Censorship

On Thursday, Calgary Police forcibly dismantled the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Calgary within hours of its formation. Those who advocate the same tactic at other Canadian universities, including University of Toronto, argue that an encampment is not a legitimate form of protest because it is disruptive and occupies space that should be open to all. A columnist in the Globe & Mail even argued that the encampment is not a form of expression and thus deserves no protection. 

Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx, both provincial mega-agencies using, exclusively, public-private infrastructure partnerships, have imposed a requirement on the public that is supposedly being served, according to a Toronto Star article (March 19). That is, any community member that wants to participate in the ‘consultations’ regarding the expropriation and tearing down of the local Riverdale Plaza (one of the many sites designated by the province as a future ‘transit-oriented community’, known by locals as ‘developer-oriented transit’) needs to sign a “non-disclosure” agreement. 

Today I present five unrelated stories about censorship and free expression in Canada.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) has declared its support for the criminalization of the denial of the existence of Indian residential schools in Canada.

The Toronto Reference Library hosted a public discussion titled “I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It” on December 5, 2023. The discussion focused on the freedom of unpopular academic authors to express their ideas.