A prominent U of T professor and world-renowned free speech scholar came out in support of the administration’s decision to cancel the Palestinian Solidarity Conference in a public lecture last Wednesday.
In saying the university’s decision to cancel the conference was “probably a good idea,” Dr. Wayne Summer waded into a campus political issue that has angered many, and saw the arrest of a protester at a demonstration last week. [Varsity, Nov. 27]
In the question period that followed a lecture Dr. Summer gave on the merits and drawbacks of Canada’s hate speech laws, an audience member asked him if he felt the cancellation of the conference was justified. While he supported the cancellation, Sumner’s remarks were limited, and he conceded he “didn’t know enough about [the issue]” to comment further. He also stated the need for groups to have spaces on campus to organize free from interference. He said it was the selection process of candidates for the event that was troublesome (The conference required participants to agree to a particular set of political principals as a prerequisite for attendance).
In commenting about the protection of free speech on campus, he noted “the burden is on the university.” Eventually, the administration changed their position, and the conference took place yesterday. Dr. Sumner did not respond to e-mails from the Varsity requesting a clarification of his position.
The soft spoken and articulate Sumner, who has been a professor at U of T for 37 years, “is recognized as one of the world’s pre-eminent moral philosophers” according to lecture organizers. Dr. Sumner spent the bulk of the evening addressing the benefits and shortcomings of provisions in Canada’s criminal code that allow for individuals to be criminally charged if they make hateful remarks against identifiable groups in Canadian society.
He relied on two prominent examples throughout the talk: Jim Keegstra, the former Alberta high school teacher who promoted anti-Semitism in his classroom, and David Ahenakew, the Aboriginal rights leader who made anti-Jewish remarks to reporters in Saskatchewan in 2002.
After an acknowledgment that hate speech can dramatically impact the lives of its intended victims, Sumner submitted that hate speech is a difficult issue for liberals because it presents a clash between core liberal values: freedom and equality. Citing John Stuart Mill on several occasions, Sumner went on to argue that hate speech should indeed be free speech, and that in many cases, the media scrutiny and stigmatization for those who utter hateful remarks makes criminal charges unnecessary.
Sumner conceded that his speech represents a departure from his previous views on the topic. He has moderated his opinions on free speech over the course of his academic career, and also candidly points out he is a “white, straight, gentrified male,” and that many of the minority groups who are victims of hate may see Canada’s hate speech laws in a different light. Sumner also touched on the role of the Internet in promoting hate in Canada. He noted that many groups advancing hateful ideas now do so on the Internet, beyond Canadian borders and outside the jurisdiction of Canadian law.
The end of the evening saw the floor opened up to the audience. Along with the question that prompted Sumner to take a stand of the cancellation of the conference, he also fielded questions about the rights of churches in Canada to refuse to marry gay couples, the value of educating young people about racism, as well as several others inquiries.
Sumner’s lecture was the third in a series of six featuring different U of T professors. The Global Knowledge Society, a student group sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Science, presented the event. The lecture took place in the Koffler Institute for Pharmacy Management with an audience of approximately 100 people.
