Heavy-handed university presidents are the problem

By EZRA LEVANT:

What is it with university presidents threatening to sic the police on their critics?

In March, University of Ottawa president Allan Rock approved a letter written by his deputy to Ann Coulter, the U.S. political commentator, warning she could be prosecuted under the Criminal Code if she said the wrong things in her speech on campus.

Incredibly, Rock was not fired by the university’s trustees for that demolition of academic freedom.

Mamdouh Shoukri, the president of York University, must have been watching, because he took the legal threats business a step further last week.

Last Tuesday, Shoukri’s university hosted a speech by George Galloway, the disgraced former MP from the U.K. On a trip to Gaza last year, Galloway was filmed handing wads of cash to Hamas, an illegal terrorist group.

Shoukri had no problem with Galloway speaking on his campus. But when Aaron Hoch, a local Jewish rabbi, criticized Galloway and encouraged people to participate in a peaceful protest against him, Shoukri leapt into action.

[...]

MORE

Advertisement