U of C Scolded (Again) for Trampling Free Speech

Once again the University of Calgary has been taken to task for it's failure to appreciate and protect freedom of expression.

How many more times will it take until the University gets the message?

Back in March, a Court of Queen's Bench Judge upheld a lower court ruling which found the U of C had violated the charter rights of anti-gay activist Bill Whatcott who was handing out pamplets on campus nearly four years ago.

 

We've also seen the university - and the students union, too - impose all sorts of restrictions on the Campus Pro-Life club. When members of the club were charged with trespassing, the charged ended up being stayed after the University failed to explain exactly what the students had done wrong.

 

It's not surprising then that a recent report on campus freedom (PDF) from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms ranked the U of C near the bottom.

Yesterday, we got another example to add to the list.

 

The Alberta Court of Appeal ruled (full ruling here - PDF) that the University is not a charter-free zone, and has ruled in favour of two students who had criticized their professor on Facebook.

 

Back in 2007, the university found ten students guilty of non-academic misconduct after they criticized the professor online. They were even threatened with expulsion. Not only that, but the students were not given an opportunity to present any evidence to support their case, nor were they able to have a lawyer cross examine the professor in question.

 

As the court found:

 

"The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to the disciplinary proceedings undertaken by the university. The decision of the Review Committee failed to take into account the Pridgens' right to freedom of expression under the Charter. The decision breached the Pridgens' freedom of expression and cannot be saved by the Charter. Moreover, the Review Committees' decision was unreasonable from an administrative law perspective. The decision of the chambers judge to quash the Review Committee's decision is upheld and the appeal of the university is dismissed."

 

Maybe now, instead of stomping on rights and fighting people in court, the University of Calgary can finally get around to taking a more enlightened view of freedom of expression.