Student politics is a nasty business. Universities, for their part, need to respect the process and keep a distance while having the courage and wisdom to act when a student’s conduct goes to far. The case of Tefler v. The University of Western Ontario (CanLII) involves one student leader who was elected president of the graduate students’ society, […]
The recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in AlGhaithy v. University of Ottawa (CanLII) is an important one for universities to consider when setting up internal rules and procedures and addressing concerning behavior of students. Accordingly to the decision, Dr. AlGhaithy practiced in Saudi Arabia for several years before beginning a neurosurgery residency with the University […]
Many university administrators and student leaders have been watching with interest as the legal dispute between anti-abortion activists and Carleton University winds it way through the courts (see here and here for background). Specifically, the curiosity surrounds one issue: does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms apply to universities? If the Charter does apply, then political activists, not to mention anyone […]
The CBC reported recently that two of the anti-abortion activists arrested at Carleton University in the fall for engaging in an unauthorized protest on campus space have filed a lawsuit against the university. According to the students’ legal documents (CBC), the students allege that Carleton’s refusal to allow a particular anti-abortion display to be presented in a central area of campus […]
The Globe and Mail reported over the weekend that the University of Calgary has filed an appeal regarding a recent decision (CanLII) of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench that found that the university had violated the rights of two students under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by punishing them for criticizing a professor on facebook. For a comprehensive review […]
University administrators raised their eyebrows this week to news of the decision of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Pridgen v. University of Calgary (CanLII), specifically the declaration of the Honourable Madam Justice Strekaf that the university is “not a Charter-free zone”. The case (which was previously discussed in this post) involves separate statements by University of Calgary […]