Last Tuesday, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) released their Campus Freedom Index for 2013, with the McGill administration receiving D’s in both policies and practices and the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) receiving a D in policies and an F in practices. Since its release, however, the report has become the subject of debate on campus, with members of the McGill community criticizing the JCCF for its methodology and political background.

The JCCF report uses a letter-grade system of A to F to rate the freedom of speech on 45 public university campuses across Canada, in terms of the practices and policies of each university administration and student union.

The organization behind the report has received criticism for allegedly having a political agenda, as several key figures involved in the JCCF have been connected to conservative organizations  including the Wildrose Alliance, the federal Reform Party, and the Manning Centre. SSMU Vice-President External Samuel Harris expressed skepticism regarding the validity of the organization behind the grades.

“Given the direct implication of this organization with the right-wing fringe, this report has no credibility,” Harris said.

According to Michael Kennedy, the centre’s communications and development coordinator, SSMU’s failing grade was partially a result of an incident that took place in 2009.

“SSMU Council […] warned the student group Choose Life that if it went ahead with a planned lecture by Jose Ruba titled ‘Echoes of the Holocaust,’ it would have its funding revoked,” Kennedy said.

The report also points to an incident in 2012 when SSMU requested that the group McGill Friends of Israel change the name of an event called “Israel-A-Party.” Harris explained that SSMU executives at the time requested the name change because it was parodying the term Apartheid during Israel Apartheid Week.

“The name of the ‘Israel A-Party’ event was meant to provoke and incite other student groups rather than focus on being its own event, which is something that the SSMU tries to avoid,” Harris said. “It has never been SSMU’s intention to stifle free speech or choose sides in what we know is a very contentious issue. And we do admit that it is a very fine line. But to call us a ‘failure’ on free speech […] is ridiculous.”

Elisabeth Gidengil, a political science professor at McGill, said that the report contains several methodological oversights.

“The grading scheme for student union practices is troubling,” Gidengil said. “[It] risks being somewhat subjective as there is no explicit linking back to the criteria that are used to award the grades.”

Gidengil suggested that the group could improve the methodology’s transparency by linking a description of each grade to the occurrence that caused it. She said the criteria for each letter grade are inconsistent, sometimes resulting in union and university policies being graded twice.

“Some criteria for a grade of A, D and F are spelled out but the only criterion for a B or C are the grades received for the student union’s policies,” Gidengil said. “These are default criteria, employed because the student union’s commitment to free speech has not been tested […] The latter wording is identical for awarding a B or C. The net result is that a union [or university] whose commitment has not been tested is effectively graded twice over on its policies.”

Gidengil added that the grades may not have been cross-validated.

“Did more than one person independently award grades and were the grades then compared?” she said. “If so, how were discrepancies resolved?”

Kennedy responded to criticism of the index’s credibility—both political and methodological—by saying that the authors are unbiased and that they condemn the censorship of many groups in addition to pro-life groups.

“The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is non-partisan, and dedicated to defending the human rights and constitutional freedoms of each and every Canadian,” Kennedy said. “The Campus Freedom Index makes clear that censorship can affect all students regardless of their views. There are many examples documented in the Index of censorship against both Students Against Israeli Apartheid and pro-Israel clubs, pro-life, and atheist clubs, partisans of all stripes, marijuana enthusiasts, and so on.”

McGill University has not released a statement on the index and does not plan to, according to Director of Internal Communications Doug Sweet.

“We don’t have any comment,” Sweet said. “The university made some very strong and clear statements about standing up for freedom of expression last year and we certainly stand by those statements.”

Supreme Court permits use of drug-sniffing dogs

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the use of drug-sniffing police dogs on suspects is legal, as long as officers have “reasonable suspicion based on objective, ascertainable facts” that their suspects are engaged in illegal activity.

This case stems largely from a 2006 case in which Benjamin MacKenzie was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. The police claimed that his eyes appeared red and called in drug-detecting dogs, which led to the discovery of 14 kilograms of marijuana in MacKenzie’s trunk.

Critics of the decision have argued that while the police may catch offenders like MacKenzie this way, the permission to use methods like sniffer dogs means that police more frequently infringe upon the rights of innocent individuals based on a subjective understanding of what constitutes suspicious behaviour.

“[The ruling] has the effect of giving an enormous amount of deference to the instincts and subjective views of police officers, at the expense of some of the liberties we assumed were in place since the Charter came,” Benjamin Berger, law professor at York University, told The Globe and Mail.

 

Alberta named fastest growing province

New numbers released by Statistics Canada last Thursday show that Alberta has the fastest growing population in Canada. Alberta’s population increased by 3.4 per cent last year, while the entire population of Canada grew by only 1.2 per cent.

Statistics Canada attributes Alberta’s growth to “record levels of international migration and inter-provincial migration.” According to the report, Alberta has been the frontrunner in population growth over the last 30 years, with an increase of 50.8 per cent.

“Our relative economic conditions compared to the rest of Canada are really explaining why we’re seeing such an increase, particularly in inter-provincial migration,” Kate White, chief economist for the Alberta government, told The Edmonton Journal. “Compared to the rest of the world, which is still struggling to walk away from the great recession, the relative opportunity in Alberta is very good for international migrants as well.”

Following Alberta in growth were Nunavut (2.5 per cent) and Saskatchewan (1.9 per cent). All provinces showed some population growth with the exception of New Brunswick (-0.1 per cent), the Northwest Territories (-0.2 per cent), and Nova Scotia (-0.5 per cent).

 

Victims of bus accident to file lawsuit against company

The company involved in a Sept. 18 bus accident in Ottawa faces legal action following the incident. The potential multimillion-dollar lawsuit comes after the collision of a bus with a Via Rail train resulted in the death of six people, including the bus driver.

According to lawyers in Toronto, one person who was injured in the accident is looking to file a lawsuit against OC Transpo on behalf of all involved in the crash. This could include a class action lawsuit representing everyone involved in the crash, which could cost the company over $20 million, and a group action lawsuit representing the families of those killed, which could cost the company over $10 million.

Those injured in the collision, however, face potential complications regarding a court case because they have to complete several steps in the insurance process before they are able to sue for pain or suffering. However, this does not affect the families of those killed in the crash, who can file for death and funeral payments from their own insurers or the bus insurer.

 

Canada Revenue Agency faces allegations of corruption

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) came under fire last Wednesday when Radio-Canada revealed that the agency sent a refund cheque for over $380,000 to Nicolo Rizzuto, a jailed Quebec mob boss owing $1.5 million in unpaid taxes in 2007. Andrew Treusch, CRA commissioner, said the agency will be launching an internal investigation to discover the source of the cheque.

Over the course of Radio-Canada’s investigation, several former CRA employees have come forward with accusations of corruption within the agency. According to the employee who discovered the cheque, Jean-Pierre Paquette, it took the agency over a year to address the concerns he raised after discovering the incident.

“It’s become endemic; senior managers who are involved in a file take their retirement and a month later have become legal advisers or consultants on the same files for the other side,” the CBC quotes Paquette as saying. “It’s a huge conflict of interest.”

Eventually, these concerns resulted in a yearlong RCMP investigation, which has resulted in over 100 criminal charges against people who previously worked for the CRA.

 

New app encourages public to pressure businesses to comply with Bill 101

The Montreal chapter of the French language advocacy group Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste has released an online application designed to encourage the public to pressure businesses in the city to comply with Quebec’s French language laws.

First passed in 1977, the Charter of the French Langauge, also known as Bill 101, defines French as the language of the majority in Quebec, and outlines basic language rights in areas such as parliament, labour relations, and businesses. The app is called “Moi, j’achète en français,” and allows customers to rank and comment on a business based on their service in French.

The theory behind the app is that if Francophone Quebecers know that a business does not provide its service to their language standard, the business will lose profits. According to the organization, the application does not report businesses to the police for not properly adhering to Bill 101.

“A team of volunteers will follow up on the most pertinent files, and will take the actions necessary to find a solution with the businesses that have the worst scores,” the website explains.

The application is available online and as a smartphone application.

On Sept. 25, McGill’s Board of Governors released Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier’s contract. The release marks the first time the Board of Governors has voluntarily made the contract of a McGill principal public.

According to the contract, Fortier’s base salary is $390,000. In addition, the university will cover the cost of $3,000 for legal counsel regarding her contract, and a yearly sum of $2,000 for professional financial services.

Fortier’s contract also contains a 20 per cent potential bonus based on the merit of her annual performance, which is “subject to a review by the Chair in accordance with a set of mutually agreed upon goals, objectives, and targets,” according to the contract.

Chair of McGill’s Board of Governors Stuart Cobbett said that although Fortier’s base salary is higher than that of former principal Heather Munroe-Blum­—who was the highest-paid principal in the province, with a base salary of $369,250—Fortier’s contract results in a substantially lower paycheque due to fewer benefits.

For example, Munroe-Blum’s contract stipulated a $4,000 per month allowance towards the use of her Montreal residence for university-related events, while Fortier will not receive an allowance, although she will be reimbursed for “reasonable expenses.”

“When we negotiated the contract with Fortier, we took into account the salary of Heather Munroe-Blum,” Cobbett said. “If you look at the cost of Fortier’s contract, it is more than three per cent less [than Munroe-Blum’s] in terms of total costs to the university.”

The three per cent reduction is the result of measures implemented by McGill for this academic year in order to meet budget cuts the Quebec government announced last December. Members of the upper administration have all received a three per cent decrease to their salaries.

McGill will cover Fortier’s expenses related to her role as principal, including university-related travel and event hosting, and a relocation allowance to cover the cost of moving to Montreal.

Cobbett said that Fortier’s contract was met by positive attention from the McGill community and media when it was released on Wednesday.

“[The contract was] well received. People much appreciate Fortier’s transparency and the simplicity of the contract,” he said.

The contract extends from Sept. 5, 2013 until June 30, 2018, with the opportunity for re-appointment.

Katie Larson, president of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), said she thought Fortier’s salary was “reasonable” considering the standard salary for such a position. Larson said she supports Fortier’s decision to publish the contract.

“When it comes to Human Resources it is up to the individual to disclose information such as their contract, so I am glad that professor Fortier took the extra step not only to publish her salary, but also to disclose the other parts of her contract,” Larson said. “We will see how forthcoming she will be with the exact expenses, and whether her decision to publish this information will encourage other administrators to do the same.”