A cornerstone or tenet of being a university is that, within the bounds of Canadian law, university policies and collective agreements, everyone on campus should feel free to express their ideas. Mount Royal takes a collective approach to supporting expression and free speech on campus.

The Expression and Free Speech Policy states the University’s position on the rights and responsibilities of individuals engaging in free speech at Mount Royal. This includes the right to communicate opinions and ideas without censorship or sanction, such as the right to engage in peaceful protest against the content of free speech of others.

In July of 2019, the University received notice from the Minister of Advanced Education that all Alberta post-secondary institutions must demonstrate their commitment to the principles of the Chicago Statement on Free Expression through a Board-approved governing document. Given the choices provided by the Minister, Mount Royal drafted the Expression and Free Speech Policy (Policy) using the expedited policy approval process in the University’s Policy on University Policy and Procedures.

The University’s Board of Governors approved the Policy on October 28, 2019, followed by the President and Vice-Chancellor forming a Task Force to begin the conversation on understanding expression and free speech in a Mount Royal context.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

• freedom of conscience and religion;
• freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and
• other media of communication;
• freedom of peaceful assembly; and
• freedom of association.

While freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression is guaranteed under the Charter, it is not clear whether and/or how the Charter applies to universities. There have been many court rulings in Canada that have addressed the overall intent and applicability of the Charter within a university context, but debate continues around whether Canadian universities in different provinces are subject to the requirements of the Charter.

That being said, human rights legislation, common law and the concept of “Charter values” are often cited in non-Charter cases and are seen as important and necessary lenses through which to view whether and/or how the Charter applies.

In keeping with that sentiment and Mount Royal’s belief that the ability to communicate opinions and ideas without censorship or sanction is critical in the pursuit of knowledge, the Expression and Free Speech Policy identifies principles for how Mount Royal addresses expression and free speech.

Universities Canada states:

Academic freedom is the freedom to teach and conduct research in an academic environment. Academic freedom is fundamental to the mandate of universities to pursue truth, educate students and disseminate knowledge and understanding.

In teaching, academic freedom is fundamental to the protection of the rights of the teacher to teach and of the student to learn. In research and scholarship, it is critical to advancing knowledge. Academic freedom includes the right to freely communicate knowledge and the results of research and scholarship.

Evidence and truth are the guiding principles for universities and the community of scholars that make up their faculty and students. Thus, academic freedom must be based on reasoned discourse, rigorous extensive research and scholarship, and peer review.

Academic freedom is constrained by the professional standards of the relevant discipline and the responsibility of the institution to organize its academic mission. The insistence on professional standards speaks to the rigour of the enquiry and not to its outcome.

The constraint of institutional requirements recognizes simply that the academic mission, like other work, has to be organized according to institutional needs. This includes the institution’s responsibility to select and appoint faculty and staff, to admit and discipline students, to establish and control curriculum, to make organizational arrangements for the conduct of academic work, to certify completion of a program and to grant degrees.

Article 23 of the Collective Agreement between the Mount Royal Faculty Association and the Board of Governors of Mount Royal University addresses Academic Freedom at Mount Royal.

From a 2018 Report to the Universities Canada Governance Committee on Freedom of Expression:

The right to free expression does include the freedom to critique and contest the expression of others, but it does not extend to efforts that obstruct or prevent the free expression of others. Mount Royal expects that the freedom to critique and contest the expression of others will be exercised in a manner that maintains an environment of respect and civility.

The Expression and Free Speech Policy states that the University is a place of free and open inquiry where all of its members have the opportunity to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn free from harassment or discrimination, in accordance with University policies and applicable collective agreements and that any activity conducted in a public space must not impede the normal flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including ingress to and egress from University structures.

Planned events are assessed by the Campus Events Groups under the Temporary Use of University Space Policy. To ensure the most successful outcome for an event it is required that anyone hosting an event requests to book space under that Policy. Impromptu events or events using University space that have not been approved under the Temporary Use of University Space Policy and that violate University policy may be stopped by the University and trespass notices may be issued in some circumstances.

Public incitement of hatred, according to the Criminal Code of Canada, is communicating hatred in a public place and inciting hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace. Sections 318 to 320.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada address the promotion and incitement of hate, including such things as hate speech. The threshold for hate speech is high in Canadian law.

The University strives to create an environment free of hate speech on its campus. Hate speech used for any reason is considered a breach of University policy.