Ontario Advanced Education Minister Deb Matthews’ office says she has no authority to condemn a Catholic university in Ottawa‘s ban on polarizing events. The school invoked the policy last week to cancel the scheduled screening of a documentary about abortion.
Last week, Global News reported Saint Paul University, which receives roughly $7.5 million per year in provincial operating grants, had told organizers of a film festival held annually on campus to either show a different film or find another venue after learning the documentary set to screen, Vessel, was about a woman who provides abortions to women in countries where the procedure is illegal.
READ MORE: Andrew Scheer weighs in on Catholic university that banned abortion film
The decision kicked off a storm of criticism online and prompted Science Minister Kirsty Duncan to challenge Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer to denounce the incident as he did following news last week of efforts by Wilfrid Laurier University to discipline a teaching assistant who showed her students a video clip of a debate over the use of gender-neutral pronouns.
Scheer, who said during his leadership campaign he wants to see federal funding yanked from public universities that do not protect free speech, said the case at Laurier showed exactly why he included the proposal in his campaign in the first place.
WATCH BELOW: Saint Paul University told organizers of a film festival last week to either pick a different film, or go somewhere else
A spokesperson for Scheer said the situation was different at Saint Paul given both that the school is private and that the group being denied space on campus were community members and not students, but that he “encourages all universities and colleges to promote free speech as well as the exchange of ideas and thoughts in an academic setting.”
READ MORE: Ottawa Catholic university cancels screening of abortion documentary
The university maintains a policy of forbidding events that could be polarizing or that could draw protesters.
When asked whether Matthews had concerns over a university receiving public funds banning topics of conversation from campus, a spokesperson told Global News the matter is out of the province’s hands.
“I think it’s important to note that universities should be places where students engage in respectful dialogue on difficult issues. The safety and well-being of everyone on our university and college campuses is a critical responsibility of our colleges and universities,” said spokesperson Tanya Blazina.
“Publicly-assisted Ontario universities are legally autonomous bodies with full responsibility for both academic and administrative matters, including policies on freedom of speech. Of course, each university is required to comply with all relevant legislation. The ministry has no authority to intervene in these matters.”
Nathan Cullen, NDP critic for ethics and democratic reform, said while there are limits to free speech in cases of inciting violence and hate speech, this case is not one of them.
“As soon as you do receive that public funding — of course there’s natural limitations, if someone is showing something that incites violence to a particular group, there are limits to how we participate in free speech — but certainly showing a film around a topic that is discussed in Parliament, is discussed in our schools, is something any university should be open to,” he said.
“I imagine some of the people who support that university would call into question their students having access to all the information.”
Global News also reached out to Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown for comment but has not yet received a response.
WATCH BELOW: Vessel trailer
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