Civil Liberties

Canadian Universities Get Lousy Grade on Free Speech

Their record is "abysmal," says report

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The "abysmal" state of free speech at Canadian public universities is stifling students' right to speak their minds, according to a new report card that gives mostly failing grades to universities and their student unions.

The 2012 Campus Freedom Index, released Wednesday by the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, awarded only three A's to 35 universities and student unions it analyzed in its second annual report. A grade of 'F' was far more common — handed out 28 times to 12 universities and 16 student unions for everything from cancelling controversial speakers and obstructing pro-life groups to banning the expression "Israeli Apartheid."