UBC petition - Canadian Constitution Foundation

Save Academic Freedom in Canada:

UBC Must Comply with the Law

UBC's Administration is breaking the law

Four professors and a former graduate student, supported by the Canadian Constitution Foundation, have launched a legal challenge in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Their petition demands UBC’s administration comply with provincial law requiring universities to remain politically neutral.

Section 66(1) of British Columbia’s University Act explicitly states: “A university must be non-sectarian and non-political in principle.”

Clear violations of institutional neutrality

The evidence is undeniable:

Job advertisements requiring candidates “strongly commit” to D.E.I. values.
The April 2024 UBC Okanagan Senate Resolution condemning “the occupation, siege, and invasion of Gaza by the state of Israel” as genocide.

UBC has a clear statutory requirement to remain non-political, which it has very obviously failed to uphold despite years of behind-the-scenes advocacy from professors and alumni who feel UBC’s political stances have impacted their freedom of expression and academic freedom.

This isn't an opinion. It's the law.

Universities should be places where students and faculty can pursue knowledge without political pressure or loyalty tests to controversial ideologies.

British Columbia law demands it. UBC must comply.

If you agree with this statement, please sign our petition below.

And if you agree, please sign our petition below:

Stand With US

I support academic freedom and demand UBC follow the law.

I want to save academic freedom in Canada and I support this case.

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