When universities declare commitments to reconciliation, these commitments must accompany changes necessary to ensure Indigenous students are truly welcomed and celebrated on campuses.
Canadian universities’ requests for court orders and police enforcement to clear Palestine solidarity encampments raise questions about the legal status of encampments and the use of injunctions.
Private tech companies screening international students on behalf of public schools should be required to disclose more about their algorithms and training data.
How university campuses respond to concerns about student safety can set the stage for learning or encourage its opposite: divisiveness and censorship.
When universities do use fair dealing to supplement purchased, licensed and freely available resources, they work within guidelines developed across the education sector.
When universities are seen as favouring one position on the Palestine/Israel issue, their ability to uphold academic freedom as a fundamental tenet of democracy is jeopardized.
Through the Scarborough Charter, many Canadian universities committed to fostering alternative ways of knowing. But more must be done to realize that commitment.
In addition to undermining universities’ and faculty members’ autonomy, the bill blurs distinctions between free expression and academic freedom, and turns academic freedom into a political weapon.
Students won’t be allowed to participate in activities at St. Francis Xavier University this fall unless they sign a COVID-19 waiver. That’s forcing them to make a difficult and unfair choice.
In his new book “University Commons Divided,” former University of Saskatchewan President Peter MacKinnon examines the attack on freedom of expression at Canadian universities.