OTTAWA (AFP) - A Canadian university on Monday suspended 13 dentistry students for misogynist Facebook posts, amid public outrage over a "rape culture" at schools across North America.

The move comes after an unspecified number of women complained about members of a Facebook group commenting that they would like to have "hate" sex with female classmates, and suggested using chloroform to subdue them.

The action by Dalhousie University in the Atlantic port city of Halifax is "necessary to ensure a safe and supportive environment" for students and patients at its teaching clinic, school president Richard Florizone said.

A faculty-led review this week will decide whether to recommend "academic dismissal" of the fourth-year students over the "deeply offensive" behaviour, he said.

The review committee will "consider the matter from the perspective of professionalism requirements" for graduates.