
* As cited in the intro, a Feb 2, 2025 article in Deutsche Welle (German state media) by India
based Murali Krishnan notes 172 deaths of Indian nationals from all
causes at Canadian universities over a five year period to 2025, and puts the lie to the assertion that records on student deaths do not exist. If India has records on this, there can be no question that they originated with Canadian authorities, whether or not Canadian journalists have seen fit to pursue the matter.
https://www.dw.com/en/with-more-indians-studying-abroad-safety-concerns-rise/a-71473791
Sept 6, 2017 - unconfirmed, possible or attempted suicide, probable international student; noted in reddit thread, unreported (exclusion of this incident would not affect the total number of victims asserted in the intro) - note that this was, according to the post, not the student's first attempt, and is possibly another example of the university failing to follow it's own policies regarding students deemed to pose a risk to themselves; see June 27, 2018 - and note denial of housing as corollary to this process: Sept, 2014, Nov, 2016 (2) / Nov 14, 2017, March 20, 2019 (2) and March 21, 2021 (pertaining to events, circa 2014).
Note in Chinese (may appear translated in browser):
可能或企圖自殺，可能的中國公民； 在 reddit 線程中註明，已審查 - 請注意，根據帖子，這不是學生的第一次嘗試。 可能是多倫多大學未能遵守其將被視為對自己有風險的學生回家的政策的另一個例子。 請參閱 2018 年 6 月 27 日的說明。此過程的一個必然結果是拒絕提供校園住宿：請參閱 2014 年 9 月 - 2016 年 11 月 (2) - 2017 年 11 月 14 日 - 和 2021 年 3 月 21 日關於 2014 年事件的說明。
Nov 14, 2017 - Publicly identified as Lisa. Causes not made public and in dispute, international PhD student, UT Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies; documented in online petition, known to several news organizations and journalists in Canada and the USA - total news blackout / censorship; see also Nov, 2016 (2).
Note added Dec 4, 2023 - I recently noted that Lisa's real name does not appear on a "Centre" web page listing former and current students and covering the time she was there. Her name was likely removed in 2017, and would be consistent with the University of Toronto's practice throughout the 'mental health crisis' of purging victims from official records and narratives. Her name has also been removed from an online list of Connaught scholarship recipients during this period.
ref: "strategy of denial"
Dec 7, 2017 - unconfirmed suicide; first year dental student; noted in a reddit thread, unreported (exclusion of this incident would not affect the total number of victims asserted in the intro)
May 30, 2018 - UT Scarborough student from China dies in house fire, charges filed against home owner in Sept - the only known charges in this crisis. Investigation is understood to have been conducted by Fire officials rather than Toronto Police. Extensive reporting in several sources, too many to list. [I'm including this because the lack of safe affordable housing, along with campus housing discrimination due to health issues, is very much a factor in this crisis. -BH]
June 24, 2018 - campus suicide, Bahen Centre 1 of 3 - the student paper is the only news source I can find that reported this loss.
followup: July 4, 2018
https://thevarsity.ca/2018/07/04/students-call-for-better-mental-health-supports-in-wake-of-bahen-death/
June 27, 2018 - the university publicly implements a mandatory leave policy for students deemed to pose a risk to themselves, despite concerns about the legality of this policy. However, incidents as early as September, 2014 and Nov, 2016 (2), as noted above, show that this had long been a de facto policy, albeit one not always upheld in practice. An article from Dec 14, 2020 states that this policy was applied eight times in 2019, and once in 2020.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/university-toronto-mental-health-mandatory-leave-1.4725104
A Star article of March 20, 2019 (2) makes passing mention of concerns raised by the Ontario Human Rights Commission Chief Commissioner. As of Jan 2023, these concerns seem not to have resulted in any formal change in policy.
Sept 4, 2018 - passing of Mr. Anand Baiju at university owned Minden Park, ethnic minority, nationality uncertain, second year civil engineering student; limited reporting in multiple sources as an accident, but raises serious questions in context of other deaths. Reporting at the time gave conflicting info as to whether this loss was investigated by police.
The victim's uncle is quoted accordingly,
"The faculty was there. The students of the university was there. We want to know what happened from them."
Jan 27, 2019 - Identified as Ms. Carey Davis, second year undergrad, Munk School of Global Affairs. International student from the USA.
https://thevarsity.ca/2019/03/24/memory-of-late-u-of-t-student-to-live-on-with-the-carey-projects/
The March 23, 2019 Varsity article confirming this loss was not discovered and added until March, 2023, underscoring the difficulty in obtaining open, accurate, and timely information throughout this crisis, even for someone personally involved and closely following these events since the end of 2017. I believe the Varsity article - which, strictly speaking, was about a charity memorial project - is the only news source to report this loss, which was only generally known on campus, and I'm confident the article was unknown among students with whom I was in contact. There was passing mention in two source of a loss in January, one of which follows. (See also Mar 20, 2019 (2), in which an administrator acknowledged two 'on campuses' losses for 2019 up to that date, while withholding information on earlier known losses since 2015.)
Some further info from a Feb 20, 2023 article located in 2025. The article states this was "...the first reported on-campus suicide at U of T [in 2019]." I dispute this - there was no reporting of it in any news source at the this happened - however, it was generally known in the campus community.
https://theotter.ca/the-varsity-blues/
Mar 17, 2019 - campus suicide, Bahen Centre 2 of 3 - reported in multiple sources, mainly in connection with campus protests that followed
A university vice-provost is quoted in a CBC article as attributing this loss to a "fall", falsely implying it was accidental. Same admin quoted in CP24 article, see intro, and Sept 30, 2019, with comments.
ref: "strategy of denial"
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/university-toronto-suicide-campus-1.5061809
Mar 18, 2019 - Students hold peaceful protest on campus.
With the exception of the house fire on May 30, 2018, this protest was the first event in connection with this crisis to receive coverage in some of Toronto's (and Canada's) top news sources, ie - the leading papers.
Mar 18, 2019 - A statement by a top university administrator appeared in the student paper the day following the March 17 suicide. It read in part:
"I would tell you that it’s a public health issue. I think my staff are doing a very good job of responding to the need. To me it seems we’re never seen as supportive enough, despite our best efforts, and I’m just not sure how to change the dialogue on that."
ref: "strategy of denial"
ref: "change the dialogue" statement
[note: article cites a Mr Joshua Grondin, Student's Union, as having raised concerns about this building in a Jan 2019 with the vice provost of student affairs (Walsh?). Statement refers to a suicide "earlier this year", which would have been Jan, noted above. However, the first Bahen suicide was June 24, 2018. Grondin was also quoted in the Vice article of March 19, 2019.]
The following is one student's response to the March 18 statement, and highlights additional statements, including the "facetime" statement, from this administrator, in a video which (as of Oct, 2020) has been removed from the CBC website:
ref: "facetime" statement
A CBC article posted Mar 18, 2019 contains statements by this administrator consistent with those reportedly made in the missing video, minus the "facetime" statement which would have been at the end. There appears to have been editing.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/university-toronto-suicide-campus-1.5061809
As of Oct 2023, we are not aware of any statement from the University of Toronto, or the CBC, either denying or acknowledging the "facetime" statement, its apparent removal from the CBC website, or the reasons for this removal.
March 19, 2019 - Vice article on the March 18 protest. Focuses on events of 2019, with no mention of earlier losses. Vice is known to have had tips about worsening conditions on campus in 2018, and did not report until these protests. However, a prior article was published on May 27, 2015, cited as September, 2014, above.
Mar 20, 2019 (1) - A top university administrator decries cash strapped budgets for mental health services, three days after the March 17 suicide.
"“The number of students presenting at Canadian universities and colleges with serious mental health challenges has doubled in the last five years,” he said. “Our funding to manage these challenges has not … We are certainly struggling to keep up with what seems to be a growing demand.”
ref: "strategy of denial"
Mar 20, 2019 (2) - The same administrator understates the number of known victims since the start of the crisis, which the journalist reports without comment or examination, in one of Canada's ostensibly top newspapers. Note that this appears to be tacit acknowledgement of the Jan 2019 campus suicide, in addition to the present topic of Bahen 2, Mar 17, 2019.
"He confirms there have been two suicides on the university’s downtown campus this academic year, and students say the number rises to three when factoring in another death from last June [Bahen 1]."
(see CBC Oct 1, 2019, below, for a second instance of this administrator understating numbers. ref: "strategy of denial").
Article also discusses student leave policy, viz. Ontario Human Rights Commission.
CP24 also ran a version of this story: "U of T lacks mental health resources amid spate of suicides"
Five days after a top administrator cites budget issues as an excuse for failed mental health services, on Mar 25 the university announces a $100m "innovation center".
Mar 24, 2019 - Varsity reported on the "How Many Lives Project", which, at the time, compiled a historically significant and vital collection of student testimonials about conditions on campus, many of which were represented on their website.
* - As of March, 2023, we note that the group's website has been allowed to go offline, possibly at the end of 2021, and was not preserved in the leading internet archive. The group's facebook page, which is not representative of material that was on the website, can still be found at: https://www.facebook.com/howmanylives/
I would argue that those who document events of this significance have a moral responsibility to preserving the stories and experiences with which they are entrusted - and I would encourage anyone compelled to engage in future efforts in this respect to bear this in mind, and to avail themselves of bona fide offers of cooperation and assistance. - BH
May 31, 2019 - the university convenes a "Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health"
In response to events surround the creation of this 'tast force', student activists author the "Nothing About Us Without Us" statement and a timeline of difficult interactions with specific university administrators who have been responsible for the university's handling of this crisis since the beginning. Published in the Varsity, April 27, 2019. Subsequently published as a petition to change.org. [As of Jan, 2023, all administrators named in the statement are believed to still be in their positions, and none has faced investigation or questioning over their handling of this crisis.]
"There have been prior committees that have clearly failed to bring about the change needed. The university’s refusal to meet student demands — specifically, majority representation within such bodies — will condemn the task force’s work to irrelevance at best, and complacency in the ongoing crisis at worst. As the task force stands, it risks losing any legitimacy with students who have been repeatedly told that their voices are being “listened to,” but who have in fact not yet had their proposed solutions heard, let alone seriously considered, by the university administration."
https://thevarsity.ca/2019/04/27/nothing-about-us-without-us/
Sept 27, 2019 - campus suicide, Bahen Centre 3 of 3
https://thevarsity.ca/2019/09/27/paramedics-confirm-death-at-bahen-centre/
"enough is enough" editorial:
Sept 30, 2019 (1) - following three deaths at the Bahen Center, the university installs temporary barriers to prevent students "falling" (ref: Mar 17, 2019, second entry).
An administrator comments:
"The safety and well-being of our students are our top priorities, [....] We've listened to concerns about the building and are putting in place measures that will improve safety."
Note that this followed three deaths in the span of 15 months in the same building, and campus protests six months earlier on March 18, 2019.
It is difficult not to view the fundamental dishonesty underlying the vice-provost's statement as another display of the arrogance and contempt which this university's leadership has for its students, for their families, and not least, for the victims.
To my knowledge, there was no investigation by the Toronto Police or the Crown Prosecutor's office into the appalling failures surrounding the three Bahen Centre deaths, nor has any explanation been offered for this.
Please note, this is the interview in which the same administrator acknowledges three campus suicides in 2017, and three in 2018 (one was apparently not a current student), while withholding known numbers for 2019.
I consider it all but certain that this individual, in her professional capacity, is among university administrators who had knowledge of my partner's off campus death in 2017, and likely others, at the time this interview was conducted - particularly, given her knowledge of deaths that had not been previously acknowledged.
While the questioning seems to have related specifically to "campus" deaths - as if students forced, due to medical needs or other reasons, to live off campus are not of concern - I will leave it to the reader to decide whether withholding relevant knowledge under questioning on the public record, together with the above statement, might constitute unacceptable conduct for someone in a position of this authority, viz. the university community and the broader public, particularly at a moment that demanded humility and candor. - BH
ref: "strategy of denial"
Sept 30, 2019 (2) - "Students criticize U of T after third death at same building in under two years"
"There were three suicides or attempted suicides overall on campus in 2017 and three in 2018, according to U of T’s annual campus police services reports, compared to one suicide in 2015 and one in 2016."
[Plus three known in 2019. CP24 article, Sept 30, 2019 (1) includes acknowledgement of three for 2017, not, "or attempted".]
Oct 1, 2019 - The CBC publishes an interview with university president Meric Gertler following the third Bahen Centre death.
ref: "strategy of denial"
This interview is singularly important for a number of reasons, which deserve scrutiny.
To address the failure to erect barriers at the Bahen Centre until three students died there, Gertler comments:
"It's a large, complicated building....We had to get permissions and permits...and we have to then have the suppliers manufacture the materials."
The journalist conducting the interview makes no attempt to question why temporary barriers erected in the hours following the third death were not erected at any point previously.
Significantly, this article also notes:
"According to Gertler, three student suicides have happened at the University of Toronto since June 2018."
[compare with earlier claim of two, quoted during the March 20, 2019 (2) interview, above]
In my analysis of media coverage of the mental health crisis, I believe this CBC article, and specifically this quote, has been a singular, and possibly deliberate, source of confusion concerning the number of students deaths at the University of Toronto - which was repeatedly and incorrectly placed at 'three deaths since 2018', by numerous hack journalists and careless bloggers after this article appeared, and prompting my assertion that journalism is not guesswork.
The University of Toronto mental health crisis did not start in 2018. By Oct 1, 2019, when this CBC article appeared, there were ten known suicides of current students since 2015. Five of these (six total) were acknowledged by a vice-provost quoted in the CP24 article of Sept 30, 2019 (1), cited previously, and confirmed in a Star article of Sept 30, 2019 (2) which also noted one each in 2015 and 2016, along with additional reporting on three suicides in 2019. And this says nothing of anecdotal evidence of unreported or off campus deaths. Nor does it include three known non-suicides from 2017-18.
The statement attributed to Gertler in this article raises serious question of intent viz. the university community, the general public, and oversight bodies. Or alternately, questions concerning his knowledge of the full toll of student deaths at the university he heads. As the survivor of one of the victims, I find either situation extremely troubling.
On Jan 30, 2022, the day I became aware of this article, I respectfully contacted the author at her CBC email address, seeking information on the context in which this quote was made, and to discuss other concerns about the article. As of Nov 4, 2022, neither the journalist, nor anyone from the CBC, has seen fit to respond.
Mr Gertler is additionally quoted as saying:
"Of course, we do acknowledge the importance of talking about the issue of suicide amongst young people and young adults in this country. And that's something that we have started to talk about quite openly on this campus."
This is, to all appearances, an unacceptable attempt to cast the University of Toronto mental health crisis in societal terms, rather than taking responsibility for the university climate that produced it, a situation to which many students attested at the time. The journalist made no attempt to counter this evasive and misleading position that clearly relates to the university's strategy of denial, also reflected in the "Final Report & Recommendations" quietly released on, or about, Jan 15, 2020.
The CBC must account for this interview - to explain the conditions under which the interview was agreed to, who was present at the time it was given, the author's apparent lack of background on these events, and the wholly un-critical stance that it takes.
This interview is less journalism than a public relations exercise by a state broadcaster on behalf of a beleaguered public university leadership. I believe it constitutes a serious failure to uphold international standards of journalistic integrity at a critical moment that demanded nothing short of full honesty, transparency, and accountability. The Canadian public, the university community, and not least, the victims, and their families, wherever they may be, deserve better, while the truth demands better. - BH
October 6, 2019 - A University of Toronto Mississauga student seeking help in the university's Health and Counseling Centre was handcuffed by campus police before being taken to the hospital. According to the reports, there was no disturbance, and the student had agreed to go voluntarily. This incident was reported in a number of sources when it became known in November. Comments posted by readers in different forums suggest this was not an isolated incident, and there is one known instance of it from 2014 (see March 21, 2021). Consistent with statutory arrest.
https://themedium.ca/news/utm-student-arrested-at-hcc/
[as of Oct 2023, the"themedium" article is noted removed after July 2021. Available via internet archive:]
https://web.archive.org/web/20210726201130/https://themedium.ca/news/utm-student-arrested-at-hcc/
Student paper on this incident:
Oct 10, 2019 - "Reacting to campus suicide will not prevent it."
Jan 9, 2020 - Prime Minister
Trudeau rightly calls for justice, accountability, and according
to some reports at the time, reparations, in the deaths of 57
Canadian citizens, including UT students, in an air accident in
Iran on Jan 8.
In several years of the crisis at UT, neither Prime Minister
Trudeau, nor any member of his cabinet, has seen fit to publicly
acknowledge the death of a single foreign national, or Canadian citizen, at Canada's ostensibly top public university - which remains uniquely popular with international students, underscoring the need to exercise responsibility and oversight at the highest levels.
Correspondence exists documenting that relevant cabinet ministers, along with Trudeau's own office, had warnings about the
conditions at this university from as early as spring
2018, and took absolutely no interest.
Clearly, lecturing others on justice and human rights is less
difficult than acknowledging, let alone addressing, the
travesties on one's own doorstep.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/1/14/iran-plane-crash-what-challenges-does-canada-face-in-probe
Jan 15, 2020 - the university quietly releases the "Final Report & Recommendations" of its "Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health".
ref: "strategy of denial"
In my reading, this report fails to acknowledge a single victim, including one who died while it was being compiled. It fails to acknowledge the loss to families and friends of the victims. It fails to make any substantive admission of the appalling failures surrounding several student deaths, not least three Bahen Centre deaths, and fails to address the need for accountability.
The report's repeated references to "excellence" or "culture of excellence" may be viewed as a thinly veiled assertion that the victims simply did not pass muster, despite very significant evidence to the contrary.
Multiple passages in this report are clearly intended to divert focus to suicide as a general social phenomenon, rather than specific and unique events, and their contributing factors, within the university community - a strategy of denial that was foreshadowed in statements made by a top administrator in a CBC interview on Oct 1, 2019.
As a plan for reform there is nothing beyond the minimum for which students have campaigned for years. As of Nov, 2020, I'm not aware of any substantive implementation of the report's proposals. An opportunity was missed. - BH
As of early 2025, it should come as a surprise to no one that by the university's own numbers, the situation has worsened. See the Rabble.ca article for June 25, 2024.
See "Nothing About Us Without Us" statement and timeline, noted above, May 31, 2019:
https://thevarsity.ca/2019/04/27/nothing-about-us-without-us/
Mar, 2020 - covid closures, with limited in person classes resuming from Sept, 2020 [corrections?]
April 30, 2020 - "How to Make a Crisis [...] institutional roots of mental health care crisis".
Discusses University of Ottawa 2019-20, in addition University of Toronto 2018-20.
June 14, 2020 (incidental) - Suicide
in Canada of 30 year old Egyptian dissident Sara Hegazy. This loss is not included in the UT count asserted in the intro. (see "additional reading" at the end of this timeline)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/6/15/egyptian-lgbt-activist-dies-by-suicide-in-canada
Sept 28, 2020 (incidental) - Death in
hospital of Joyce Echaquan, after live streaming verbal abuse
by hospital staff. This loss is not included in the UT count asserted in the intro.
The horrendous nature of this incident, others that have become
known since, and the unique injustices faced by First Nation
people, are in no way to be diminished. However, this was
not something isolated in the healthcare system, despite what the CBC would have people believe.
https://nypost.com/2020/09/30/indigenous-woman-films-hospital-staff-taunting-her-before-death/
https://time.com/5898422/joyce-echaquan-indigenous-protests-canada/
Nov 2, 2020 - suicide. As of Nov 9, these are the only two news sources reporting this loss, despite a rare official acknowledgement by the university. Note that the Varsity article incorrectly dates the start of this crisis from 2018, and under-counts the number of known victims by more than half.
https://thevarsity.ca/2020/11/03/new-college-confirms-death-of-student/
Named as Mr Keshav Mayya in a Varsity article of Nov 22; an ethnic minority Canadian national, and like other known victims was a student of the highest caliber, and with a promising future.
Nominal follow up reporting, one month later, in a third source:
https://globalnews.ca/news/7492921/university-of-toronto-death-mental-health-programming/
Dec 14, 2020 - "Field Notes from the University Mental Health Crisis", article on student reporters covering these events in Toronto and Ottawa.
https://j-source.ca/field-notes-from-the-university-mental-health-crisis/
2021, n.d. - Detailed law article pertaining to responsibilities and liabilities of universities in Canada pertaining to suicide and prevention.
Shailaja Nadarajah, Student Suicide On-Campus: Tort Liability of Canadian Universities and Determining a Duty of Care, 2021 CanLIIDocs 675
https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2021CanLIIDocs675#!fragment/
[see also: Additional Reading, note 6, below: NYT, "What is a college's responsibility to parents when a student is suicidal?"]
March 21, 2021 - An article in
the National Observer (Canada) briefly describes the experience of an Hispanic-Latino student from the USA at UT since 2012, and
subsequent filing with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
(includes another documented instance of a student being
handcuffed, in 2014, while seeking assistance, see Oct
6, 2019, along with denial of housing, see Sept, 2014 and Nov, 2016 (2) )
Please note that despite clearly alluding in its title to the
broader mental health crisis at the university, the article
fails to acknowledge a single one of 14 known student deaths, including 11 known suicides, from
2016-2020. This withholding of context, and its implications for how this student's experience is presented raises questions. National Observer editors were
contacted by email at the time the article was published, and chose to remain silent. - BH
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/03/17/investigations/anatomy-campus-mental-health-crisis
This student's experience was also reported in the student paper.
April 4, 2021 - A student activist who has sought to draw attention to the mental health crisis and problems faced by ethnic and non-conforming students was arrested and charged on two counts after posting a flyer aimed at raising awareness. I've personally seen the arrest papers and disturbing video of the arrest, which appears to have been entirely unprovoked, and occurred on a public sidewalk as the activist was walking away. This activist had previously posted flyers on campus without incident, and their identity, as a result of ongoing efforts, was almost certainly known at the time of the arrest. This incident is unreported in any news source.
This incident may represent an escalation of policy/tactics relating to two earlier incidents. See May 11, 2017, concerning arrest with use of force, allegedly without provocation, and resulting in serious injuries; and the Buzzfeed link for April, 2017, in connection with removal of flyers pertaining to a sexual violence awareness campaign, and suppression of campus free-speech.
April 7, 2021 - "Pandemic takes tragic toll on international students with rising deaths by suicide: report"
https://globalnews.ca/news/7745098/pandemic-takes-tragic-toll-on-international-students-with-rising-deaths-by-suicide-report/
July 12, 2021 - CBC reports on
allegations of harassment brought by Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association members.
"Students, faculty, instructors and alumni who spoke to CBC News
describe an environment where predators are protected, the
complaint process harms victims[,] and systemic misconduct goes
unaddressed. They say power dynamics lead to fear of speaking
out or censorship. The open letters were sent after allegations
of sexual harassment were brought to light on social media in
the spring."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/university-toronto-music-program-sexual-harassment-1.6096829
autumn, 2021 - An article from Feb 14, 2022 summarizes an ethnic minority student's Human Rights Commission lawsuit over failure to meet accessibility needs while dealing with health issues, resulting in deferred admission dependent on the student agreeing not to apply to other universities in the interim.
https://thevarsity.ca/2022/02/14/human-rights-case-u-of-t-law-student-zoom/
April 12, 2022 - Mr. Mahdi Khajehim, a UofT PhD student, alleges ill treatment and pressure not to speak out publicly after seeking support following a serious medical diagnosis. (campus free speech)
A reddit feed from shortly after the petition was posted suggests Mr. Khajehim became subject of an inner-department memo, left Canada, and faces an arrest warrant if he returns - which, if true, is consistent with arrests of at least two other students who have spoken out or asserted their rights (not counting a number of documented statutory arrests of students seeking help). At least one anonymous respondent in the feed engages in unsubstantiated character attacks.
While several of the respondents raise questions about the propriety of Mr. Khajehim's alleged conduct, it bears noting that he was dealing with a personal medical crisis, was under stress of having recently completed a dissertation (which there's no indication he was permitted to defend), and faced the prospect of having to return to a country known to have human rights issues.
Rather than undertaking efforts to de-escalate the situation, the university responded with proceedings from which Mr. Khajehim was excluded, with no representation.
In context of other similar reports, and unless the university clarifies what happened, I think Mr. Khajehim, at the very least, deserves the benefit of the doubt. The more one hears of accounts like this, the more Orwellian these situations appear. - BH, 02/25.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UofT/comments/ucfkmi/weird_email_from_student/
Nov 14, 2022 - Macleans, "Inside the Mental Healtch Crisis at Canadian Universities".
https://education.macleans.ca/feature/inside-the-mental-health-crisis-at-canadian-universities/
Nov 20, 2022 - Varsity: "U of T students need better access to primary health care"
https://thevarsity.ca/2022/11/20/opinion-u-of-t-students-need-better-access-to-primary-health-care/Feb 20, 2023 -The Otter, "Four suicides and four years later, I revisit what happened at the University of Toronto", Aloysius Wong.
https://theotter.ca/the-varsity-blues/
March 5, 2023 - Varsity op-ed, "To Serve and Protect: except those in mental health crises"
https://thevarsity.ca/2023/03/05/opinion-to-serve-and-protect-except-those-in-mental-health-crises/
June 25, 2024 (2021-2023) - Rabble.ca, "A pro-longing mental health and suicide crisis at UofT is extremely concerning".
As noted in the intro, this article by Mariam Bebawy provides an update to the situation on campus, in context of efforts to suppress a Palestine solidarity gathering (campus free speech).
Article notes campus suicides and attempted suicides, inclusive, totaling 6 in 2021, 14 in 2022, and 10 in 2023, based on official 'campus safety reports', along with a university response to the article.
We note these appalling numbers potentially represent a serious worsening of the situation, post-Covid, compared with the 2015-2020 period, our understanding of which is still compromised by ongoing lack of transparency by the university and law enforcement.
When viewed in wake of the "Final Report and Recommendations" (see Jan 15, 2020), and a total failure to follow through on any substantive reforms, it's difficult to see the 'Final Report' and the 'leadership' culture of contempt that produced it as anything other than a total abject sham, lacking any credibility whatsoever, regarding student safety and health.
For purposes of this timeline, I consider official numbers suspect given lack of transparency, and refer to them only when reported in third party sources - which has only occurred on three known occasions to date. They must be viewed as the most conservative possible estimate of student fatalities.
Consequently, without exact totals delineating actual suicides, I'm unable to include these losses with those from 2015-2020 asserted in this timeline.
Additionally, these official numbers fail to account for mental health related deaths from causes other than suicide, or among students living off campus - anecdotal evidence of which suggests is at least proportional to those on campus - or among students forced to live off campus after denial of campus housing.
While any attempt at suicide is serious and should be subject to highest scrutiny as to contributing factors, combining numbers for suicides and attempted suicides is ultimately another method to obfuscate the actual numbers of student deaths, and enable allies in the media to falsely claim, "no one knows for sure [how many]" regarding these deaths (see entry for Aug 12, 2017).
Each one of these deaths was entirely preventable.
Additional reading:
1.
Mental Health, blaming the victim, and systemic collapse
Whenever a suicide report appears in a social media, someone invariably comments, "They had help available to them, if they had only asked," as one individual commented after the loss of Sara Hegazy on June 14, 2020.
Whenever I see these comments it's clear that the people making
them have never dealt with the mental health system, certainly
not in Toronto.
More shamelessly, it's placing blame on the victim for being
allowed to fall through the cracks of a shambles of a system.
An article from 2012 details just how dysfunctional, and dystopian, the Canadian mental health system can be for those in need of help, and for those who care about them.
I have no doubt whatsoever that many of them - like the subjects
of this article, probably like Sara, and like my partner, Lisa -
did, in fact, seek help that was denied them.
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/daniel-d-veniez/mental-health-treatment-canada_b_1822184.html
2.
Media Coverage
In connection with media coverage of this crisis, and specifically the CBC's oddly limited coverage, please see this blog's article from June, 2022, "Note on CBC coverage of the University of Toronto 'mental health crisis', 2017-present".
https://friends4lisa.blogspot.com/2022/06/note-on-cbc-coverage-of-university-of.html
3.
Health Care
Tacit acknowledgement of a healthcare crisis that has been unfolding for years, if not decades, with little to no attention - to which several deaths in this timeline attest - appears in an article of Aug 4, 2022, in a lower tier media source.
"There are Ontarians today who are suffering because they cannot access care when they need it. Most likely, some of us are going to die because of an inability to access care when we need it. And some of those deaths may be horrible, painful, and slow. Most will be unnecessary."
International students bankrolling Canadian universities, please go to the front of the queue to be refused essential medical services. I say this from personal experience with my partner prior to her death.
https://www.tvo.org/article/doug-ford-needs-to-start-telling-the-truth-about-ontarios-health-care-crisis
Dec 10, 2022 - BBC: "Canada: Premiers demand to meet Trudeau over health crisis"
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63924362
4.
the crisis at University of Southern California, 2019, and how it was handled
In 2019, The University of Southern California saw nine student deaths, three of which were reportedly suicides, and the remainder 'accidental'. Each of these deaths was thoroughly investigated by the LAPD, and according to one source I've heard speak on the matter, the FBI may have been involved.
Accounts of how USC conducted itself during this period vary, but on average, the leadership appears to have been transparent with the student community.
Journalists and editors who covered these deaths, on average, appear to have more or less upheld journalistic standards.
USC was already in the process of replacing its leadership and making extensive changes to its leadership structure due to earlier events, and promptly opened a new counseling center in response to these deaths.
To say that there has been no comparable response to the student deaths in Toronto is an over-statement. The fact is, there has been no credible or substantive response whatsoever from the police, the prosecutor's office, the Trudeau government, professional colleges and unions with jurisdiction, or from the university itself - short of cover up, denial, and blaming victims - efforts that to all appearances have been supported by allies in the media who have served as an uncritical mouthpiece, withheld information, and actively suppressed numbers.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-13/usc-responds-to-student-deaths-to-quell-rumors-misinformation
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-05/scandals-usc-reforms-trustees-age-limits-diversity-rules
5.
April 22, 2011 - article on the death of a Chinese national living off campus at York University, in Jan of that year
(caution: this article contains troubling passages that may be distressing)
statement in Chinese, may appear translated:
2011年4月22日，一篇关于当年1月在约克大学中国学生去世的文章。
6.
May 23, 2018 - NYT article, "What is a college's responsibility to parents when a student is suicidal?" (links to Tampa Bay Times re-print due to NYT paywalling at time of update)
https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/college/What-is-a-college-s-responsibility-to-parents-when-a-student-is-suicidal-_168184803/
[see also, 2021, n.d., above: Shailaja Nadarajah, Student Suicide On-Campus: Tort Liability of Canadian Universities and Determining a Duty of Care]
7.
Sept 6, 2023 - Al Jazeera, "Migrant workers in Canada 'vulnerable' to modern-day slavery: UN expert"
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/6/migrant-workers-in-canada-vulnerable-to-modern-day-slavery-un-expert
Jan 30, 2025 - Al Jazeera, "Canada's temporary foreign worker scheme 'inherently exploitative': Amnesty"
Sadly, the conditions of international students, and the labor and living arrangements they're subjected to, including teaching assistanceships of graduate students, are not receiving this scrutiny.
8.
July, 2016 - CAMH report, "Police and Mental Illness: increased interactions", concerning complications of mental illness in police encounters.
https://bc.cmha.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/policesheets_all.pdf
9.
"Meeting Students Where They Are: centering University of Toronto student voices in mental health conversation on Reddit".
Scholarly article from 2019 which perhaps inadvertently highlights the ways students at the time dealt with shortcomings and failures in official Health and Wellness and Crisis Office services. We note one of the authors is believed to have been university faculty at the time it was published.
Since becoming aware of this project in 2024, I've come to have considerable concerns, in context of events at the time, about how this projected was conducted, the reasons for it, and how the information was gathered and subsequently processed.
I note several probable students were named as co-authors at the time I reviewed the article, and believe it's reasonable to consider their role in this project, involving the collection of information related to classmates' health or personal safety.
One should consider this in relation to the "facetime" statement Mar 18, 2019, alleging over-use of the internet as the source of mental health crises, and multiple reports of students being told to use mediation apps while being denied services. See note for April, 2017.
I note that my partner relied on Reddit for information and support she was not receiving, and was denied, by official services, both on campus and off, prior to her passing, Nov 14, 2017.
I consider Reddit to have been an important source for this timeline, with information that was 'unavailable' from 'official' sources.
Monitoring of students' online activities, in any context, particularly as these events unfolded, raises troubling questions.
(comments edited 07/25)
https://journals.scholarsportal.info/pdf/25617397/v05i0001/131_mswtacimhcor.xml_en
10.
Losses at other area universities. Begun Oct, 2023. Since starting this timeline in 2018, we have noted losses of students at other area universities. We will record these as time and energy permit.
April 16(?), 2023
- Mr Harsh Patel, of Gujarat, India. Undergrad at York University.
Water related incident. Not included in count of UT students. Note Minden Park loss on Sept 4, 2018.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/100208507.cms
Feb 2, 2025 - As cited in the intro, an article in Deutsche Welle (German state media) by India
based Murali Krishnan notes 172 deaths of Indian nationals from all
causes at Canadian universities over a five year period to 2025, the
single highest number of any country hosting Indian students (and
compared with 108 in the USA, which one would expect to have a higher
population). These numbers are reportedly based on information from the
Ministry of External Affairs of India, and put the lie to the assertions
of some Canadian journalists, including in articles appearing in this
timeline, falsely asserting that records on student deaths do not exist.
https://www.dw.com/en/with-more-indians-studying-abroad-safety-concerns-rise/a-71473791
updated May 11, 2025, numbers from annual 'campus safety' report included in overview; name amended with "and News Archive"
updated Feb 2, 2025 to include Rabble.ca article of Jun 25, 2024; DW article of Feb 2, 2025; entry for April 12, 2022.
(updated, Dec 4, 2023), note to Nov 14, 2017.
(updated, Oct 26, 2023), significant additions.
Removed assertion that students raised concerns about the Bahen Centre prior to three losses there (notes for Sept 30, 2019 (1), and Oct 1, 2019). This was based on a misreading of two misplaced news articles, subsequent re-located (see notes for March 18 and 19, 2019), which quoted the same Student Union representative about concerns raised subsequent to the first Bahen Centre loss on Jun 24, 2018, and another campus loss in Jan 2019.
It is probable that concerns were in fact raised that have not come to light. I, myself, attempted to speak with law enforcement on two occasions in Sept 2017, about concerns for my partner's safety viz. the university, nine weeks prior to her passing.
If anyone has further info about warnings or concerns raised with administrators or law enforcement at the time of these events, and would be willing to discuss it, please contact me.
(updated, Oct 15, 2023)
(updated, Sept 10, 2023)
(updated, March 8, 2023 with new information from 2019)
(updated, Jan 2, 2023, significant additions, victims adjusted for 2015)
(updated, Dec 16, 2022)
(updated, Dec 4, 2022)
(updated, Nov 4, 2022)
(updated, Oct 16, 2022)
(updated, Sept 5, 2022)
(updated, Aug 28, 2022)
(updated, Aug 5, 2022)
(updated, June 5, 2022, significantly expanded)
(updated, Nov 10, 2020)
Statement in Chinese (for search engines, may appear translated in browser):
這是加拿大多倫多大學從 2015 年至今的 14 名已知學生死亡事件的時間表，其中包括 11 起自殺事件和相關事件。
據信大多數受害者是國際學生。 已知的受害者包括中國學生、兩名印度人和一名俄羅斯人。 重大失敗圍繞著其中幾起死亡事件，每一個都是可以預防的。
此時間表與大學或任何官方辦公室無關或不被認可。 它由其中一名受害者的伴侶維護。 我反對審查，並尋求幫助那些無法獲得信息的家庭。
我正在從事翻譯工作，但這是一項耗時且艱鉅的工作。 我可以在: Friends4Lisa@gmail.com
Statement in Russian (for search engines, may appear translated in browser):
Это хронология 14 известных студенческих смертей, в том числе 11 самоубийств и связанных с ними инцидентов в Университете Торонто, Канада, с 2015 года по настоящее время.
Считается, что большинство жертв — иностранные студенты. Среди известных жертв — китайские студенты, двое индийцев и один русский. Некоторые из этих смертей связаны с крупными неудачами, и каждую из них можно было предотвратить.
Этот хронология не связан и не одобрен университетом или каким-либо официальным учреждением. Его поддерживает партнер одной из жертв. Я выступаю против цензуры и стремлюсь помочь информировать семьи, не имеющие доступа к информации.
Я работаю над переводами, но это требует много времени и усилий. со мной можно связаться в: Friends4Lisa@gmail.com
Statement in Farsi (for search engines, may appear translated in browser):
این جدول زمانی14 مرگ دانشجویی شناخته شده، از جمله 11 مورد خودکشی، و حوادث مرتبط در دانشگاه تورنتو، کانادا، از سال 2015 تاکنون است.
گفته می شود بیشتر قربانیان دانشجویان بین المللی هستند. دانشجویان چینی، دو هندی و یک روسی در میان قربانیان شناخته شده هستند. شکستهای بزرگ چندین مورد از این مرگها را احاطه کرده است و هر یک قابل پیشگیری بودند.
این جدول زمانی با دانشگاه یا هیچ دفتر رسمی مرتبط یا تایید نشده است. توسط شریک یکی از قربانیان نگهداری می شود. من با سانسور مخالفم و به دنبال کمک به اطلاع رسانی به خانواده هایی هستم که به اطلاعات دسترسی ندارند.
می توان به من رسید
Friends4Lisa@gmail.com