Two University of Toronto alumni and former U of T governors have launched a lawsuit against the Governing Council of the University of Toronto, the Toronto Police Services Board, and several U of T officials and Toronto police officers.
Plaintiffs Oriel Varga and Christopher Ramsaroop were among 14 people arrested during a protest on March 20, 2008 that saw protesters occupy Simcoe Hall and demand an immediate meeting with U of T President David Naylor. The University of Toronto and Toronto police accused the students of preventing senior administrators and staff from leaving their offices.
The lawsuit claims that the Defendants breached their fundamental rights and freedoms under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including their freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, their right to liberty, and their right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.
The university has said it will be defending the claim vigorously. “The university believes the claim to be entirely without merit, and it will be seeking to have it dismissed with costs,” read a statement from a university spokesperson. “Remarkably, the claim goes so far as to sue the innocent victims who were confined in an office against their will.” The university said it does not plan to comment further while this matter is before the courts.
“In a democratic society […] the public must be able to question and critique institutional decisions and practices without being bullied and criminalized by public institutions like a university or the police,” said Varga, who is currently a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School. “[The university] must be held accountable for breaching the Charter that they are supposed to uphold.”
Following the March 2008 arrests, the Fight Fees Coalition was formed to support those arrested and raise funds for legal defense. Both the University of Toronto Students’ Union and the Graduate Students’ Union are part of the coalition.
On September 10 Ontario Court of Justice Judge Paul Reinhardt dropped the charges for Varga and Ramsaroop on the basis that their Charter of Rights and Freedoms under section 11 (b) had been breached. To date, the criminal charges against all 14 have been withdrawn, stayed, or dropped.
