We are a platform dedicated to

Freedom of Expression and the Public's Right to Know

Genuine democracy, advancement of knowledge, individual self-development, and social justice depend on a society in which freedom of expression and the right to know are a reality for everyone. The Centre for Free Expression works to advance these rights though public education, advocacy, law reform, research, advisory services, policy analysis, assistance to courts, and organizational collaborations.

The Latest

News October 7, 2019

BPC Bulletin: Reporter Justin Brake Files Charter Challenge

News Reports and Commentary Selected by Franklin Carterof the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee   Justin Brake — the journalist who was charged with civil and criminal offences after he reported an Innu and Inuit protest at the construction site of a hydroelectric dam in Labrador in October 2016 — has filed a Charter challenge in court.
Blog September 27, 2019

New Hotline to Assist Students Approached by CSIS Addresses a Problem Neither New nor Unprecedented

Co-Authored by Nader Hasan On November 12, 2018, the University of Toronto’s student newspaper, The Varsity, reported that Muslim Student Association executives had been regularly receiving surprise visits from RCMP and CSIS agents regularly since 2016. Since the events of 9/11 in the United States, security and intelligence officials have taken an interest in Muslim Students Associations (MSAs) across universities in both Canada and the United States.
Anver M. Emon
Academic Freedom, Privacy & Surveillance
News September 18, 2019

CFE Launches Workplace Free Expression Legal Database

The Centre for Free Expression in collaboration with Charles Smith and Daniel J. Paré has launched the Freedom of Expression @Work Database today. The searchable, online database contains legal decisions regarding dismissals and discipline of employees for use of social media in the workplace and outside of work.
Workplace Free Expression
Blog September 18, 2019

Free to express yourself outside of work? Workplace discipline in the age of social media

Barely a day goes by without reading a new story about employees being punished, fined, fired or shamed for engaging in online conversations about the workplace. Social media is radically transforming the relationship between employees and their employers in a host of ways not the least of which is its capacity to simultaneously augment peoples’ ability to express their voice and employers’ ability to monitor and discipline employees. 
Charles Smith
Daniel J. Paré
Workplace Free Expression