Justice Marina Paperny, on behalf of the court stated that “the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to the disciplinary proceedings undertaken by the university,” which is a break from previous jurisprudence that affirmed that universities are not government actors  within the meaning of section 32 of the Charter.  The court also felt the decision was unreasonable from an administrative law perspective.

Justice Brian O’Ferral’s concurrent opinion tried to not overstate the question of whether universities were ‘Charter-free-zones,’ instead focusing on “whether, in disciplining the students for their comments or for their association with the social media site which was critical of one of the university’s sessional lecturers, the university’s disciplinary body, the General Faculties Council, ought to have considered whether its discipline violated the students’ right to freedom of expression and freedom of association.”

Lawyer for the intervening Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Colin Feasby, noted that a university’s autonomy should not be used to avoid Charter scrutiny in its disciplinary processes.

For more information click here.

Another concern would arise if police decide to use tear gas and pepper spray to control a demonstration, as they did in the early 2000s in response to the anti-globalization movement. Protestors used vinegar soaked bandanas and gas masks to protect themselves from the toxic fumes. If the police deemed just protests ‘unlawful,’ would the use of protective masks be used as an additional charge to persecute dissent? Unfortunately, the answer is in all likelihood yes.

To read more click here.

“Staff and directors managing the centres and networks add their voices to the growing body of Canadians who are shocked and outraged by the short-sightedness of the federal government cuts to programs, services and the federal civil service. These cuts are in direct contradiction to the pledges regarding gender equality that Canada has made both in international commitments and to Canadians. Women are being hit particularly hard with these cuts, and, because the research being eliminated generated proactive, preventative strategies for health promotion, these cuts will cost everyone in the long term. The end of this work will be most strongly felt by the disadvantaged and the disempowered.”

Further, “Dr. Liz Whynot, Chair of the Board of Directors of the BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health expressed her concern that ‘This cut threatens the significant work on women’s health that has been undertaken across the country, and represents an enormous loss of capacity to monitor and improve the health of women in Canada, particularly those who are marginalized.’”

Click here to read the press release by the Canadian Women’s Health network.

See here for an editorial by West Coast Legal and Education Action Fund (LEAF)’s Legal Director Laura Track on how the Charter fails to protect poor Canadians.

Concerned citizens groups have long demanded such accountability measures. The standard argument is that police forces protect each other and do not adequately investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

Police forces, for their part, have been reticent to accept civilian oversight. And the Quebec government has cited associated costs as an impediment to implementing full civilian oversight. But the Quebec Ombudsman’s report cites a number of factors to support the conclusion that the transitional and operational costs would be minimal. And the pay-off in terms of increased respect for the integrity of the process would be enormous.

Read Henry Aubin’s  piece in the Gazette here.

The Quebec Ombudsman’s full report on Bill 46 is available here, and the short summary here.

“Racism is the wrong way,” read the slogan emblazoned on Ellis’s sweater as he joined a student rally outside the university’s Faculty of Law building on Wednesday.

Dozens of students at the protest also wore hooded sweaters as a sign of solidarity with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin — the black youth who was fatally shot in Florida in February while he was clad in a hoodie. George Zimmerman, the neighbourhood watch volunteer who killed Martin, said the teen looked suspicious.

Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/students+their+hoods+Trayvon+Martin/6411587/story.html#ixzz1r7Ah6Gm0

L’actualité and the Parti Québecois have jumped on these findings in calling for a renewed conversation regarding the French language’s role in Québec society, and in Montréal in particular. The subject is never far from political center stage – a 67 year-old francophone woman who was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital following a stroke recently filed a complaint that she was unable to obtain service in her native tongue.

Public conversations on the matter are not merely vitriol. L’actualité’s website actually aggregates a diverse range of views on the subject.

The CROP polls numbers are available in PDF here.