Freedom of speech is essential to a healthy democracy. Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms lists “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression” as a fundamental freedom.
This means we are free to share our opinions, even when they might offend others. Without freedom of speech, democracy is meaningless, since minorities would be unable to challenge the prevailing views of the majority.
Freedom of speech is uniquely important on the university campus. University classes should be places where students and their professors vigorously debate the merits of differing values, theories, ideologies, and ways of interpreting the world.
Canadian universities, however, have wavered in this mission. Our campuses currently suffer from a dearth of viewpoint diversity and free speech. According to a new survey (conducted by Leger and published by the Fraser Institute) of 1,200 university students in Canada, politically right-leaning students feel significantly more constrained in sharing their opinions in class. For example, 42 percent of right-leaning students said they experienced a classroom environment that limited discussion and questions on controversial topics to only one side of the argument, while only 29 percent of left-leaning students reported the same experience.
