Conservative MP accuses York U Student Centre of attacking free speech after campus event cancelled

Conservative MP for Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan Garnett Genuis rises during Question Period, in Ottawa, Monday, April 15, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Alberta Conservative MP Garnett Genuis says that a decision by the student centre at York University not to allow him to hold a planned event amounted to an “attack on free speech” but the student group says the decision was not politically motivated and was in line with its policies.

Genuis told CTV News Toronto on Thursday that he’s been touring university campuses for several weeks to strike up conversations with students about youth unemployment and affordability issues and was hoping to make a stop at York University Friday.

“I have disappointing news to share about further attacks on free speech. My event at York University (scheduled for this Friday) is now cancelled due to a decision of the student union not to allow it,” he wrote on X on Wednesday night in a post that has since been commented on more than 600 times and viewed nearly 400,000 views as of 4 p.m.

“I’m pretty surprised. We’ve done the same event concept at universities in four provinces without incident. I stand in a public area in front of a banner and talk to students as they walk by about jobs and unemployment. But the student union at York won’t allow it.

It should be noted that while Genuis had planned the event, it was never formally approved.

The university’s student union, the York Federation of Students, told CTV News Toronto on Thursday that the group has no authority to book or cancel events, and that they were not aware of the event up until this morning when contacted by media outlets.

Genuis later clarified that it was the York University Student Centre that made the decision too deny permission for the event, and he said it was due to the format.

In an emailed statement to CTV News Toronto, the student centre said the event was not approved to proceed due to the “application of our booking policies and event request procedures and was not politically motivated in any way.”

The student centre also clarified that the event was never approved in the first place.

“Our booking policies are applied equitably to all student clubs and external organizations looking to hold events and promotional tabling in our spaces regardless of content or affiliation,” Jason Goulart, the student centre’s executive director, said.

“We found that this particular booking simply did not satisfy our requirements. The groups and persons looking to book this event are free to reapply at any time to hold an event subject to our approval and that our requirements are satisfied.”

Genuis, a Conservative shadow minister for employment, said that as part of his event, he stands in a public area and has a banner that asks, “are you better or worse off than your parent’s generation?”

He said he found the events really valuable in his work as a shadow minister, adding that he’s “bringing the voices of those young people into conversations that are happening in Parliament.”

“They told me that if I wanted to do an event on campus it would have to be in a closed room not in a public traffic area where we have been able to do events in the past,” he said.

“That killed us from being able to proceed with this event … it’s an unreasonable limiting of public conversation for them to not allow the event to proceed.”

Genuis said that the student centre told him they do not allow guest speakers to be part of an event in an open space.

“Whether that was a new rule concept that was invented to not allow this event or not. I can’t speak to every aspect of their motivations, but I do think it’s an unreasonable and highly arbitrary thing to impose,” he said.

“It doesn’t make sense as a rule so it makes me wonder if there’s some other motivation at play here.”

Goulart said the organizers of the event “simply did not provide enough detail for us to adequately assess the type of programming, appropriate channels and venue required,” and that is why permission was not granted.

Yanni Dagonas, a spokesperson for the university, said they had no knowledge of any event planned by Genuis before his social media post on Thursday. Dagonas added that the university does not speak on behalf of the student centre, which is responsible for bookings in its own spaces.

“York University is committed to the principles of lawful free expression. We welcome respectful dialogue and have hosted Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum on our campuses,” Dagonas said.

“Event organizers are welcome to make requests for temporary use of university space using applicable university procedures.”

On X, Genuis wrote that he is willing to hold so-called “unauthorized” events on campus and has previously held one at Concordia.

“I don’t believe that student unions should be able to shut these things done. In this particular case, I’ve been working with a group of local students to facilitate the event,” he said.

“I don’t want to create a situation in which they could face indirect consequences. I’m always ready to deal with controversy, but I don’t want to leave someone else holding the bag. So bottom line – I expect to be back at York, but not this Friday.”