Why is this university being sued for silencing academic freedom?

In this episode of Canadian Justice, Christine interviews some of the people involved in a lawsuit against the University of British Columbia for failing their duty of institutional neutrality.

Four professors and a former graduate student have filed a petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia asking the court to protect the academic freedom of professors and students by ordering the administration of University of British Columbia to comply with a statutory requirement to refrain from political activity.

With the assistance of the Canadian Constitution Foundation and litigator Jason Gratl of Gratl & Company, the Petitioners ask the court to prohibit and restrain the administration of UBC from engaging in political activity that tends to undermine academic freedom, including:

Declaring that UBC is on “unceded” Indigenous land;
Requiring expressions of agreement with, fidelity to or loyalty to diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I.) doctrines or other political beliefs as a condition of applying for faculty positions; and
Making declarations of support or condemnation of Israel or Palestinians or stating opinions on the absolute or relative morality, lawfulness or political justification for violence in Israel or Gaza.
The petition cites section 66(1) of British Columbia’s University Act, which states: “A university must be non-sectarian and non-political in principle.”

The petitioners include a philosophy professor who has been with UBC for more than 35 years and served in numerous administrative positions, and a former student who is unable to apply to his alma mater because of its requirements that applicants support D.E.I. ideology.

Josh Dehaas, counsel with the Canadian Constitution Foundation, said UBC’s administration must remain non-political to allow for its students and professors to have academic freedom.

“As soon as the administration takes a position on D.E.I., on the legitimacy of Canada’s sovereignty over lands, or the Israel-Palestinian conflict, its professors and students are no longer free to inquire into or express themselves on these topics,” Dehaas explained.

Evidence filed in the case includes an academic job ad that says candidates must “strongly commit” to D.E.I. values, and an April 2024 UBC Okanagan’s Senate Resolution that condemned “the perpetration of genocide, and the violation of international laws pertaining to human rights; in this case the occupation, siege, and invasion of Gaza by the state of Israel.”

Dehaas said that the CCF decided to get involved because UBC has a clear statutory requirement to remain non-political, which it has failed to uphold despite years of behind-the-scenes advocacy from professors and alumni who feel UBC’s political stances have impacted their freedom of expression and academic freedom.

“The UBC Administration has no business espousing political ideologies based in critical theory or any other political ideology,” Dehaas added. “The job of the UBC administration is to ensure that the university is a place where students and faculty can follow the evidence wherever it may lead, rather than being told what to believe by administrators.”

Gratl said he hopes that the lawsuit will force UBC’s administration to support academic freedom. “This lawsuit aims to protect the special role carved out by the legislature for academic freedom in a functional democracy,” he said.