Ryerson, U of T say no to fringe events

Ryerson University has cancelled a panel discussion on free speech and the University of Toronto has told a white nationalist group it is not welcome to hold a rally on campus.

Ryerson cancelled its event, called The Stifling of Free Speech on University Campuses, following pushback from activists who said the event was giving a platform to fascists.

The event, which was set for Aug. 22, was slated to feature University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson, who rose to prominence after refusing to use students’ preferred pronouns, and journalist Faith Goldy, who works for the farright Rebel Media. Behavioural scientist Gad Saad and psychologist Oren Amitay rounded out the roster.

Ryerson communications director Michael Forbes cited safety concerns as the reason the panel was shut down.

“After a thorough security review, the university has concluded that Ryerson is not equipped to provide the necessary level of public safety for the event to go forward,” he wrote in an emailed statement. “In light of recent events, Ryerson University is prioritizing campus safety.”

At U of T, a group called the Canadian Nationalist Party had set up a Facebook page promoting a campus gathering in September to discuss the nationalist movement in Canada and the future of the country.

“We have contacted the group to let them know they don’t have permission to use our space,” U of T spokeswoman Althea Blackburn-Evans said Wednesday.

The university’s president, Meric Gertler, said bigotry, hate and violence have no place on campus and condemned the deadly clash between protesters and white supremacists in Virginia over the weekend that left one woman dead and 19 injured.

“As we prepare to welcome students, faculty and staff to our campuses for the start of another academic year, it is im- portant that we reaffirm our collective and unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Gertler said.

Christeen Elizabeth, one of the organizers of a planned rally against the Ryerson free speech discussion, said it was important to speak out against what she sees as violence against oppressed groups.

“Transphobia is violence, Islamophobia is violence. Violence is contextual,” she said. “We can’t be complicit in this.”

A Facebook page for the protest rally — “No Fascists in Our City!” — originally featured a crossed-out swastika, but this was changed on Wednesday.

Prof. Peterson said the cancellation of the panel discussion is “an indication of the crazy absurdity that characterizes the current political situation. There’s an element of surrealism to it.”

But he has increased sympathy for a safety argument, he said, given the “inflamed rhetoric” the protesters used.

“I think there’s no excuse for what they’re doing, with the Nazi symbolism. It’s very, very dangerous to engage in that kind of casual vilification,” he said.

Peterson said he would talk with the other wouldbe panellists about another venue, though he’s not sure the timing is right.

“We’re going to figure out what we can do that’s least harmful,” he said. “Let’s start with that.”