To: Graduate students at the University of Waterloo
From: Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor
Date: September 3, 2024
Subject: Freedom of expression and inquiry at Waterloo
Creating and upholding an environment of free expression and inquiry is central to our purpose as a university. The University of Waterloo’s mission – enshrined in the University of Waterloo Act – is to advance learning and knowledge through teaching, research, and scholarship, nationally and internationally, in an environment of free expression and inquiry.
As an academic institution, this is the place to examine, discuss, debate, and communicate issues in a safe, inclusive environment where all are free to express themselves. In addition to classroom discussions, public lectures and other core university activities, the right to free expression includes peaceful assembly and protest.
There will be times when comments by some members of our community will be offensive or hurtful to other members of our community. It is essential that we protect rights to free speech and protest for all members of our community. The University will continue to only limit speech when it violates the law, such as the hate speech provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada, or the discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Codes. However, we all have a responsibility to ensure we understand the impact of our words and actions on others. As an institution we will support members of our community in accessing an environment of learning and research that is inclusive and welcoming.
In practice, balancing these principles can be challenging. Though we have University policies and procedures in place to address conflicts, recent events reminded us that these policies and procedures must continue to evolve. Additionally, while most demonstrations on our campuses have been peaceful and respectful, this past year we witnessed actions that violated our university policies and crossed the line into unlawful behaviour.
This past spring term was a difficult and divisive time for our community. As I mentioned in my start-of-term message, this year will give us an opportunity to start our work together to bring healing and peace to our community.
University leadership and members of our community have spent time over the summer reflecting on learnings from the past few months and on ways to move forward. This year, we are taking positive steps to ensure that rights to freedom of expression are respected and that our campuses remain welcoming, inclusive and safe for all members of our community:
- We will be adopting new freedom of expression principles, as proposed by the Task Force on Free Expression and Inclusive Engagement.
- We will begin work on a freedom of expression action plan, which includes:
- Defining the University’s position on specific topics related to freedom of expression
- Reviewing existing policies and developing new policies related to freedom of expression
- Setting up governance structures and engagement plans
- The Task Force on Social Responsibility in Investing and the Task Force on Principles for Institutional Partnerships will soon announce membership and begin their work.
While we will continue to respect the rights of members of our community to engage in protest actions, our policies, procedures and rules will be firmly enforced. We will not tolerate behaviours which are illegal and disrupt the learning, research or work of other members of the community.
Much of this work – and more – is well underway, and you can expect to hear more about our work over the course of this term, and beyond.
With these initiatives, we aim to clearly articulate the University’s position and expectations of our community, and to help community members understand the policies and laws that govern free expression and appropriate conduct on campuses. Our ultimate goal is to create a vibrant culture of intellectual exchange, open inquiry, free expression, and inclusive engagement.
Vivek Goel
President and Vice-Chancellor
Office of the President