Freedom Defender of the Week: Prof. Bruce Pardy

By Russell Phillips | Canadian Constitution Foundation

This week’s Freedom Defender is Professor Bruce Pardy (Image from X)

Here is my summary:

This week’s pick is Prof. Bruce Pardy for his principled position on campus speech discussed in his recent National Post article.

As you may know, the Hamas-Israeli war has sparked intense controversy and clashes on university campuses in both Canada and the United States. There has been concerning incidents of blatant antisemitism at protests, harassment and much more. Critics have in turn called out university officials of holding double standards, since in recent years these same institutions have placed an intense emphasis on equity, diversity and inclusion while cracking down on speech not thought to align with those values.

However, instead of advocating for suppressing these ideas and opinions at the demand of prominent donors and alumni, Prof. Pardy calls for universities to use this opportunity to pull back from over-regulating their communities. As he puts it, universities ought to exist as “empty shells,” leaving students and professors to rigorously discuss and debate issues.

We couldn’t agree more here at the CCF. We agree with Prof. Pardy in leaving regulation of expression to the laws of the land, and not to overzealous student groups or busybody university administrators.

Read his full article here.