It takes more than just words

The struggle for free expression on Canadian university campuses took two steps forward and one step back last week.

A special task force at Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo, Ont., came out swinging for open, unhindered, uncensored speech.

The group’s draft statement on free expression agreed that while difficult, extreme or even wrong-headed ideas may cause offence, they deserve airing at an institution dedicated to higher learning.

At the same time, existing laws already allow the university to deal with illegal forms of expression, including threats, defamation, harassment and hate speech, the task force explained.

Hooray for this sensible endorsement of one of our most important liberties — along with its assurance that everyone should be treated respectfully.

Regrettably, that progress was undermined later in the week when a students’ group cancelled plans to bring a controversial speaker to the University of Waterloo after being told it would have to pay $28,500 to cover security costs for the event. That potential bill effectively shut down the students and free expression.

It seems free speech is easier – and cheaper – to uphold with words than action.

To be sure, the battle over what can and can’t be said is being waged on post-secondary school campuses across North America.

Laurier began grappling with the issue most recently after the harsh treatment of one of its graduate students last fall and the public outcry that ensued.

Lindsay Shepherd had been severely reprimanded by two professors and a university official for showing her class a Tvontario video clip of a debate over the use of gender-neutral pronouns.

For those convinced true education comes from a broad exchange of competing ideas, what happened to Shepherd was outrageous. Others believed she had gone too far in airing potentially offensive views.

Her opponents got it wrong. Unless free expression is a licence to say what at least some people don’t want to hear, it’s worthless. Thank goodness the Laurier task force agreed.

Its draft statement declares: “Freedom of thought, association and expression are fundamental principles of an open, fair, and inclusive campus, and are core to the discovery, critical assessment, and effective dissemination of knowledge.”

Inspiring words, yes. But they need backing.

Just a few weeks ago, organizers cancelled a talk by right-wing pundit Faith Goldy at WLU’S Waterloo campus after someone pulled a fire alarm. Now, another appearance by Goldy has been cancelled at UW because of the prohibitively expensive costs of providing security for it.

As a community and country, we must do better. In the coming weeks, advocates of free expression – whether they’re at Laurier or in the wider community – need to support the task force’s statement on free expression.

Meanwhile, if the people running WLU and UW believe in free expression, they must defend it with action.

We should always remember that the progressive and tolerant society we enjoy today was largely made possible by marginalized groups — the LGBTQ community, feminists, members of racial minorities or advocates of reproductive choice — who demanded and effected change through free and open dialogue — even though many found their views offensive.

Let’s keep the intellectual air waves open. Truth is never a starting point. It’s where a journey of a thousand conversations leads.