McGill unions say university is attacking free speech
Posted August 8, 2025 9:54 am.
Last Updated August 8, 2025 10:22 am.
Four McGill University unions say the institution is violating freedom of expression by threatening to withhold funding from a student organization because of its support for a pro-Palestinian group.
McGill sent a cease-and-desist letter earlier this year to a student social justice group, demanding that it stop supporting the Students for Palestinian Honour and Resistance collective.
The pro-Palestinian organization was one of the groups that staged a months-long encampment on the university’s downtown campus last year.
The unions, which represent some McGill faculty, staff and teaching assistants, say the university is intimidating and threatening to dismantle the social justice group.
McGill also announced this spring that it was preparing to sever ties with the university’s students’ union for similar reasons.
The decision came after a three-day student strike over McGill’s investments in companies linked to military action in Gaza, which led to dozens of classes being blocked or suspended.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
