OCLA Executive Director Joseph Hickey gave a presentation entitled “Institutions Acting Beyond the State” at the 8th Annual Conference of the Toronto Group for the Study of International, Transnational and Comparative Law at the University of Toronto, on May 2, 2015.
Joseph’s talk drew on examples from the OCLA’s work and recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada about the applicability of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to universities, to examine how Canadian institutions behave in ways that contrast with legal principles such as those of Canada’s constitution as well as international covenants.
The conclusion from Joseph’s presentation is quoted below:
“Rights and freedoms are under erosion in Canada. Civil liberties organizations and lawyers need to work at addressing these problems directly and specifically. If we are going to be part of a movement to create social change, to create a more just and democratic society, then we need to actively defend and promote individual rights, especially in the most controversial cases that are at the point of contact between the powerful forces in society and individual citizens. As Canada becomes more involved in geopolitical wars, it allows less tolerance for political or ideological dissent. The challenge is greater then, and increasing, and we need a push-back from lawyers, civil rights organizations, and all of civil society. When institutions act as if they are beyond the state and beyond the constitution, citizens need to take specific and direct action to challenge and oppose that behaviour, in order to promote freedom and democracy.”
