Charles McVety’s Canada Christian College will not be granted university status

The province has confirmed Charles McVety’s Canada Christian College has been denied university status.

Ontario’s Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB) has recommended the bid be denied and the government has accepted that.

“PEQAB has recommended that the institution not be granted expanded degree-granting authority or a name change at this time. The Minister has reviewed and accepts their recommendation,” said a spokesperson for Colleges and Universities Minister Ross Romano.

“All institutions continue to have the right to apply for expanded degree-granting authority in Ontario, and the Ministry is committed to ensuring that this is done fairly based on expert advice and is in the best interest of Ontario and Ontario students.”

McVety is the college’s president and an evangelical pastor who has been an outspoken Doug Ford supporter since 2018.

A statement from McVety claims “political corruption” and “fraudulent misrepresentation” was behind PEQAB’s recommendation to not grant the school university status.

The school’s president has received backlash over making racist and homophobic claims in the past.

He also opposed Ontario’s sex-ed update, calling it radical and condemning the update for teaching children about gender fluidity.

NEW: statement from Charles McVety claims "political corruption" & "fraudulent misrepresentation" was behind PEQAB's recommendation to not grant it university status & the government "refused to investigate"McVety helped Doug Ford win the PC leadership & once called him a friend

— Cynthia Mulligan (@CityCynthia) May 21, 2021

Liberal leader Steven Del Duca said in a statement issued Friday that the decision to deny degree granting authority to McVety comes only after Doug Ford was caught red handed trying to do a “sweetheart deal for his friend and well-known bigot.”

Del Duca states “Doug Ford’s attempt to secretly reward his friend, Charles McVety, is straight out of the American Republican playbook, but rewarding bigotry, Islamophobia and homophobia is almost unheard of in Ontario.”

Last year, Ontario passed a bill that could grant university status to the Christian school.

Bill 213 contains a provision that allows Canada Christian College to grant arts and science degrees.

However, a portion of the bill would not come into force until an independent review of the college’s application was vetted by a provincial agency.

In response to the bill, former premier Kathleen Wynne condemned the legislation, saying McVety has made derogatory comments about the LGBTQ community and Muslims in the past.

“35 of us in opposition voted against Bill 213 so to its own shame and to the shame of all government members, McVety has their support [Doug Ford] has signalled that it supports this divisive, dangerous man. Disgraceful,” Wynne tweeted last year.

“The government has consistently said that it supports the independent, expert and non-partisan review of the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board and that it would only proclaim Schedule 2 of Bill 213 based on the review of the Board,” said Romano’s spokesperson on Friday.

“…Therefore, the Government will not be proclaiming Schedule 2 of Bill 213 at this time.”