Event held in front of Bricker Academic to express disappointment with hosted lecture
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on May 24, 2024.
On March 6 at 3:30 p.m., the Wilfrid Laurier Heterodox Academy brought lawyer Lisa Bildy to campus to give a presentation called, “How much of their speech rights must professionals relinquish to practice in Canada?” At the same time, Unionize WLU held a “cancel the hate” event to protest the university’s decision to allow Bildy to speak.
The presentation was in the Bricker Academic building, and over ten protesters gathered in front of its entrance. Attendees were given masks to cover any identifiable features. The event was organized in collaboration with Wilfrid Laurier University, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Local 902, the WLU Rainbow Centre and the Queer Youth Defense.
John-Lee Bannister, the chairman of the Unionize WLU committee and vice-president of PSAC 902, said talks like these can weaponize certain language, and the university should realize this.
“Not just actors or members of Unionize WLU, but local members of the community gathered to voice our displeasure at Laurier for hosting this event,” said Bannister.
The Wilfrid Laurier Heterodox Academy is a non-profit organization that aims to “provide opportunities to exemplify and promote open inquiry, free speech, and viewpoint diversity” on Laurier’s campuses, according to their website.
The academy’s campus co-chairs, William McNally, a finance professor, Geoff Horsman, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Michael Pavlin, an associate professor of operations and decisions sciences, wrote a letter to The Cord.
“We are perplexed that anyone was disappointed that the university ‘allowed’ a speaker,” said the letter. “The university can’t squelch views; it is legally obligated to create a ‘spirit of free enquiry.’”
The co-chairs were referring to the objects of the university, as stated in the Wilfrid Laurier University Act, 1973, amended in 2001 and 2016.
Bildy is from London, Ontario and practices law across Canada. She is currently representing Amy Hamm, a B.C. nurse, in court. Hamm was accused of making several transphobic public statements, including referring to transwomen as “men” on social media, public podcasts and videos.
She also co-sponsored a billboard in Vancouver that said, “I [heart] J.K. Rowling,” in support of the Harry Potter author’s comments made on X about her distaste for using the term “people who menstruate” instead of “women.” The billboard was covered by a work crew one day after it was put up.
***“I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”***
Bildy is also a central figure in challenging the Law Society of Ontario’s 2017 statement of principles that requires lawyers to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in their behaviour towards those they work for, their clients and the public. With others, Bildy created a campaign called “Stop the statement of principles” to encourage lawyers to reject the requirement, which was appealed in 2019.
In an interview with the Canadian Lawyer magazine, Bildy said she believed the statement of principles asked “the profession to state its loyalty to a political principle, to an ideology.”
The organizers wanted to put care for protecting Laurier’s transgender students at the forefront of the protest. Bannister said informed individuals are powerful, but inactive informed individuals are less effective.
“I thought that the number of people that contributed and participated in our action was beneficial to our goals and aims,” he said. “It demonstrated the resourcefulness of our community when certain people would like to take space on our campus.”
McNally, Horsman and Pavlin wrote that they invite people to watch Bildy’s lecture online. They said the protest didn’t just cancel hate, but it protested Charter speech rights that are “essential to protecting the rights of the marginalized.”
“Next time you disagree, don’t just protest. Ask a question,” the co-chairs wrote. “With constructive engagement, we’ll each gain a better understanding.”
Photo by Bronte Behling
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