CFE Blog

As part of the Edmonton Public Library’s Forward Thinking Speaker Series, I was invited to talk with Margaret Atwood on freedom of expression, her writing, and moderating audience questions. Given the timing, our armchair discussion quickly turned to politics.

The University of Toronto has released a draft statement on law and policy around antisemitism, and it should arguably serve as a model for approaching hateful and discriminatory speech on university campuses.

The Guardian’s decision earlier this week to stop posting on X finally prompted me to take the same step, one I have been contemplating for some time. Whereas the decision of the Guardian, which has 27-million followers, is consequential, my decision (with my 1,018 followers) is not. Still, for me, it is important to dissociate myself from what Musk has made of X.

One of the questions I always enjoyed asking school kids is, “To whom does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms apply?” While there are many possible answers, one that I like to hear is that the Charter is about the relationship between governments and the people who live in Canada. In other words, it applies to all of us.

Courtesy of the Rouleau Commission I developed a late-onset interest in freedom of peaceful assembly (FPA) and s.2(c) of the Charter. Since then it has been an ongoing concern to me that in more than forty years s.2(c) has not received an authoritative interpretation, much less been considered or discussed in any depth by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Universities have property rights. Are they entitled, as a consequence, to exclude others at will? Are property rights, especially those exercised by public institutions like universities, different from homeowners or shop owners?